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baseball games for radio broadcast based on wire reports. McCracken originally presented "The Game of Life" on Sunday nights, at various churches around the central Texas area. Everywhere he presented "The Game of Life", he got requests for copies. Eventually, he had a short run of records pressed to offer at churches where he spoke. The fictional radio station in the recording has the call letters "WORD", which was printed on the label of the custom record. After being asked by a friend when he was going to release a follow-up, McCracken then decided to pursue the label on a more serious level.
433:. In an agreement with Gaylord, Thomas Nelson continued to use the "Word Publishing" name for its book imprint until 2002, at which time it became "W Publishing Group" and retained the swirling "W" logo. A highly controversial ad campaign introduced at the CBA convention in 2002, created litigation and settled later.
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preacher, and based his recording on the article which is also called "The Game of Life". The event is based on a full-length match, between the forces of good and evil, with Jesus Christ and Satan coaching the two teams. McCracken was familiar with play-by-play broadcasting, having created virtual
472:
In March 2016, it was announced that Mike Curb acquired 100% of Word
Entertainment (excluding the print music division) from Warner Music Group. However, WMG has continued to distribute Word's output for the general market. The print music division (Word Music and Church Resources), excluding Word
428:
for $ 72 million, and Nelson made two major changes—developing the present swirling "W" logo for book products which was unveiled in 1995. Headquarters moved from Waco, Texas, to its present headquarters in
Nashville, Tennessee. Nelson split the record label and book publishing arms in 1996,
286:
Distribution deals with other labels in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s allowed Word
Records to rise to the top, virtually housing a who's-who in Christian music. They distributed, promoted and advertised the biggest names in
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recording written and narrated by McCracken, the first recording released by the label, entitled "The Game of Life". The 23-year-old KWTX sportscaster in Waco had read an article by Jimmy Allen, a former athlete who became a
436:
After Colin Reed took over
Gaylord Entertainment in 2001, the hotelier made corporate changes at the company, including the ousting of longstanding president Roland Lundy. The Word Entertainment group was sold to
199:
in 1972, DaySpring
Records in 1977, and Rejoice Records in the 1980s. Two of these labels no longer exist in their original form. The Myrrh label was resurrected in 2005, as a praise and worship record label,
461:
also gained a stake in the company during this time. In 2004, the company was sold again as part of Time Warner divestiture of its music division, selling it to a group of investors led by
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Christian division manager Barry Landis briefly took the position of president of the label group division. Word went through a period of restructuring, closing their
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signed a distribution and promotion contract in the 1980s. The agreement lasted well into the 1990s. Today, Reunion
Records is distributed through
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by
Jarrell McCracken, Baylor business major Henry SoRelle and radio/television executive Ted Snider. The label's name is based on a 16-minute
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The label struggled initially until Marvin
Norcross became an equity partner. By 1954, Word had become a publishing house as well.
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Milliot, Jim (December 2, 1996). "With Word sale, Nelson to focus on core business". Vol. 243, no. 49.
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This is a list of artists, past and present, who have recorded for Word
Records over the past several decades:
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was distributed in the 1970s by Word
Records, before being sold to Ralph Carmichael in the 1980s.
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was distributed by Word Records, but left their distribution deal in the late 1980s to sign with
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had a distribution deal with Word, from 1975 to 1980. Artists on Solid Rock included Norman,
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Subsequent records focused on other spoken word recordings, but Word soon branched out into
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Price, Deborah Evans (December 8, 2001). "Sale To Warner Brings Word into Major Leagues".
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1353:"GAYLORD ENTERTAINMENT COMPLETES PURCHASE OF WORD RECORDS AND MUSIC FROM THOMAS NELSON".
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1313:(unsigned) (November 1992). "In the News: EMI Buys Sparrow, Thomas Nelson Buys Word".
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to Word Records. It is still active, and remains under the independent ownership of
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Price, Deborah Evans (December 7, 1996). "Gaylord buys Word's music companies".
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Price, Deborah Evans (March 9, 2002). "Word restructures, Woos Landis".
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Price, Deborah Evans (April 23, 2005). "NEWSLINE: Word Label Group".
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with artist roster, Billboard pop performance, photo gallery, more.
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From 1984 to 1990, Word was distributed in the general market by
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Based on an interview with Jarrell McCracken, May 1997, Waco, TX
1262:
A City on a Hilltop? The History of Contemporary Christian Music
208:
was also re-opened in early 2007, with Dave Clark at the helm.
118:
402:
In the 1976, McCracken sold part interest in his label to the
1465:
Word Records role in The History of Christian Stand-up Comedy
279:, which was taken over by Chordant Distribution and then by
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music. Early employees for the label included Tom Norfleet,
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is a Christian faith-based entertainment company based in
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Chris Christian Entertainment - Home Sweet Home Records
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Several subsidiary labels were started over the years:
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The Vernon Daily Record, Tue, December 4, 1951, Page 3
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410:, Inc. and forced McCracken out of the company.
241:signed a distribution deal, to move his label
67:Jarrell McCracken, Henry SoRelle, Ted Snider
1485:Record labels based in Nashville, Tennessee
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1421:"Curb Records acquires Word Entertainment"
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473:Publishing, was subsequently acquired by
424:In 1992, Capital Cities/ABC sold Word to
156:In 1951, Word Records was established in
1408:. Vol. 114, no. 10. p. 6.
1391:. Vol. 113, no. 49. p. 8.
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1374:. Vol. 108, no. 49. p. 6.
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1302:. Vol. 117, no. 17. p. 8.
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1319:. Vol. 15, no. 5. p. 4.
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16:Christian-based entertainment company
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1357:. January 7, 1997. p. 1071302.
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449:music publishing office, absorbing
148:(the former Warner Bros. Records).
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1500:American independent record labels
406:. 10 years later, ABC merged with
14:
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1505:Record labels established in 1951
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441:in 2002. That same year, former
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1219:List of Christian record labels
628:Wendy Bagwell and the Sunliters
1490:Companies based in Waco, Texas
1:
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862:Holm, Sheppard, & Johnson
429:when the labels were sold to
404:American Broadcasting Company
1515:1951 establishments in Texas
465:to form a newly independent
289:contemporary Christian music
92:contemporary Christian music
7:
1419:Rau, Nate (March 2, 2016).
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10:
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1510:Gospel music record labels
1449:Word Entertainment website
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1259:Mount, Daniel J. (2005).
1016:Morning Chapel Hour Choir
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1126:Sixpence None the Richer
397:Phil and Brenda Nicholas
273:Star Song Communications
243:Home Sweet Home Records
144:. It is distributed by
1495:History of Waco, Texas
951:Love & the Outcome
772:Joe English (musician)
513:For King & Country
475:The Lorenz Corporation
1021:David Mullen (singer)
1006:Cindy Morgan (singer)
545:(changed name to FF5)
518:Francesca Battistelli
431:Gaylord Entertainment
267:Provident Label Group
1459:Word Records History
1011:The Mercy River Boys
996:Mighty Clouds of Joy
817:Happy Goodman Family
455:Squint Entertainment
381:Happy Goodman Family
291:. Artists included:
134:Nashville, Tennessee
109:Nashville, Tennessee
1156:Joni Eareckson Tada
1121:George Beverly Shea
1051:The Pat Terry Group
641:Charles Billingsley
608:The Alwyn Wall Band
426:Thomas Nelson, Inc.
399:and other artists.
140:, and is a part of
1405:Billboard Magazine
1388:Billboard Magazine
1371:Billboard Magazine
1299:Billboard Magazine
1131:Janet Lynn Skinner
934:& Broken Heart
802:Gaither Vocal Band
763:and the Associates
706:Patrick Ryan Clark
661:Scott Wesley Brown
477:in February 2017.
467:Warner Music Group
463:Edgar Bronfman Jr.
408:Capital Cities/ABC
373:Sweet Comfort Band
357:Gaither Vocal Band
305:Russ and Tori Taff
216:Solid Rock Records
142:Word Entertainment
1454:Word Distribution
1340:Publishers Weekly
892:JC & the Boyz
579:We Are Messengers
569:Sidewalk Prophets
361:Bill Gaither Trio
136:. It is owned by
127:
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119:wordentertainment
98:Country of origin
75:Word Distribution
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941:The Lewis Family
937:Solveig Leithaug
792:The Florida Boys
711:Ashley Cleveland
646:Caroline Bonnett
498:Meredith Andrews
443:Atlantic Records
297:Michael W. Smith
183:Ralph Carmichael
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114:Official website
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731:Dakota Motor Co
726:Billy Ray Cyrus
632:Bash-n-the-Code
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584:Zealand Worship
523:Big Daddy Weave
493:
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439:AOL Time Warner
415:A&M Records
277:Sparrow Records
263:Reunion Records
251:Chris Christian
239:Chris Christian
220:Randy Stonehill
175:southern gospel
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417:, and then by
365:Point of Grace
247:Benson Records
206:Canaan Records
195:in the 1960s,
193:Canaan Records
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146:Warner Records
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481:Artist roster
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451:Myrrh Records
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1428:. Retrieved
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1316:CCM Magazine
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1279:
1269:February 12,
1267:. Retrieved
1265:. p. 50
1261:
1201:Scott Wenzel
1196:Wayne Watson
1186:Sheila Walsh
1181:Greg X. Volz
1166:Randy Travis
1151:Stellar Kart
1111:Mark Schultz
1101:Remedy Drive
1096:Kelli Reisen
1071:David Phelps
1061:Leon Patillo
1026:Rich Mullins
1001:Julie Miller
976:Babbie Mason
927:The Lefevres
917:The Kingsmen
902:Troy Johnson
867:Holy Soldier
847:Benny Hester
807:John Gimenez
797:Richie Furay
787:John Fischer
756:Bryan Duncan
741:Dion Dimucci
671:Building 429
666:Anita Bryant
636:Helen Baylor
613:Dick Anthony
574:Stars Go Dim
554:Dara Maclean
549:Group 1 Crew
533:Jason Castro
508:Chris August
503:About a Mile
485:
484:
471:
459:Curb Records
435:
423:
421:until 2002.
419:Epic Records
412:
401:
389:Florida Boys
349:Steve Archer
337:Wayne Watson
325:Helen Baylor
309:Benny Hester
301:Rich Mullins
285:
271:
261:
255:
236:
212:Larry Norman
210:
190:
187:
172:
155:
138:Curb Records
130:Word Records
129:
128:
43:Curb Records
25:Word Records
19:Record label
1191:Mike Warnke
1136:Chris Sligh
1056:Sandi Patti
986:David Meece
971:Sarah Masen
966:Kenny Marks
877:The Hoppers
857:Dallas Holm
832:Bruce Greer
827:Lilly Green
812:Terri Gibbs
721:Clay Crosse
696:Johnny Cash
618:The Archers
447:Los Angeles
353:White Heart
345:the Archers
333:Kenny Marks
329:Sandi Patti
224:Daniel Amos
179:Kurt Kaiser
162:spoken word
158:Waco, Texas
1479:Categories
1225:References
1141:Paul Smith
1081:Don Potter
1031:The Nelons
981:Ken Medema
961:Mark Lowry
907:Anita Kerr
681:Steve Camp
651:Dave Boyer
383:featuring
377:the Nelons
347:featuring
313:Paul Smith
232:Mark Heard
228:Tom Howard
1430:August 1,
1325:1524-7848
1161:Russ Taff
897:J.C. Crew
872:Honeytree
822:Amy Grant
782:Fireworks
623:Bob Ayala
538:Everfound
369:Love Song
293:Amy Grant
237:In 1983,
1213:See also
1106:Salvador
912:Wes King
837:Guardian
751:Downhere
393:Guardian
106:Location
1176:Veridia
1086:pureNRG
1041:Newsong
956:LoveWar
491:Current
167:Baptist
152:History
64:Founder
54: (
49:Founded
1323:
686:Carman
591:Former
528:Blanca
341:Carman
88:Gospel
1066:Petra
437:then-
321:Petra
245:from
84:Genre
1432:2016
1321:ISSN
1271:2007
777:Evie
746:Dove
736:Dana
598:4Him
230:and
181:and
121:.com
56:1951
52:1951
281:EMI
214:'s
1481::
1423:.
1288:^
1245:^
1233:^
469:.
453:,
395:,
391:,
387:,
379:,
375:,
371:,
367:,
363:,
359:,
355:,
351:,
343:,
339:,
335:,
331:,
327:,
323:,
319:,
315:,
311:,
307:,
303:,
299:,
295:,
283:.
269:.
253:.
234:.
226:,
222:,
204:.
185:.
90:,
1434:.
1327:.
1273:.
58:)
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