Stonehill, whose discography spans over thirty-one years, first took to melding his honest lyrics of faith, struggle and hope with rootsy folk-rock music in 1970 under the tutelage of his friend and fellow Jesus Rocker Larry Norman. Alongside a small cadre of Christian artists considered too “Christian” for the mainstream and too “Rock and Roll” for the church, Stonehill blazed trails that are now easily traveled by Christian musicians, influencing countless young fans and future artists along the way. The first decade of his career saw him release a string of records with Norman’s help, including the groundbreaking and massively influential Welcome To Paradise album of 1976. Stonehill’s deft touch with a lyric, his unique and engaging voice and his endearing wit and spirit made him an early and long-time favorite of thousands.

In the 80’s Stonehill developed further as one of the premier artists in the emerging “contemporary Christian music” subculture via a long-term relationship with Myrrh Records and a string of critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums, including Equator, Celebrate This Heartbeat, Love Beyond Reason, and Return To Paradise. Rock fans loved his commitment to guitars, hooks and classic sounds, and his lovingly subversive humor. Christian radio embraced his ballads and pop ditties for their spiritual meat and their irresistible tunefulness. Live audiences packed into churches, schools and theaters where the songsmith would leave them laughing, thinking and humming all at once, night after night. Compared favorably to veteran rock and pop artists like Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Paul McCartney and Elton John, Stonehill seemed to get better with age.

The nineties saw Stonehill stay his course as a thoughtful, organic singer-songwriter despite massive changes in the industry he had inadvertently helped to birth. Continued incessant live performances and a string of the most acclaimed records of his career dominated the third decade of the southern California native. With his 1991, Terry Taylor produced masterpiece Wonderama, and his 1998 Rick Elias-produced classic Thirst, Stonehill grew elegantly into one of the true statesmen of contemporary Christian music.

Photo from: Canadian Christianity

On the thirtieth anniversary of his music ministry Stonehill took another in a series of bold steps in his career. His irascible inner child came scampering to the surface in the persona of “Uncle Stonehill” via an independent concept album “for children of all ages” called Uncle Stonehill’s Hat. “Many people who started coming to my concerts years ago in high school or college,” the now officially “whacky” uncle explains, “are returning these days with their own kids.” Again, with the help of Terry Taylor, Stonehill challenged the status quo in Christian music, especially the kiddie type. “Children really seem to connect with the kid in me,” the singer adds, “so he’s coming out to play more!” The independent CD (released in limited quantities through his own Holy Sombrero imprint) did indeed capture the imaginations of young people and not-so-young people alike, and was even developed as a full production stage musical in the fall of 2002. “It was really exciting to see how well it worked in that capacity,” Stonehill enthuses. “We’re not sure how God might grow the vision for this aspect of my music, so we’re really casting our bread upon the water as it were.” Stonehill has spent the last four years creating the wonderful world inside Uncle Stonehill’s Hat and exploring just how far down the mythological pathway he can go. All the while, however, he has maintained a constant concert schedule, criss-crossing the country performing his classics, like “Shut De Do,” “King Of Hearts,” “Great Big Stupid World” and “American Fast Food.” [ posted on Randy Stonehill's Website ]