18 Facts About Bart Millard

Bart Marshall Millard was born on December 1,1972 and is an American singer and songwriter who is best known as the leader of the band MercyMe.

Bart Millard has released two solo albums: Hymned, No 1, in 2005 and Hymned Again in 2008.

Bart Millard received a solo Grammy nomination in the category of Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album for the latter album.

In high school, Millard wanted to become a football player, a dream which ended when he injured both ankles at a high school football game.

Bart Millard accepted and worked with the video and audio systems for the group.

Bart Millard made a promise to his grandmother to record an album of hymns before she died, which he did with Hymned No 1, and he subsequently shared the story of how he was inspired by his grandmother's faith.

Bart Millard made the second of his two hymn albums because he realized that the church he was attending did not sing hymns and he wanted his children to have hymns as a part of their lives.

Bart Millard said his dad heavily influenced him in his musical direction with respect to the hymn albums, drawing particularly on Willie Nelson and Louie Prima.

Bart Millard stated that these influences would not be appropriate for MercyMe, as MercyMe is similar to Coldplay, while these hymns are more in the vein of Frank Sinatra.

Bart Millard said that he embarked on his solo effort in order to give expression to musical styles that would not have been compatible with MercyMe.

Bart Millard said that they sang a Hank Williams song called "I Saw the Light" in his church growing up.

Bart Millard said he accomplished this by listening to a stack of albums by these musicians.

Bart Millard said the songs on the album Hymned Again are in the tradition of the Great Revival era musically, but that this was not done on purpose.

Bart Millard is featured as a vocalist on "I See Love", a 2004 single by Third Day and Steven Curtis Chapman.

Bart Millard is featured as a backing vocalist on Phil Wickham's 2009 single "Safe".

Bart Millard was deemed the Best Male Vocalist by Christianity Today in 2005 for his work on his solo album Hymned No 1 and for The Christmas Sessions album with MercyMe.

Bart Millard's Hymned No 1 was ranked No 9 on Christianity Today's Best Christian Albums of 2005.

Bart Millard is from Greenville, Texas, where he and his wife Shannon currently live.