Australian musician Rod Boucher has done it all, from musicals, folk and rock bands, to drama and street theatre. He became a bit of a YouTube sensation when his 1981 ad for the Christian Television Association achieved widespread interest, but  I was keen to explore who the man was behind all the music.  

For this episode I was honoured to interview Rod Boucher.

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For more information about Rod, including links to his music, see:

General Information and projects:

https://aussiegrownradio.com/artists/rod-boucher/

https://www.songs-of-faith-hope-and-love.com/artists

Links to Music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-EQ2x1N5PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57KE3DJOcYM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IuaDuv3_qc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2a4y_2JHqY

Big hair, scrunchies, and colourful leotards? Check. Gospel music and shout- outs to Jesus? Check. Welcome to the strange world of 1980s Christian aerobics. 

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Sources:

Leslie Barker, “Believers get their Kicks out of Exercising,” South Florida Sun Sentinel, June 13, 1987, https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1987-06-13-8702220031-story.html

Frank Schaeffer, Addicted to Mediocrity: 20th Century Christians and the Arts (Westchester: Crossway, 1981).

Michael Hirsley, “The 1987 Doobies,” Chicago Tribune, December 30, 1987, https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-12-30-8704060974-story.html

United Press International “Dump Pounds to Gospel Beath,” The Battalion, November 11, 1982, https://newspaper.library.tamu.edu/lccn/sn86088544/1982-11-11/ed-1/seq-18/

“Sweating to Bible Verses,” The Over Educated Housewife Blog, https://theovereducatedhousewife.home.blog/tag/mary-chapian/

Carla Hall, “Cheryl Prewitt’s Born-Again American Beauty,” Washington Post, May 27, 1980, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/05/27/cheryl-prewitts-born-again-american-beauty/0ef867a5-ac68-4274-b387-6391d215a877/

Remember the Satanic Panic? The preacher Fletcher A. Brothers certainly does. In 1987 he wrote a book titled the Rock Report, which he used to denounce the Satanic nature of rock music. Join me as I take a look at the content of the Rock Report, as well as the more sinister revelations to emerge in relation to Brother’s youth outreach facility….

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Sources:

Fletcher A. Brothers, The Rock Report: An Uncensored Look into Today’s Rock Music Scene!   (Lancaster: Starburst, 1987).  

Fletcher A. Brothers personal website: www.fletcherbrothersministries.org

Steve Mills, “Where Did All the Money Go?” Democrat & Chronicle, March 21, 1993, https://www.democratandchronicle.com/picture-gallery/news/2019/07/18/freedom-village-and-pastor-fletcher-brothers-reporting/1594421001/

Thad Moore and Stephen Hobbs, “Christian Teen Home Relocating to SC Mountains Punished Students on ‘the Woodpile,’” Post and Courier, April 14, 2019, https://www.postandcourier.com/news/christian-teen-home-relocating-to-sc-mountains-punishes-students-on-the-woodpile/article_990f2aa8-5166-11e9-947d-2bc190c60cb4.html