Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
General Christian
Religious Music and Entertainment
As His New Project ‘Kingdoms Fall’ Releases, Singer-Songwriter Regie Hamm Explains Why He Almost Quit Music

As His New Project ‘Kingdoms Fall’ Releases, Singer-Songwriter Regie Hamm Explains Why He Almost Quit Music

Last updated on: October 11, 2023 at 10:21 pm by DeWayne Hamby

0 Comments

As His New Project ‘Kingdoms Fall’ Releases, Singer-Songwriter Regie Hamm Explains Why He Almost Quit Music 2023-10-11T22:21:45-04:00 DeWayne Hamby

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

GRAMMY and Dove Award-nominated singer-songwriter and author Regie Hamm (“Time of My Life,” “Babies”) returned to his love of music with the recently released album, “Kingdoms Fall.” A gifted songwriter with 18 number one hits and honored as SESAC Songwriter of the Year four times, the new project brings with it a new collection of story-driven tunes, such as “The Wrong Kind of Elvis,” “Jesus Saves My Soul,” “Me and This Piano” and “Let ‘Em Go.”

Regie Hamm image courtesy of One G Records

My history with Hamm goes back to the late 80’s through our denominational church circles. Singing as part of a group that I thought was going to be bigger than Petra, I was an instant fan. As a music journalist connected through mutual friends and later directly through social media, I saw his talents continue to open doors. He first penned hit songs for Christian artists such as Point of Grace, Avalon, Clay Crosse, and others before charting a solo career and gaining a huge platform when his song “Time of My Life” was chosen as the lead single for David Cook, the winner of the seventh season of “American Idol.”

If there was a “phone-a-friend” question on a game show for a hit songwriter or a music producer, Hamm would have been my go-to. Everything I knew about him proved that music was always in his blood and in his father’s blood before him. He was a prodigy, always rolling out new songs and projects. Imagine my surprise, however, when we sat down for a conversation on his new project, “Kingdoms Fall,” to learn a shocking truth—he almost walked away from it all. Actually, he did.

Going full speed as a singer and musician since he was five, Hamm came to the realization a few years ago that maybe he was just doing going through the motions. Maybe he wasn’t doing music because he loved it, but because he’d just always done it.

“I was a child performer, and it really colored and affected a lot of my life,” he said. “And as we dug into that, I started asking myself this really fundamental question of, ‘Do I actually like to make music?’ Or was this just something I’ve been doing since I was five and knew how to do. I came to this conclusion . . . ‘No, I don’t think I do’.”

After a meeting over a possible new songwriting contract, Hamm became physically ill at the thought of continuing “this song and dance.” He thought back to the last thing he ever did for a living that wasn’t music oriented. Soon, the sounds of piano keys were replaced by the delicious aroma of pepperoni as returned to his teenage side hustle of delivering pizzas for Domino’s.

“At this point I was in my early 50’s, so all the kids there thought I was an ‘Undercover Boss’,” he said. “People would Google me and be like, ‘Dude, what are you doing here?’ It was a weird journey.”

The first night on the clock, Regie was tearful as he closed the store and realized “there was a lot of stuff that I needed to grieve that I’d never had time to think about.” Soon, however, he was spending 10 hours in his car every day, delivering pizza, and “loving it,” with the recording studio in his rear-view window.

But objects were much closer than they appeared. Melodies and lyrics started swirling in his head and he refused, saying “I don’t want you, I’m done with you, I’m not going to write you, I’m not going to sing you.” Song after song, however, kept percolating, and then he started to write them down. By the end of the year, there were 25 songs and had a decision to make. He once again hung up his uniform and headed back to the studio to work on a project that would become “Kingdoms Fall.” After initially recording two songs, Covid-19 hit, the world shut down and he contracted the virus and nearly died. Then he broke his wrist and couldn’t write. After recovery, he quit drinking, broke his wrist again, whittled the songs down to seven, wrote three more tracks, and approached the record with a new focus.

“It was a weird series of events,” he said. “This is the first record of my adult life that I did completely sober, so it was it was a big deal for me. It also feels like the only record that I’ve ever worked on that I didn’t get any kind of fatigue, no ear fatigue. I didn’t get tired of it. I would just come to work every morning. And I just loved doing it. It was so cathartic.”

That carefree approach also influenced the sounds on the record, he said, alternating between 80’s retro with 90’s rock and 70’s funk.

“I’ve never done a record that was more ‘me’ than this,” he said. “It’s all the music I love.”

Although he played most of the instruments on the album, Hamm is keen to debut “Kingdoms Fall” with a live band after doing solo shows for the better part of the last two decades.

“I think it’s a theater show,” he said. “It’s me and four other guys handpicked musicians that are some of my favorites in Nashville. Someone at the listening party, someone said, Man, you should you need to do this live. And I was like, ‘You know what, I think that’s not a bad idea’.”

While Hamm has created a project tailor made to his musical tastes and admittedly is less concerned with radio airplay or popularity, he still remembers the reaction of one of his biggest fans. His son Gabe had crafted the melody and concept for the title song and Hamm was blown away. He then asked Gabe’s permission to work on it, a song centering on their family, and use it for the record.

“We had a great moment at the listening party,” Hamm recalled. “He opted not to listen to it until then. When he heard it, he jumped up and gave me a big hug. And it was like this three-hankie moment, and I will remember that for the rest of my life.”

“Kingdoms Fall” by Regie Hamm is now available through digital music outlets. For more information, click here. Watch an extended interview with Regie Hamm and DeWayne Hamby below.

General Christian

Religious Music and Entertainment

Music

American Idol

Christian Music

contemporary Christian music

Regie Hamm

Previous Post

October 11, 2023

High-Profile Attorney Willie Gary's "David Vs. Goliath" Story Detailed in Amazon Prime Film 'The Burial'

Next Post

October 12, 2023 Lucas Black Saddles Up for New Faith-Based Western 'Birthright: Outlaw'

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Trying to find tickets but there are none."

raphael

“Beyond Belief”: Petra’s 80s Rock Hits ..."

"This is a well - written and insightful article. The points you covered are very ..."

Jobs

New Angel Studios Good Samaritan Film ..."

"Why are so many people trying to normalize this vile behavior. He was a racist, ..."

CarletteHarris0731

Wrestling Champ Hulk Hogan Brought His ..."

"He was a stone cold racist"

Jon Altman

Wrestling Champ Hulk Hogan Brought His ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Comics Movies Music Plays and Musicals Podcasts Television Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 September 2015 July 2015 March 2015 November 2014 September 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 May 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 February 2012 December 2011 November 2011 August 2011 July 2011 March 2011 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 April 2006 February 2006 December 2005 October 2005 September 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 February 2005

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How did Jesus die?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Stoning Crucifixion Spearing Hanging