David Robertson / Star Song

Soul Embrace

There is a touch that is warm beyond belief, secure, and undeniably inviting. Surer than a homecoming - it is - as David Robertson's debut for Star Song Records declares the Soul Embrace.

With powerful pop tunes and a scrapbook of emotions that wrap themselves through common messages of love, hope, and forgiveness, Soul Embrace is the completion of an eight-year journey for Robertson, best known for his tenure with the popular group The Imperials, and his chart-topping songwriting with hits like "It's Raining Again," "Come Let Us Worship Jesus," and "I Will Follow You."

The man who ran to Los Angeles from the hills of Pennsylvania with thoughts of pop stardom on his mind began as the son of a second generation preacher singing at camp meetings, his young frame lifted on a piano stool. Robertson remembers, "Being a part of the ministry was being a part of the family and I never second guessed my role that dictated my contribution as soon as I was able to carry a tune. Singing was a large part of my upbringing."

A slightly uneventful childhood yielded the way for Robertson's more controversial plan for adulthood as the then eighteen-year-old announced his intent to move to Los Angeles and realize his singular dream of becoming a pop star. "How did my parents respond? Well, it wasn't God, this is just what we prayed for! I can tell you that."

Predictably, Robertson admits that upon his arrival in California, "I got into things that I shouldn't have," quickly jumping into the L.A. music scene's carousel of drugs, drinking and self-abuse. For several years Robertson pursued his dreams, playing in a few top 40 bands, organizing a band or two while putting together demos for local publishers.

"As a writer and a session player you take your craft and you keep working it. Sometimes, it is all you can do. L.A. is so huge and so diverse that it took me years to figure out the place. Moving from a town of 800 people to a huge city was difficult and I had to work hard to define who I was musically and personally. Still, I had no intention of becoming a singer in the Christian music industry until my conversion several years later."

Meanwhile back in the hills of Pennsylvania after years of praying for their son and brother, Robertson's family decided to take a new approach to reach David. "My brother told my family that in addition to praying for me, they should start praying for my friends. Soon after, my friend Andy committed his life to Jesus and then another friend did the same. It wasn't long before I went to a Bible study. God had really begun to speak to my heart and as I listened to my friends talk about their lives, I began to think about my own.

"One day I was driving through town, flipping through the dials looking for a good song on the radio and stopped at some Christian station. There I was sitting in a parking lot listening to this song, really having a sense for the first time in years that I was lost. Talk about having blinders on. God pulled them back for just a moment and I saw my life for the first time in 23 years. I sat there and cried."

Robertson gave his heart to the Lord but was having greater difficulty turning his life over. "I looked at everything I was involved with morally and wanted to clean myself up before I went back to Bible study. I think there are a lot of people out there who have a sense of who God is and want God to wrap His arms around them but think they're too unclean. And they think that maybe one day they'll clean themselves up and can get their act together.

"There's a phrase I heard one day that says that God didn't say 'Change so I can love you,' but rather 'Let me love you, so you can change.' That statement has had a profound affect on me."

Robertson would go on to make a difficult choice - after years in the L.A. scene, he decided to pursue a career in Christian music. It was not an easy change. "This was a dream I had - to be in secular music. I had spent years working at it.

"And yet, I knew that if I continued in secular music I would pour my life into that business. But if I went into Christian music, not only could I hope to speak into other people's lives, but God would continue to speak into my life. I knew that God wanted me in Christian music.

With the decision made, Robertson began the arduous task of changing his approach to making music. "I knew how to write secular songs, but I didn't know how to write Christian songs," he smilingly remembers. "Today, I still look at the songs that I have written and can't imagine how I did it. They are so beyond me. And I remember His words...'Not by power, not by might, but by my spirit, says the Lord.'"

Robertson's first step into Christian music were slow and cautious. Numerous solo possibilities were bantered about. Finally, Robertson's musical career took an interesting turn as he joined the well-known Christian establishment, The Imperials.

Robertson toured with the band for over a year contributing his writing skills to The Imperials' comeback album, Love's Still Changing Hearts. It seemed as soon as Robertson joined the group he would move on to pursue a solo deal. "God ordained my time with The Imperials and he dictated my departure. God made it a good departure, and after my last concert we gathered on the bus, held hands and prayed for my future."

Soul Embrace, Robertson's first solo album, produced by Paul Mills and Diane Louie, would take him back to his former group's label, Star Song Records, and features musicians Jerry McPherson, Mark Hammond, Phil Madiera, and Chris Rodriguez. With song titles that include "Everybody Needs Jesus," "Good-bye to Me," and "Wise Man," Robertson speaks from a heart and a past filled with an appreciation of God's mercy and grace. The lyrics of "I Believe in Love," the first single released, beautifully reflects the hope and encouragement carefully woven throughout the whole album:

"I may not be all I should be yet, but I'm not what I was, And I know I owe all the changes in me to the power of Your love..."

"I tried to make my choices on what I think God would have me do. However, the other side of that is that I am human. I'm trying to live my life before the Lord knowing that I am not there yet and it is a daily thing, but it is my ultimate desire when all is said and done to be a servant and to live my life before the Lord."

The Journey

I've waited a long time to put out my first record. Much of it's been due to God's timing and some of it's been due to my fears. Walking down the long road that has led me to this day, I've encountered many travelers along the way who have taken their time to feed me, guide me, and love me beyond human capacity.

Let me share a small part of my journey. I was born into a pastor's home. My parents, Reverend David and Agnes Robertson, were people who served God and whose lives of ministry reached far beyond the church walls. Thank God for their example of selfless giving. Thank God for servants.

I was raised to love and serve God, but after leaving home and moving to LA., I found myself drifting away from all I'd been taught to embrace. My family prayed that God would put someone in my path who would call me back to the things I'd known. Their prayers were answered. Two friends, Andy Andrzejewski and Darrell Brown, invited me to a bible study (being taught by Pat Benatar's mother, Millie Andrzejewski). I thought, "Hey, this could be interesting," and so I went. Little did I know that this would be the night God would change my life. Thank God for servants.

I look back today on that night ten years ago and thank God He didn't say, "Change so I can love you," but He said, "Let Me love you so you can change." Part of that process of change was drawing me out of the secular music industry where I'd worked for years and into the service of Christian Music. God used several key people in that process. John Wierick, Billy Smiley, Don Boyer and Bill Gaither all had a vital impact on my life and the direction it was headed at that time. I needed their support and encouragement during those days more than they'll ever know. Thank God for servants.

After several years of being involved in Christian Music, I was asked to join the Imperials. The lessons I learned while in the group have been invaluable. Thank God for servants.

For the past three years, I've been involved with Kingdom Building Ministries and I have seen modeled before my eyes and heart lives of service and sacrifice. Thank God for servants.

Over the past year, as I sought out a record company to work in ministry with, I prayed diligently that God would deliver me into the hands of those who could best support me in what I've been called to do. He has done just that. To all those at Star Song: I pray, as we step forward together in ministry, that our outreach will profoundly touch lives and that someday some heart that has been changed may speak of the work that we've done and say, "Thank God for servants."

A message from David Robertson about Kingdom Building Ministries

Copyright 1995 by Star Song Communications and Christian Music Online.

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