preserving her artistic and religious integrity. The
latter task would be difficult: No Contemporary
Christian act had yet proved palatable to the Top 40
masses.
It was into this atmosphere of anticipation that
Grant released her 1985 albumUnguarded, the first to
be released simultaneously on both a gospel and a
mainstream label (Myrrh and A&M Records, respec-
tively). The album’s being released with four differ-
ent covers emphasized the seriousness behind the
hopes for its success. Enhanced by what was then the
brightest production of Grant’s career,Unguarded
highlighted her upbeat disposition while down-
playing the overt Christianity for which she had be-
come famous. Songs such as “Love of Another Kind,”
“Everywhere I Go,” and the album’s hit single “Find a
Way” (accompanied by an MTV video) were crafted
to evoke thoughts of romantic love on pop radio and
thoughts of divine love on Christian airwaves.
The obviousness of the strategy was not lost on
Grant’s core audience—a portion of which accused
her of “selling out”—or on secular critics, many of
whom dismissedUnguardedas evangelism in pop
clothing. Nevertheless, the album sold well enough
and generated enough positive attention to estab-
lish Grant’s credibility as a mainstream performer.
She solidified her new standing in December, 1986,
when her duet with former Chicago lead singer
Peter Cetera, “The Next Time I Fall,” became the
number-one song in the United States. A track from
Cetera’s albumSolitude/Solitaire, the song was pro-
duced by Michael Omartian, who, as the producer of
hit gospel albums by the Imperials and hit pop al-
bums by Donna Summer and Rod Stewart, was in
many ways a perfect match for Grant’s own sacred-
secular sensibilities.
Impact In abolishing the wall separating Contem-
porary Christian music and secular pop, Grant made
possible the 1990’s crossover success of Christian
acts such as Michael W. Smith, Kathy Troccoli, Bob
Carlisle, and Sixpence None the Richer, as well as
the quadruple-platinum sales of her own 1991 al-
bumHeart in Motion.
Further Reading
Millard, Bob.Amy Grant: The Life of a Pop Star. New
York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 1996.
Powell, Mark Allan.Encyclopedia of Contemporar y Chris-
tian Music. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2002.
Arsenio Orteza
See also MTV; Music; Pop music; Religion and
spirituality in the United States.Grenada invasion
The Event U.S. forces invade Grenada to rescue
threatened Americans and topple a pro-Soviet
regime
Date October 25-December 15, 1983
Place Grenada island, Grenadines chain,
Caribbean Sea
With the invasion of Grenada, the United States demon-
strated its willingness to remove by force procommunist re-
gimes, especially those close near its borders. The invasion
sent a clear message to the Soviet Union that President Ron-
ald Reagan intended to confront the Soviets in a wider Cold
War arena.
Originally a long-term British possession in the Ca-
ribbean, Grenada attempted to position itself outside
of the U.S. sphere of influence. In 1979, a pro-Soviet
coup led by Maurice Bishop toppled the British-
established government, and Bishop’s regime be-
gan to receive support from the Soviet Union and
Cuba. This support included large caches of Soviet
weapons and assistance by Cuban engineers to con-
struct a large airport at Point Salinas, on the south-
west corner of the island. President Ronald Reagan,
sensitive to Soviet threats to the United States, be-
lieved that the airport was intended to serve a mili-
tary function, specifically to support Cuban forces
aiding pro-Soviet causes in Africa. The Grenadian
government claimed the airport was intended to
facilitate the tourist trade. Tensions on the island in-
creased after October 13, 1983, when Bernard Coard,
an ardent communist who believed that Bishop was
not actively pursuing an authentically Marxist
agenda, seized power. In subsequent days, Coard’s
forces executed Bishop and suppressed pro-Bishop
protests with deadly force.
The main official U.S. interest in Grenada was the
safety of the approximately six hundred American
citizens on the island, most of them medical stu-
dents at St. George’s University, which was located
near the airport under construction at Point Salinas.
Concerned about regional stability, on October 22
the Organization of East Caribbean States (OECS)
asked the United States to intervene in Grenada.
The Department of Defense hastily made plans to430 Grenada invasion The Eighties in America