Steve Taylor: CCM's Greatest Lyricist — The Prophet in a Plaid Suit

Was Steve Taylor the greatest lyricist contemporary Christian music ever produced? We think so — and in this episode of More Cowbell Please, we make the case.

We attended a recent Steve Taylor concert and came away convinced this man never got the tribute he deserved. So here it is. From his origins as a preacher's kid in Northglenn, Colorado — forbidden from listening to secular music until his mid-teens — to hearing The Clash at Biola University and changing CCM forever, this is the full Steve Taylor story.

We cover:

✅ His biography and origin story

✅ The songs that rattled the church — Guilty By Association, We Don't Need No Color Code, I Want to Be a Clone, Meltdown at Madame Tussauds, On the Fritz and more

✅ His role shaping the Newsboys' greatest era

✅ Founding Squint Entertainment and launching Sixpence None the Richer

✅ His film career including Blue Like Jazz

✅ The Dead Sea Squirrels — his new animated series with VeggieTales co-creator Mike Nawrocki

✅ Concert footage including the band — Peter Furler (Newsboys), Mark Lee Townsend and John Mark Painter

✅ Why CCM needs more voices like his today

Whether you grew up on 80s Christian music, work in the CCM industry, or you're just discovering Steve Taylor for the first time — this one's for you.

🎵 Songs Featured:Guilty By Association | We Don't Need No Color Code | On the Fritz | Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's | Dead Sea Squirrels Theme

🎸 Band: Steve Taylor | Peter Furler | Mark Lee Townsend | John Mark Painter | Caroline Francis | Kelle | Libby Cates | Kennoniah Dean Bellile

📺

0:00 Cold Open — "We Don't Need No Color Code"

0:26 Introduction

1:21 Origins — Preacher's Kid from Colorado

1:47 Discovering The Clash & New Wave

2:55 The Estes Park Signing

3:28 First Record Release

3:47 CCM in the Early 80s — The Landscape

4:38 "I Want to Be a Clone"

5:14 "This Disco Used to Be a Nice Cathedral"

6:08 "On the Fritz"

6:39 "I Blew Up the Clinic Real Good"

7:15 The Controversy & His Critics

7:32 "Guilty By Association" (Live)

8:50 "We Don't Need No Color Code" (Live)

9:54 "Whatcha Gonna Do When Your Number's Up"

10:22 "Sin for a Season"

10:39 "Meltdown at Madame Tussaud's" (Live)

11:04 The "Some Band" Lineup

11:31 Peter Furler

11:54 Steve Taylor & the Newsboys

12:25 The Iconic Suit & the Museum of CCM

13:10 Chagall Guevara1

3:35 Squint Entertainment1

3:54 Blue Like Jazz & Film Career

14:05 The Dead Sea Squirrels

15:53 The Randy Newman Moment (Live)

16:39 "Hero" & the Woody Allen Story

17:28 Steve Taylor's Legacy

18:04 Where to Find Steve's Music

🎧ALL EPISODES:.https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBt6FZ88v_g64fr3KfLjQgPIM0vUYRZy9PODCAST:Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0v9dEeIH0OeP1chxSfQ7gj?si=d0HmJihHTjGhiEuwP8cYewListen on Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-cowbell-please/id1796605641