Chris Tomlin and John Crist recalled the time when the crowd did not know “Amazing Grace.” The singer-songwriter and the popular comedian hilariously reminisced about an instance when many people in the audience were completely baffled and seemingly unaware of one of the most iconic songs of all time. Watch the short but hilarious clip to hear Chris and John discuss this shocking, utterly surprising moment.
There are some songs, regardless of musical tastes and preferences or belief systems, that everyone knows. One of those songs is “Amazing Grace.” It’s such an iconic and beloved song that many people can sing it entirely from memory and even recognize it within the first few notes. It’s played and performed constantly. YouTube is full of videos in which people cover that old church hymn.
“Amazing Grace” is a tune that has been available for hundreds of years. It’s not like it’s some new, secretive Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga song that accidentally got leaked to the public. People know about “Amazing Grace,” or at least you would think so. But, as astonishing as it may be, there appear to be some people who are unfamiliar with it.
In a clip posted on YouTube, John mentions that he was with Chris during a Sunday morning Easter service at Bristol Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. The service was before a race, and as John mentions, some drivers were in attendance. At some point during the service, Chris performed “Amazing Grace,” which led both to make the astonishing discovery.
“And they went to the crowd, people didn’t know it,” John said. “And I was like, ‘Hey, that’s not a good sign.’ I go, ‘This is our main one.’”
“This is ‘Amazing Grace,’” Chris said. “This is the top.”
“This is our number one,” John added.
“This is our biggest one,” Chris said. “We don’t have anything else after this. If ‘Amazing Grace’ fails, you got nowhere to go. You have no other place to turn to.”
“That’s like walking around at, like, NASCAR, ‘You don’t know who Dale Earnhardt is?’”
Ephesians 2:8 “Because by grace you have salvation through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is given by God:”