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Christian Country Musician Allen Frizzell to Visit Grapeland

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

GRAPELAND –  Country Christian musician Allen Frizzell will hold a concert and give his testimony Sunday, Aug. 21 at Grapeland Baptist Church. The concert is free to all and will begin at 6 p.m.

Frizzell is brother to country legends David and Lefty Frizzell. Lefty inspired music legends from Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson with his country classics “If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time”, and “Saginaw, Michigan.” Brother David carried on the tradition with such hits as “I’m Going to Hire a Wino to Decorate our Home”, and “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma” in a duet with Shelly West.

Growing up in such an atmosphere, Allen couldn’t help but inherit the family talent. He started woking in music when he was 19. Along with singing and playing guitar, Allen is a songwriter in his own right – winning the Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) Million-Air performance award.

After performing and working on the West Coast and in Nashville with performers such as Dottie West, Frizzell is now enjoying a new passion – touring the country playing country Christian music. He released an album of gospel songs in 2007 with several hitting number one in the charts.

Frizzell said growing up with such a family made music a forgone conclusion for him at a young age. 

“There were several of us that were musical,” Frizzell explained. “Of course, Lefty started it all, and then my brother David and myself. In fact, we were just over in Carthage. They put my brother David in the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame. Nineteen years ago they put Lefty in. I said, ‘While I’m here just put me in too!’”

Frizzell and his wife attended a church in the Nashville area where he worked as the church’s music coordinator. From time to time he would write songs of his own. These songs became so popular people began to ask for recordings to listen to them at home. 

“I thought I would make a CD,” Frizzell remembered. “The Lord just called me to do it. I remember telling my wife, ‘The Lord wants us to go into the ministry full time and that’s what we’re going to do.’ She said, ‘I think that’s great, but how do we make a living?’ I said, ‘I have no idea! I just plan on doing what He wants.’”

After the CD came out and became a hit, Frizzell wasn’t sure if life on the road would meet with his new life as a Christian singer and songwriter. He decided to make his family part of the show and take them on the road with him. 

“When we went out, we had a daughter and a son,” Frizzell said. “Our daughter was 17 and our son was 13. I taught her how to play bass and taught him to play mandolin and guitar. I had a little band so to speak. We had another guy with us and we just went out and started playing. I was really proud of my kids – they got really good really fast.”

The current tour is bringing Frizzell to churches and venues large and small. He plays for small rural churches all the way up to crowds of 15,000. 

Frizzell is doing well now after having a heart attack and open heart surgery four months ago. Frizzell was not feeling well and it was his wife who suggested they stop the tour and go home to get checked out. The next day Frizzell was having a heart attack as they made their way to the doctor. 

The group will be at a Centerville church this Sunday morning before coming down to Grapeland. 

“We sure do want to invite everyone out to see us in Grapeland,” Frizzell concluded. “I have had people come out to see me just because of my name, or because of my brothers – and they are still in church today. We try to hopefully bless the folks and give them a chance to get their lives going right.”

The music and the message will start 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21 at Grapeland Baptist Church, located at 501 Augusta Road in Grapeland. For more information, call the church at 936-687-2445. 

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]

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