The Petra Zone

I'm just curious, when's the last time you heard a Petra song on the radio, and what song was it? If your Christian radio station is anything like mine, they still play staple songs from years ago (Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, etc); however, I can't recall EVER hearing a Petra song on the radio.

I remember as a little kid (now I'm a big kid ) I would hear "Lord I Lift Your Name" on the radio. Dunno if that counts though...

My wife, who is NOT a Petra fan, can actually hum the tune to "Thankful Heart" and "The Coloring Song" having heard them play on Christian radio when she was a kid.

The last Petra song I remember hearing was "Breathe In." I think it only got played on AIR-1 because it didn't sound like Petra (i.e. Pete Orta singing lead). Didn't get a ton of airplay.

I heard that ALL FIRED UP was played recently on Fox News. This is not the first report... there's been at least 4-5 times people have said they heard the song (a portion, not the whole thing). SOMEONE there likes Petra!

No Doubt was on the Charter Cable Christian Radio channel a couple of years ago ...

I had never heard Petra on our local station until about two weeks ago. It was during a segment where the play two songs from a given artist. They played The Coloring Song and, oddly enough, Hand on My Heart.

What about John's Christmas album? We've got 3 different radio stations here in Nashville that play Christmas music this time of year; however, all I seem to hear in heavy rotation are The Carpenters, Michael W. Smith, and Burl Ives. Has anyone heard any of John's Christmas songs on the radio, and if so, which one(s)?

You only get onto radio playlists on small indie stations by gorilla marketing (lots and lots and lots and lots of phone calls). But the stations have to have the tunes. Then they have to track playback, pay, etc. For the larger networks and their associated labels and publishing companies, it takes money. Since John is not on a related major label, and probably does not have an independent rep to pimp, load and track the music on the Program Directors FTP site, John is not likely going to be on KLove or Air1 or the large independents. There are some exceptions. A cuh-rap ton of calls in high concentration, and the love, respect, etc of a PM can do it.

It has been about twenty years since I heard Petra in the Houston market. The big player of ccm does not cater to the Petra demographic. Pretty much Mercy Me and Hillsong is all they program.