The Rise, Fall and Rise of Mylon LeFevre

In this week's Untold Stories of Rock we take a look at one Mylon LeFevre, Christian preacher and teacher and one time drug-addicted friend of every decadent rock star under the sun.

Way back in 1961 Mylon, Southern son, 17-year-old army recruit, wrote the gospel song 'Without Him'. This song took off like wildfire, recorded by none other than Elvis in 1963 and then by a massive 126 artists in 1964.

Nine years later he broke ground again, releasing one of the first ever Christian rock albums, Mylon, an album that,along with his very brief membership of Southern rock band Atlanta Rhythmn Section, took him to minor national fame (his claim to have formed the band is debated by its other members).

The next ten years heralded a gradual process of deterioration. As a friend and collaborator with the likes of Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, the Who, Ten Years After, Rick Derringer and Traffic, one could argue that he never had a chance.

Heroin nearly killed him in 1979, an event that caused him to return to his church-baed roots.

All this is well and good you might say, but was his music any good? God knows anyone slightly associated with 'Christian rock' can produce some of the worst music ever made on the planet. The answer has to be a resounding 'Amen', at least if you listen to his secular album, On the Road to Freedom (1973), with the great bluesman Alvin Lee. With guests like George Harrison, Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Mick Fleetwood, and Ron Wood one can argue that it would be hard to get it wrong. Mylon, however, holds his own with these magastars, writing most of the material and producing one of the least appreciated albums of the '70's.

Here's a taste of Mylon and Alvin: