Christian singer Carman bounces back

The Christian music industry may have left one-time superstar Carman behind, but the singer is bouncing back - even after a life-threatening cancer diagnosis.

The singer, whose full name is Carman Licciardello, was a sensation in the 1980s and early '90s with chart-topping hits, multiple awards and massive concerts.

Then, he all but disappeared - releasing a few albums here and there, acting some, hosting television shows, but nothing on the level to which he or his fans had become accustomed.

"I haven't been trying since 2000," Licciardello said.

Then, he announced on his Facebook page in February 2013 that he had been diagnosed with what was thought to be incurable multiple myeloma.

Fans came out of the woodwork with messages of support, giving him the momentum to launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new album, "No Plan B," for which he raised more than $535,000.

Now, he's in full remission, and Carman is in the midst of his first tour in 15 years, including a stop in Amarillo for a 7 p.m. Saturday concert in the Amarillo High School auditorium, 4225 Danbury St.

"It's the last thing that I expected," Licciardello said. "It feels great to be out there touring again, doing what you do best.

"It's right. It's natural. It allows me to do the things I know how to do and have prepared for for decades," he said.

Licciardello, 59, sold more than 10 million albums by the height of his career and attracted tens of thousands of fans to shows all over the world.

But by the early 1990s, the evangelical singer found his career foundering and never made the cross-over to pop charts as contemporaries like Amy Grant did.

Eventually, he stopped trying.

"The music business changed," Licciardello said. "The Christian companies were purchased by secular companies, and secular companies think differently than Christian companies do as far as an artist's value.

"It's kind of sad, because you're on a roll and have seven gold records in a row," he continued. "In their mind, they're thinking they want a double platinum, a triple platinum, and in the Christian market, that's impossible. It may happen with someone with a crossover hit, but it's rare. ... By trying to go after those sales, it kind of denatured what Christian music was."

So Licciardello moved on, working with Trinity Broadcasting Network and doing speaking tours, mostly.

"But it wasn't what I do best," Licciardello said.

That's why he was pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming reaction to his cancer diagnosis and Kickstarter campaign: "Wow, I guess I'm back in the business again."

He said he doesn't think his diagnosis helped him refocus his energy on his music career, "but it does take a little of the edge off the things you worry about - the things you're not supposed to worry about."

"I really wasn't so concerned about trying to do what the coolest thing was or what the hottest sound is right now," Licciardello said.

His faith, naturally, helped.

"I never got depressed during the diagnosis, didn't get down," he said. The life we live here is temporary - but the whisper of the breath of an air. I know it's nothing compared to eternity."

But the cancer "turned out to be a good thing."

"It turned my productivity in life around," he said "Theologically, there are some who say you should never thank God for cancer because he didn't give you cancer - the devil did.

"But there are some who say you should thank God for the mountains and the valleys," Licciardello said. "I'm grateful to say that God turned my valley into a mountain."

how to go

o What: Carman

o When: 7 p.m. Saturday

o Where: Amarillo High School Auditorium, 4225 Danbury St.

o How much: $10 to $25; VIP tickets $100; general admission $10; children ages 18 and younger free

o Information: 806-326-2000, 800-965-2000 or www.itickets.com.