Crowd shot masthead ApologetiX Logo Keith Haynie plays bassBill Hubauer plays lead guitarJ. Jackson sings leadJimmy Vegas Tanner plays drums
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03.18.24Get Multiple Downloads for One Donation
03.18.24USBs Include New Single & Next CD
03.18.24How to Donate Online or by Mail
03.18.24Over 1650 Tracks for $100
03.16.24Influential Albums: 1402-1408
03.16.24New CD Slightly Delayed, BOGO Continues
03.16.24How to Get the ApX Library, USBs, Multiple Downloads
03.16.24This Week's Bible-Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
03.16.24Easter Season Playlist 2024
03.12.24This Week's News Bulletin
03.09.24Influential Albums: 1395-1401
03.09.24This Week's Bible-Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
03.09.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
03.05.24This Week's News Bulletin
03.03.24New Single: '74 Solo Smashes
03.01.24A Serious Problem We're Trying to Address
02.29.24All About Our Next CD
02.29.24Influential Albums: 1388-1394
02.29.24This Week's Bible-Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.29.24Clues for 2024 Single #5
02.25.24This Week's News Bulletin
02.22.24Get Ready for Our Next CD
02.22.24Influential Albums: 1381-1387
02.22.24This Week's Bible Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.22.24Wayne Is Retiring, What's Next for Him and Us?
02.22.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
02.19.24This Week's News Bulletin
02.19.24New Single: Billy & The Beach
02.16.24Influential Albums: 1374-1380
02.16.24This Week's Bible Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.16.24Remembering ApX Friend Paul "Doc" Nigh (1956-2024)
02.16.24Clues for 2024 Single #4
02.10.24Influential Albums: 1367-1373
02.10.24Fans Making Plans to Attend Our Big Show September 1
02.10.24This Week's Bible Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.10.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
02.06.24This Week's News Bulletin
02.06.24New Single: '74 & '83
02.03.24ApX Lead Singer/Lyricist Shares His Testimony 36 Years Later
02.03.24Influential Albums: 1360-1366
02.03.24This Week's Bible Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.03.24Latest CD Added to iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, Etc.
02.02.24Clues for 2024 Single #3
01.29.24This Week's News Bulletin
01.26.24Influential Albums: 1353-1359
01.26.24How to Get the ApX Library, USBs, Multiple Downloads
01.26.24This Week's Bible-Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
01.26.24Flashback: J.'s Vision for ApologetiX in 2014
01.26.24J.'s Vision for ApologetiX in 2024
01.26.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
01.24.24Checking in With ApX Alum Drummer Fred Behanna
01.22.24This Week's News Bulletin
01.22.24New Single: '70s #1 Hits That Remade '60s Top 10 Hits
01.19.24Influential Albums: 1346-1352
01.19.24Encouraging Message from Longtime Fan in Oklahoma
01.19.24This Week's Bible-Reading & Rock Thru the Bible
01.15.24This Week's News Bulletin
01.12.24Influential Albums: 1339-1346
01.12.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
01.12.24Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
01.12.24New Testament Reading Started Wednesday
01.11.24New Worship Songs Available from ApX Alum Bill Rieger
01.08.24New Single: '81 & '83
01.08.24New CD BOGO Ends Sunday
01.08.24New USB Thumb Drives on the Way
01.05.24Clues for 2024 Single #1
01.05.24Influential Albums: 1332-1338
01.05.24Have You Heard About the Other Music City Miracle?
01.05.24This Week's Bible Reading & Rock Thru the Bible
12.29.23Influential Albums: 1325-1331
12.29.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
12.28.232023: A Record-Breaking Record-Making Year
12.28.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
12.26.23This Week's News Bulletin
12.26.23New Single: 1974 & 2008
12.23.23Influential Albums: 1318-1324
12.23.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
12.23.23ApologetiX Updated Christmas Playlist
12.18.23This Week's News Bulletin
12.18.23New Samson CD Mailed to Fans, New Orders Sent as They Come In
12.16.23Influential Albums: 1311-1317
12.16.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
12.16.23New Story
12.16.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
12.11.23This Week's News Bulletin
12.11.23New Single: '83 & '84
12.11.23ApX Apparel: Order by Tuesday with Express Shipping
12.07.23New ApX Apparel and More: Order Soon for Christmas
12.07.23Influential Albums: 1304-1310
12.07.23Just Reword CD Added to iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, Etc.
12.07.23Clues for 2023 Single #25
12.04.23This Week's News Bulletin
12.02.23Influential Albums: 1297-1303
12.02.23This Week's Bible Reading & Rock Thru the Bible
12.02.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
12.02.23New Shirts & Other ApX Merch Coming Soon
12.02.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
11.28.23This Week's News Bulletin
11.28.23New Christmas Single: All '80s
11.24.23Influential Albums: 1290-1296

The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
Fri., Oct. 26. 2018 2:15pm EDT

J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.

It's fitting that we spoofed The Zombies for our late-October single, since it's the time of the season for such things, but we didn't plan that. On September 18, Jimmy texted me and asked if "She's Not There" had been a big hit. I told him it had gone all the way up to #2. "It's an eerie tune," he said. "Very cool. Got lyric ideas?" I've always loved that song and told him I'd put it on my "to do" list.

Within minutes, God gave me the idea to turn it into "She's Not Dead," about Tabitha (a.k.a. Dorcas), the woman Peter resurrected in Acts 9. In the week leading up to Jimmy's question, I'd been thinking about doing a song about her, though I'd been toying with a different song. But this one was perfect for it, and I started getting lyrics right away and let Jimmy know.

Jimmy texted back and said, "It's cool, because I feel like God is telling us to do it." Jimmy never says stuff like that, so I put it on the front burner. The guys had all their parts done by October 6, and I recorded vocals on October 10, so there wasn't much dead time. I think it's pretty cool that we used a song by a band named for the undead to tell the story of a woman raised from the dead.

The other song on the new single was a slow burner. I got the idea to spoof the Sugarloaf song "Green-Eyed Lady" as "Read Isaiah" back in the mid-90's but never expected we'd get around to it, so I never wrote the lyrics. About five years ago,Tom Tincha started talking about what a cool song it was, so that rekindled my interest, but it was still a long shot.

Enter Rich Mannion, who just started playing keys with ApologetiX back in late May. Once you hear Rich's keyboards on both of these new songs, you'll realize he was born to play them. That guy is good. And those songs are tricky.

The trick for me with "Read Isaiah" was narrowing down what scripture references I wanted to use from Isaiah. There are so many great ones, but I finally settled on 1:18, 6:1, 7:14, 9:6 and chapter 53. You know how they take verses in the Epistle to the Romans and call them the "Romans Road to Salvation"? This is kind of the "Romans Road" of Isaiah for me.

The Zombies and Sugarloaf only had five Top 40 hits between them, but, oh, what hits they were! The Zombies had "She's Not There" (#2), "Tell Her No" (#6), and "Time of the Season" (#3); Sugarloaf had "Green-Eyed Lady" (#3) and "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" (#9).

Ironically, both bands had comeback hits four years after their initial successes — at a time when the public had largely forgotten about them. Even more strangely, both comeback hits reached their peak chart position on March 29 (in 1969 and 1975), although the songs we spoofed were the first hits for each band (in the autumns of 1964 and 1970).

Isn't that weird? I know what you're saying: "No, J., you are the one who is weird." Yeah, I know. But, thankfully, God can still use it.