Russ Taff has seen both the heights of success and the depths of despair, but God’s faithfulness has remained constant through it all.
A six-time Grammy winner and a legend in Christian music, Taff’s powerful voice has inspired generations. But behind the accolades was a man struggling with deep wounds.
Growing up in a home marked by his father’s alcoholism, Taff himself turned to alcohol to quiet the condemning voices in his mind.
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“I’ve been very open about my story of growing up with family, with dad as a Pentecostal preacher and also an alcoholic,” Taff told The Christian Post. “I was 7 years old when I found my father drunk. I’d never seen drunk before. I was 13 years old when we were asked to leave the church. And these were the only people that I knew, and they walked away from us. … I moved into my period of trying to quiet those condemning voices and began to drink.”
For years, the artist hid his addiction behind his talent, performing to thousands while privately battling shame and despair. “I knew how to do concerts, man, I knew how to make records, and I knew how to wow people,” he shared. “But when I reached the end of myself, when I had nothing left, God showed up.”
“Here I am, this big Grammy-winning Christian artist, and who do I trust? At the end of it, I was just calling out, ‘God, if you don’t come through, if you don’t show up, I’m going under.’ But each time, He would show up and say, ‘Russ, come this way.’ He would always bring people into my life that I needed at the time.”
Now 18 years sober, Taff, who has been inducted into the GMA Hall of Fame an unprecedented three times, credits his survival and redemption to God’s unwavering faithfulness. His latest album, Cover Story, is his most personal yet chronicling the highs and lows of his journey through songs that have shaped his life.
Unlike his previous albums, Cover Story was never planned.
“I wasn’t out looking for a record deal or anything like that,” Taff explained. “I was sitting at home in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, doing a couple of shows a month, when two people came to me and said, ‘We think it’s time for you to make a record, and we think you still have a lot to say.'”
Produced by Steve Taylor and John Mark Painter, Cover Story is a collection of deeply personal renditions of songs that have shaped Taff’s life. The album includes reimagined tracks by Bob Dylan, U2, Prince, Simon & Garfunkel, The National and Depeche Mode, each chosen for its connection to a specific chapter in his journey.
“This record, each song takes me back to a place in my life,” Taff said. “A certain place where there was heartache, pain, times when I didn’t know if my marriage was going to survive, and then places where God would just show up.”
One of the most poignant moments on Cover Story is Taff’s haunting rendition of “Demons” by The National, a song that resonated deeply with his own experience of addiction.
“That song just depicts what it feels like to be caught in addiction,” he said. “When Steve Taylor played it for me, I started crying. I know what that fear is like. I remember being terrified that I would never be able to pull my life together.”
“If somebody would ask me on this record, ‘explain addiction, explain relapse, explain the pain of all of that,’ I’d play them ‘Demons,’ because it’s a dark place. It really is, and this song tells that story of how bad it was.”
Recording the song was a transformative experience, Taff said, adding that Taylor insisted he use a different recording method that stripped away his usual vocal techniques and comfort zones.
“They tricked me,” Taff quipped. “I thought I’d go back and re-sing it later, but they kept the first takes because they were raw and real. It was uncomfortable for me, but it forced me to be honest.”
Taff’s story is one of resilience, but he insists that his survival is not about his strength but God’s faithfulness. That, he said, has been evident throughout his life.
“He always showed up when I was at the end of myself,” he said. “I could be at my lowest, not knowing what to do, and that’s when He would come through … the armor of God is real, but it’s a job. You’ve got to keep it up daily. Your faith never stays the same. Your faith is either moving forward or it’s moving backward. That’s the way it is with me. You have to be diligent, really, really diligent to do what it takes to be a disciple of Jesus.”
At 71, Taff has seen the highs and lows of life in Christian music and watched peers fall away from faith, some publicly deconstructing their beliefs. Reflecting on his own struggles with doubt, the artist said he’s seen firsthand how difficult it can be to hold onto the faith amid the pressures of the industry.
“I think a lot of it comes from exhaustion. You’re constantly traveling, constantly performing, and if you’re not grounded in a community, it chips away at you. You get worn down. And if you don’t fight to keep your faith alive, it starts to slip away,” he said. “There’s all kind of landmines of being a Christian artist or being any artist, and so many of us over the years fell away.
I had to learn this early on: If you don’t have a community around you, it’s a recipe for destruction,” he continued. “The enemy sets himself against us, as soon as we proclaim, ‘I will be a minister for the Gospel,’ or, ‘I will follow You,’ we become a target.”
More than anything, Cover Story represents a shift in Taff’s vision, he told CP. While he remains committed to Christian music, he hopes the album will reach beyond church audiences and into the lives of those who might never set foot in a sanctuary.
“Jesus didn’t just talk to church folks; He went where the people were,” Taff said. “I want to take this record to people who don’t go to church, who have been hurt by the church, who don’t know what to do with their lives.”
That mission is already unfolding, he said. A group in Norway has invited Taff to tour with Cover Story, bringing his music into clubs and festivals across Europe. “Let me go where the people are,” Taff said. “Let me share my songs, my faith and my story.”
“When God works a miracle in your life, you want to tell people about it,” he added. “I don’t care if I show up in a Volkswagen van — I just want to go where they’ll let me sing.”
Cover Story is now available.
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
