Petra is one of the most successful Christian rock bands ever, a veritable institution whose name (taken from the Greek word for "rock") has come to reflect not only their music, but their staying power as well, even in spite of Christian radio's reluctance to program their brand of loud, slick arena rock.
Opening with a blues-inflected "Get Back to the Bible," the original eponymous Petra album hearkens more to Southern rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd than to the arena-type groups that they became more associated with, both in vocal style and in musical texture…

Petra is one of the most successful Christian rock bands ever, a veritable institution whose name (taken from the Greek word for "rock") has come to reflect not only their music, but their staying power as well, even in spite of Christian radio's reluctance to program their brand of loud, slick arena rock.
"Washes Whiter Than" (1979) is the earlier of this two albums and it shows. There are glimpses of the changes to come. The album varies from ballads to funk to jazz and rock with the gospel message. "Never Say Die" (1981) is the start of the "classic" era of Petra with their more straight ahead rock. From the opening crooner "The Coloring Song" we move into some classic Petra rock with "Chameleon". The album could be described as easy listening rock and finishes with the worship anthem "Praise Ye The Lord".

Petra is one of the most successful Christian rock bands ever, a veritable institution whose name (taken from the Greek word for "rock") has come to reflect not only their music, but their staying power as well, even in spite of Christian radio's reluctance to program their brand of loud, slick arena rock. Petra was formed in 1972 by guitarist Bob Hartman, who was attending the Christian Training Center in Fort Wayne, IN at the time; he recruited several fellow students - guitarist/vocalist Greg Hough, bassist John DeGroff, and drummer Bill Glover - to his cause, and the group began playing around the Fort Wayne area with backing from their school…