Description
9th track from Communication (1984). This landmark song, by one of CCM's premiere bands, describes a surreal encounter with the Antichrist—the ultimate, supernatural bad guy predicted in the Book of Revelation.
The original video for the song was controversial and featured a dapper-looking Satan in a suit and dark glasses. It was the first music video by an American Christian group to appear on MTV—until it got yanked, that is.
"Six, Six, Six" was one of a number of videos that MTV pulled from rotation due to supposed violent content. The purge was a public reaction to the U.S. Senate hearings (remember Tipper Gore, wife of then-senator Al Gore?) on sex and violence in music. MTV had ironically misinterpreted the song "Six, Six, Six" as an anti-Christian statement.
According to industry news reports at the time, MTV exec Sandra Sparrow was unaware that DeGarmo & Key were a Christian band when she included the video in a list of videos to be excised. An embarrassed MTV allowed DeGarmo & Key to submit a re-edited version, which was placed back into rotation. Removed from the re-edited video was a short scene of a man representing the Antichrist being set on fire.
Of course, if this were to happen today, well... it wouldn't happen today because, first of all, do they even play music videos on MTV anymore? And, second, I really don't buy that they were embarrassed about having yanked a Christian video. I rather think they were embarrassed because they had allowed a Christian video on there in the first place. I know they eventually allowed a few, some Stryper videos and a few others, but MTV is the epitome of the world's system, which is dead set against the true God Yahweh. And has anything changed today?
Anyway, I really like this album version. I especially like the children's voices—both classy and creepy—reading from the Book of Revelation at the beginning, which is omitted from the original MTV video.
~thatMimosaGrove
*
Song written by Eddie DeGarmo / Dana Key
Bass, Vocals – Tommy Cathey
Drums, Vocals – Greg Morrow
Producer, Guitar, Lead Vocals – Dana Key
Producer, Keyboards, Vocals – Eddie DeGarmo
Vocals [Kid] – Breckon DeGarmo, Brian Tarrell, Shannon DeGarmo
Ron W. Griffin - Executive Producer
John Hampton - Engineer, Mixing
Bob Ludwig - Mastering
Carl Marsh - Arranger
Mark Tucker - Photography
*
The quotation displayed at the end of this video is from Revelation 13:16-17 King James Version (KJV)
*
Image Credits (other than album art): composite using the photography of Richard Kuesters / NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, and composite using the photography of Benjamin A. Wendelboe / Rudolf Getel / Jorge CG
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode