Martha and Robbie Trice are 30 year veterans of Contemporary Christian Music.
Robbie Trice is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and worship leader, who began playing guitar and singing at the age of 13. He wrote his first song 3 weeks after picking up the guitar. He is the writer of the powerful worship anthem, Alpha and Omega, made popular by the Gaither Vocal Band and performed in churches all over the world.
Martha Trice is a singer with a 3 and 1/2 octave range, but her real gift is her extraordinary ability to interpret a song and make it her own. She knew that she wanted to be a singer at the age of 8 after seeing the musical, "Mame" on Broadway. When she was 10, she started taking piano lessons and sang her first solo in church at the age of 14.
Robbie and Martha met in high school chorus when they were 16 under the direction of Mr. Ray Veckruise. Mr. Vee, as he is affectionately called by his students, sent Robbie a postcard the summer before his senior year, inviting him to be a part of the chorus. The decision to take him up on that invitation changed Robbie and Martha's life and set them on a direction for a lifetime of making music together. You see, Mr. Vee was not only a talented musician and teacher, but also a committed Christian who encouraged and mentored Robbie and Martha in life as well as in making music. The musical opportunities that Mr. Vee afforded them gave them the confidence and direction that they needed to pursue their dreams.
Following graduation and a year of college, Martha became a member of the premier CCM group, The Spurrlows. Robbie met two Christian musician/songwriters in college and became a founding member of Kinfolk, one the East Coast's first contemporary Christian bands of the early 70's Jesus movement. Robbie and Martha married in 1972 and began traveling full-time with Kinfolk. At a time when guitars and drums were considered to be "ungodly" and practically unheard of in the church, Kinfolk, with little more than a passion for Christ and the musical style of their generation, innocently became a forerunner of what has now become the standard for church music and worship. They recorded several custom albums and ministered in hundreds of churches, coffee houses, festivals, youth camps, coliseum, stadiums and streets all over the east coast.
During that time, Robbie became the primary worship leader at Maranatha Fellowship in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, under the man that he still calls his "spiritual father", Larry(Parson)Carson. After nearly nine years on the road they spent the next 5 years in youth ministry at Southside Assembly of God in Jacksonville with Pastor Paul Zink and then with Pastor Frank Mays. One Sunday night at Southside, a little known young evangelist by the name of Benny Hinn prayed for Robbie and Martha to have a child. They were now married over 10 years. The months passed and Martha was still not pregnant. And then a call came from an old friend from high school who was now a paralegal for an attorney in Jacksonville. She said that they had a private adoption that just fell through. The child was due in the next 2 months and they had to find a Christian couple to adopt right away. Robbie and Martha knew that this was the baby they had prayed for. Six weeks later, Travis was born...exactly 9 months from the Sunday night that they were prayed for at Southside.
Then they went on to Charlotte, NC, to work at Heritage, USA. For the next 2 years, Martha was first soprano for the PTL Singers and seen daily by millions on the Inspirational Network. Robbie, along with his best friend and original PTL Singer, Ernie Frierson, co-produced dinner theatre, the Passion Play and all live entertainment for the third most-visited theme park in America. Just three months before the now infamous PTL scandal, they accepted a position as music ministers at Raleigh Christian Community, in Raleigh, NC with Pastor Robert Spradley. They spent the next 5 years at RCC, until deciding to take a year off to go back to the road. They formed a trio, called "High Praise" with Ernie and traveled to churches doing "Concerts of Worship". The following year, they settled in Charleston, SC, where they spent the next 8 years as music ministers at Northwood Assembly, with Pastor Fred Richard.
In May of 2000, Robbie and Martha were given the opportunity to plan the entertainment and sing for Dr. Pat Robertson's 70th Birthday Dinner in Washington, DC. They were joined by Charlie Daniels, Larnelle Harris, Jennifer Holiday and over 3000 of Pat's friends for this extravaganza. This led to them being asked to travel with Pat on a 2 day, 4 rally tour of key states, Pennsylvania and Missouri, just prior to the historic 2000 presidential election. In fact, because of their involvement with Dr. Robertson, his passion for America and speeches about Christian involvement affected them so deeply, that they recorded the CD, "American Tribute".
Robbie and Martha returned to their home, Jacksonville, Florida, where Robbie is the Worship Pastor at
Calvary Worship Center. Martha helps Robbie in the worship ministry, is the director of the Ladies Ministry, teaches piano and voice and is a sales representative for Premier Designs Jewelry (she is a busy lady). Their son, Travis is the Youth Pastor at Calvary Worship Center. His wife, Jessica assists him with youth ministry and is an registered nurse at Baptist Hospital in Jacksonville Beach.
