
DATE: Saturday, November 1, 1997            TAG: 9710310076

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER

                                            LENGTH:   58 lines

AWARD-WINNING SINGER TRAVELS VARIED ROADS

SUSAN ASHTON is a Houston native with 11 No. 1 Christian radio singles, two Dove Awards and eight Grammy nominations. She often crosses over to country and back; three years ago, she opened for Garth Brooks on his European tour.

Now, ask her what she does for a living and she replies: ``The genre is contemporary Christian, the music is acoustic pop. I play a lot of churches.''

Tonight, she'll be at Thalia Lynn Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, where she will spotlight her new release, ``A Distant Call.''

While Ashton is a regular on Christian radio, she is no stranger to the secular spots on the dial, having worked with Brooks, pianist Jim Brickman, Alison Krauss, Collin Raye, Paul Overstreet and Glen Campbell.

For the most part, her music is Christian, but her inspirations are varied: Jennifer Warren, Barbra Streisand, Tammy Wynette, Ray Price, Linda Ronstadt, Perry Como, Willie and Waylon, and Waylon's wife, Jesse Colter, whose one-hit career was based on a fine song, ``I'm Not Lisa.''

How did Ashton hook up with Brooks on the overseas tour?

``To the best of my understanding, his brother Kelly, who is his road manager, was dating a girl who really liked my music,'' Ashton said from Nashville. ``Kelly went to Garth and told him he should hear me. He said, OK. I'm still not sure if he heard me before he hired me.''

Ashton is a singer/songwriter who first sang publicly when she was 5 years old. ``I went pro when I was 19,'' she said. ``My dad was a preacher - Assembly of God. Mom played the organ and sang.''

She's married to producer/songwriter J.D. Cunningham. ``In 10 years, we hope to have a couple of kids,'' she said. ``I'd like to have horses first - and a couple of more hits.''

The ones she already has include ``Body and Soul,'' ``Stand,'' ``In Amazing Graceland'' and the current ``All Kinds of People.'' She feels more listeners are becoming more enamored of contemporary Christian music.

``A big reason is that a lot of Christian labels have been bought by larger companies,'' Ashton said. ``That brings more money to the table . . . so we get an equal, or better, product. We get broader distribution, and that helps bring attention to our music.''

The music in her stage show is inspirational and fun.

``We encourage people to have a good time,'' she said. ``I never make any calls to come forward. I don't feel that's something I'm supposed to do, but whatever I do is contingent on my willingness and obedience to God.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Grammy nominee Susan Ashton has 11 No. 1 Christian singles.

Graphic

WANT TO GO?

Who: Susan Ashton with Thom Shumat and Erin O'Donnell

When: 7:30 tonight

Where: Thalia Lynn Baptist Church, 4392 Virginia Beach Blvd.,

Virginia Beach

Tickets: $12 advance, $15 at the door

Call: 499-0557