Mervyn Warren - Music Career: Nashville

Music Career: Nashville

In the sporadic downtime between recording sessions and tours with Take 6, Warren pursued his interest in producing and writing songs and arrangements for other artists. As the hub of the contemporary Christian music industry, with artists recording everything from pop, rock and country to jazz, R and B, and hip-hop, Nashville provided fertile ground.

Warren also attracted the attention of producers Greg Nelson and Keith Thomas, each of whom would, over the years, hire Warren to write a number of instrumental and/or vocal arrangements for various artists they were producing. Nelson became a mentor for Warren. In fact, for about a year, Nelson's personal assistant concurrently worked for Warren.

After leaving Take 6 in 1991, Warren remained in Nashville and focused all of his energy upon writing, arranging, and producing.

While in Nashville, both before and after leaving Take 6, Warren contributed to recordings by many artists, including Sandi Patty, James Ingram, Larnelle Harris, Bebe & Cece Winans, First Call, Thomas Whitfield, The Richard Smallwood Singers, Yolanda Adams, Babbie Mason, Cindy Morgan, and Margaret Bell.

In 1990, Warren produced two tracks on the Donna McElroy project Bigger World. The instrumental arrangement for one of the tracks, "Come Sunday," was a collaboration between Warren and Take 6 member Cedric Dent. Warren and Dent eventually received a Grammy Award nomination for the arrangement. The other Warren-produced track, "Take It Away," features background vocals by Amy Grant, with whom McElroy had toured as a backup singer for a number of years.