"Call My Name" is a song recorded by the Christian rock band Third Day. Written by Mac Powell and produced by Third Day, it was released as the lead single from the band's 2008 album Revelation through Essential Records. "Call My Name" has been considered a pop rock and "AC-friendly" song with a basic drum track and a "solid" melody. Lyrically, it has been alternately described as being set from the perspective of God or being a cry out to God.
"Call My Name" received positive reception from critics, some of whom praised the arrangement of the song. Third Day has performed the song live and it has been covered by Australian country singer Keith Urban. The song was a hit on Christian radio, peaking atop the BillboardHot Christian Songs and Hot Christian AC charts and the Radio & Records Christian AC Monitored, Christian AC Indicator and Christian CHR charts. Billboard magazine ranked it second on the 2008 year-end Hot Christian Songs chart and third on the 2008 year-end Hot Christian AC chart and at twenty-seventh on the decade-end Hot Christian Songs chart and at thirty-sixth on the decade-end Hot Christian AC chart.
"Call My Name" is a song that lasts for four minutes and two seconds.[3] It was composed using common time in the key of E major, with "driving rock" tempo of 78 beats per minute. Mac Powell's vocal range spans from the low note of B3 to the high note of F♯5.[4] The lyrics to the song have been described as being from the perspective of God,[5] although the members of Third Day have described them differently; David Carr, the drummer for Third Day, described the lyrics as "crying out to God and calling out his name",[1] while Mac Powell described them as "kind of a prayer. It's about when people are going through hard times and going through struggles that we've gotta call out to someone, and for us as people of faith it's calling out to God and hearing his voice... and for someone else it could be a friend or a family member that you've gotta reach out to kind of help share those burdens you go through".[6] Carr also described the drum part on "Call My Name" as "basic",[1] and the song itself has been described as "pop rock",[5] "AC-friendly",[7] and "pop".[8]
Critical reception
Critical reception to "Call My Name" was positive, with some critics praising the arrangement[7][9] and vocals.[1][7][10] Deborah Evans Price of Billboard magazine called the single a "well-crafted number",[9] while Matt Conner of CCM Magazine praised the song as "brilliantly crafted".[8] Russ Breimeier of Christianity Today regarded the song as a "big AC-friendly single"[7] and praised it as having "smart hooks, a strong melody, and some of Powell's most impressive vocal work to date during the closing vamp, belting out notes I didn't know he was capable of".[7] John DiBiase of Jesus Freak Hideout called the song "an unashamedly catchy pop rock anthem that surprisingly has a similar lyrical message to ['Cry Out to Jesus'], just presented from Christ's own perspective this time around".[5]
Commercial performance
On the BillboardHot Christian Songs chart, "Call My Name" debuted at No. 15 for the chart week of April 26, 2008.[10][11] It advanced to No. 8 in its fourth charting week[12] and to No. 3 in its sixth charting week.[13] In its eighth chart week, "Call My Name" advanced to the top spot, holding the No. 1 spot for a total of thirteen consecutive weeks.[14] The song dropped to No. 3 in its twenty-first chart week, supplanted from the top spot by Brandon Heath's "Give Me Your Eyes".[15] After spending twenty-nine weeks on the chart, "Call My Name" dropped out.[16]
On the BillboardHot Christian AC chart, "Call My Name" spent eleven weeks at No. 1.[17] It also topped the Radio & Records Christian AC Monitored and Christian AC Indicator charts for eleven weeks each, and the Radio & Records Christian CHR chart for six weeks.[18]
Billboard magazine ranked "Call My Name" second on their 2008 year-end Hot Christian Songs chart and third on their 2008 year-end Hot Christian AC chart.[19][20]Radio & Records ranked it third on their 2008 year-end Christian AC Songs chart and fifth on their 2008 year-end Christian CHR songs chart.[21]Billboard magazine also ranked "Call My Name" twenty-seventh on their decade-end Hot Christian Songs chart and thirty-sixth on their decade-end Hot Christian AC chart.[22][23]
Prior to the release of Revelation, Third Day performed "Call My Name" at several of their concerts on the Third Day LIVE Tour;[10] in particular, the band performed the song on April 3, 2008, at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, where they were joined on stage by Scotty Wilbanks.[27] At the benefit concert Nashville4Africa, held on April 4, 2009, at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, Tennessee, the band performed the song with fellow Christian rock artists Jars of Clay.[28] On the 2010 Winter Jam tour, Third Day performed "Call My Name" as part of their set list on January 28 and 30.[29]
^ abcDiBiase, John (July 27, 2008). "Third Day, "Revelation" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. John DiBiase. Archived from the original on January 30, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
^ abPrice, Deborah Evans (2 August 2008). "Revelation". Billboard. Vol. 121, no. 31. Applebaum, Howard. p. 33. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
^ abcPrice, Deborah Evans (7 June 2008). "Third Day Keeps The Faith". Billboard. Vol. 120, no. 23. Applebaum, Howard. p. 25. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
^"Singles Charts Archive Search". Billboard.biz. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2012. Note: User must manually input the correct search information to obtain the sourced information. Type in "Third Day" in the "Artist" category, "Call My Name" in the "Single Title" category, and select "Hot Christian Songs" in the "Single Chart Name" category. Then, select "All weeks" in the "Date" category and press "Submit"
^ ab
The following sources show confirmation of the weeks atop for "Call My Name". The first source indicates the first ten weeks, and the second source indicates the eleventh week:
"Hot Christian AC". Billboard. Vol. 120, no. 34. Applebaum, Howard. 23 August 2008. p. 49. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
"Hot Christian AC". Billboard. Vol. 120, no. 36. Applebaum, Howard. 6 September 2008. p. 49. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
^DiBiase, John (April 4, 2008). "Third Day LIVE Tour". Jesus Freak Hideout. John DiBiase. Archived from the original on May 12, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
^DiBiase, John (February 4, 2010). "2010 Winter Jam". Jesus Freak Hideout. John DiBiase. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
