When Greg Walton was in 5th grade he begged his parents to buy him a guitar so he could imitate the art of such musical influences as The Beatles, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac and others. He was a quick study, but soon found that his real passion for music came from the progressive ministry that was coming from his church. His participation in the junior youth choir and his deep reflection on the Bible prompted his interest in music evangelization and a stronger commitment to his Catholic beliefs. After his attendance at a weekend retreat he wrote his first song, "New Day's Gonna Shine" (when he was just 15 years old) and realized he was being called for a commissioning in his life: a life that would be devoted to service to others and a servant to God.
Although Greg Walton remains steadfast in his dedication to ministry, he has never given up on his pursuit of excellence in his music. Performance opportunities throughout his career have taken him all over the United States, Canada and Europe. He has performed at hundreds of youth rallies, LIFETEEN events, dozens of festivals and evangelical events, and some of the worlds largest gatherings including World Youth Day, Creation Festival, NCYC, Kingdom Bound and others. Greg has shared the stage with celebrated artists including PolarBoy, Ceili Rain, DC Talk, Newsboys and others. His music has been distributed by Spring Arbor Music, HeartBeat Distribution, Troubadour for the Lord and most recently, SpiritandSong Records/OCP.
In the midst of a hectic touring schedule, the constant changes in the music industry and the events following the terrorist attacks on September 11th, Greg Walton bonded to the message of a Tom Petty tune called "I Wont Back Down". Greg did a cover version of this song on his third (and most recent album) which also became the name for the CD. He initially released it as an independent project and achieved significant sales success, national airplay and prestigious reviews. The CD went on to win 3 Unity Awards presented by the UCMVA including Modern Rock Alternative Album of The Year and Rock Album of The Year. The song "Despite" also received the award for Modern Rock/Alternative Song of The Year. I WONT BACK DOWN also includes a catchy pop rock tune called "Dear Dorothy" focusing around the character from the popular book/film-The Wizard of Oz. This song has now become a platform for a workshop presentation/program he designed called-Follow The Yellow Brick Road-which is just one of the workshop programs he presents to middle school and high school students across the US where he is the keynote speaker.
Greg Walton has an impressive track record for an independent artist, but first and foremost he is a dedicated husband, father and teacher. He and his wife accepted a vocation with The Brothers & Sisters of Charity (founded by John Michael Talbot) because they wanted to have a deeper expression of faith in their lives. This led to vows focusing on Simplicity of Life, Marital Chastity and Obedience to Catholic Teachings.
In addition to his commitment to serving as a full-time music minister, Greg also believes deeply that Christian faith acts itself out in charity and partners with the relief and development efforts of organizations such as World Vision and Mercy Corps.
In Summer of 2008 Greg Walton transitioned back into full-time music ministry after many years as a full time teacher at Father Ryan High School in Nashville, TN where his focus was on Theology and Apologetics. He now shares his experiences and stories; from the stage, in his role as a keynote speaker and in his workshops. Greg continues to write music that can be used in a liturgical setting and is also preparing music for his next CD project. In August, 2008 Greg released his first radio single as a digital download through ITunes, and other digital download channels, and introduced a coordinating impact project to benefit Mercy Corps. The song spent 25 weeks on the CRW Global AC and CHR charts and was the winner of the 2008 Songdoor International Songwriting Competition in the "alternative" category. In 2010 Greg Walton was recognized with 5 UNITY AWARDS as a direct result of his work on TUNE OF IGNORANCE including MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR, SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR and SONG OF THE YEAR. In addition, he also was recognized as MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR at the 2010 KCCM Awards held in the Kansas City area. Although these accolodaes provide Greg with encouragement, he still sees "serving others" as the key focus of his ministry objectives.
Greg lives in the Nashville area with his wife and 5 children.
