“It’s like a second home.”
While speaking with The Epoch Times about The Archers latest album release, “Legacy Live,” Janice Archer Cruse spoke lovingly about how at ease she feels performing live with her bandmates, brothers Tim and Steve Archer.
“Tim always has to be on my left, Steve always has to be on my right. It’s a weird thing we have as siblings,” she joked.
The vocalist noted that their close bond makes the stage “a familiar and a comfortable place.”
Cruse has long admired her older brothers’ musical talents and work ethic. Before she reached her teen years, Tim and Steve were already on the road playing music. And though she’s one of five siblings, she was a later-in-life baby, and the age gap caused distance.
“Tim and Steve were on the road before I ever joined them. ... I was very much like an only child. I dealt with a lot of loneliness,” she said.
While they were traveling, Cruse would write about how inspired she was by her brothers in her journal.
“I idolized Tim and Steve. ... I found a journal one day where I was writing all these incredible things about my big brothers, and I was probably 12 years old. It’s the cutest thing,” she said.
Cruse also reflected on her family environment, a faith-filled household headed up by “awesome parents” who encouraged her to form a relationship with God. As it turns out, her experience with childhood loneliness did just that.
“That loneliness really became a benefit to me. God used it for good in my life, and so, at a very young age, that loneliness drove me to ... not try to live on my parents’ relationship with the Lord, but to realize ... I had to have my own,” she said.
Songs That Strike the Heart
Since the 1970s, The Archers have released some of contemporary Christian music’s most influential songs, resulting in a Grammy Award win and invitation to perform at The White House for Gospel Music Day during President Jimmy Carter’s term. Their music has been described as “life-giving” and “full of hope” by Dusty Wells, director of artist and label relations at New Day Christian Distributors. The Archers’ uplifting lyrics and ability to effortlessly blend genres has given them crossover appeal.
Bandmate Steve Archer shared that when they were young and solidifying their sound, they wanted to make music that “kids could have fun with and relate to, but with lyrics that would go right into their heart.”
Every song featured on “Legacy Live” is sure to strike the heart. The August record features a compilation of their biggest hits, most influential singles, and fan favorites—their listener base had input on the 12 tracks that made the final cut.
The album was recorded in a concert setting, featuring an enthusiastic crowd gathered at the Williamson County Performing Arts Center in Franklin, Tennessee. For Steve Archer, he enjoys performing live because it’s like a conversation.
“You’re seeing the message go out and not return void,” he said.
For Cruse, she loves performing live “because of the people.”
“The fans are always gonna win,” she said.
A Holy Moment
Cruse recalled the performance of their song “Pickin' Up the Pieces” from that night and called the experience a “highlight.” Before filming, Tim Archer was successfully treated for cancer, and the concert represented a personal mile marker.
“That was a really special moment in the concert,” Cruse said. “I started crying from the first verse ... because what the audience didn’t know, [which] Steve and I knew, is that [the performance] was Tim’s first time to sing after surviving ... mouth cancer.”
Cruse called “Pickin' Up the Pieces,” a Tim Archer-penned tune, “a song of hope.” And, after they finished performing it, they shared Tim’s story with the crowd. Cruse said fans “erupted” in celebration when they learned his battle with cancer had been successful.
When Steve Archer looks back on that night, he feels it represents a holy moment.
“God had brought us through all of these years and allowed us an opportunity to sing those songs live once again together,” he said.
Another popular song included on the “Legacy Live” album is their No. 1 single, “Jesus Is the Answer.” The evergreen anthem among faith-based music was written by gospel musician and pastor Andraé Crouch in the early 1970s. Crouch was instrumental to The Archers’ success early on. With his blessing, the sibling trio was the first to record “Jesus Is the Answer,” a rendition that has since helped the song become an international symbol of faith and hope.
Tim Archer calls Crouch “a blessing,” and looked back at their recording of the renowned track as “a real treasured memory.”
The trio built on that memory for the “Legacy Live” performance by including some friends and colleagues.
‘Full Circle Spiritual Journey’
The Archers’ music acts as a natural mood-booster. But they went through great adversity throughout the process of recording “Legacy Live.” Not only was Tim Archer diagnosed with oral cancer that required extensive surgery, but his wife, Cynthia Archer, was diagnosed with cancer as well. During post-production for their record, their producer, Tim Akers, passed away because of a relapse with leukemia.
Just before his passing, Akers finished mixing The Archers’ album, but the trio didn’t know until months later. Cruse said after everything endured, they “had to stop and grieve.”
Throughout their trials, the group never lost faith.
“His Word never fails,” Tim Archer said.
And now, as they look back on all it took to get “Legacy Live” released, Cruse realizes that the hard times they faced made the album project more meaningful.
“The styles may change, but the message doesn’t, and that’s what makes these songs so timeless,” Cruse said.
‘For Our Legacy’
Like their faith, Tim Archer also credited their roots as a guiding light in their lives that has helped them throughout the years, especially during the early days of their careers.“We came from humble beginnings and from humble people. And I think that stayed with us. That means we were teachable,” he said.
Since Cruse first started performing with her brothers for their hit “Fresh Surrender” album, her admiration for them has only grown.
“Tim and Steve [are] two groundbreaking, incredible vocalists. [God] gave them an incredible gift, but they stewarded those gifts so well by taking those gifts and attaching those gifts to these life-changing songs that are truly anointing,” she said.
For Steve Archer, even though “Legacy Live” looks back on the past, it’s really all about the future.
“We did this legacy project for our legacy, for our children and our grandchildren,” he said. “Between the three of us, we have 20 grandchildren.”
Steve Archer said, “I’m so thankful for the legacy in that, because many of them are involved in ministry—they’re pastors, or they’re ministers; they’re worship leaders—and it’s being passed on from generation to generation. To God be the glory for that.”
