Stryper's Michael Sweet pens a tribute to his recently deceased father

Michael Sweet, the vocalist and guitarist for the long-running American heavy metal band Stryper (1980-present) wrote a wonderful tribute to his recently deceased father. Below you will find Michael's tribute. In other Stryper news, they have a new song called "Still the Light" (see below).

I wanted to write a few thoughts about my dad and let you all know about the man that he was. First, my dad had a big heart. My mom went through some very tough times and was involved in some difficult relationships early on, and wound up a very young mother of two. She met my dad, Philip Harrison Sweet, and they fell in love. Not long after that, I was introduced to the world on 7/4/63. I just made it after midnight and my dad was very happy about the fact that I was born on the Fourth of July. He was hoping and praying for that.

Dad adopted my sister Lisa and my brother Robert. That’s who he was. A man with a huge heart who loved us all the same. Without partiality as he just wanted to be an amazing father to the three of us. He worked hard to pay the bills, and it certainly was not easy. Ever. I recall experiencing tough times financially growing up, but we always found a way. He always found a way. He was a musician through and through. A great singer, songwriter, guitar player, bass player and he always had an incredible sense of music.

He taught me how to play my first chords when I was 5 years old (on his Gibson Jumbo 12 string). I can still smell the varnish of that guitar. I’ll never forget it. He also taught me how to play bass and let me use his blue Fender Jazz bass and Fender Bassman amp for a talent show that me and Rob entered when I was in 3rd grade. The bass was twice the size of me! Lisa played tambourine. And Rob played drums of course. We performed “Walk Don’t Run” & “Honky Tonk”. We won first place! He always took the time to instill the love of music into our hearts and souls.

My mom and dad were managed by Mike Curb back in the day and they had their share of gigs, movies, record deals and a real taste of the music business/world. They obviously passed that onto us. Every garage in every home was given up to us. As a rehearsal room. No questions asked. The family cars were always parked in the driveway because of that and it just became second nature. They put up with a lifetime of loud music, shaking walls and countless people in and out of all the homes that we lived in throughout the years. Without their dedication and support, there would be no Stryper. There would be no music. We would have certainly taken a different path.

Add to that my dad’s undying support of me auditioning for Rob’s band. My dad always gently pursued that and convinced Rob to try me out early on. I was 12, Rob was 15. The rest as they say is history, and I owe that to my dad.

One line that dad used often (and it became a running joke within our camp) was - “You’re on the brink of superstardom”. He would say that every day. We would laugh but somehow I think he knew that those words would actually become reality. He knew we would break. He knew we would “make it” in this crazy, unpredictable business. Then we all made the best decision of our lives - we gave our hearts to Jesus. And our dad helped navigate that as well.

He also wrote a lot of songs throughout his life. He managed to write a number one country song in 1976 called “I Don’t Want To Have To Marry You”. He co-wrote that song with Fred Imus, the brother of Don Imus. That was a very exciting time and I remember thinking how happy I was for my dad. To see his dreams come true after years of working for the Southern Pacific railroad to pay the bills. Sadly and tragically, that job cost my dad his life.

My dad was not as publically involved in our careers as mom was. But he was much more involved than given credit for. Always teaching us, showing us, instilling within us, music. He gave us that gift and we are eternally grateful.

Although I didn’t see dad very often in the last 30 years (once a year of that), I loved him more than he will ever know. He was a Star. He was a mountain. He was a teacher. He was our world. This is just a glimpse of who my dad was. It doesn’t do him justice. He was so much more. Thank you dad for making all of this possible. We will never forget all that you have done and we will see you soon

I love you ~ Michael

Stryper - "Still The Light" - Official Lyric Video

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