By Andy Argyrakis

KEAGGY/ETHERIDGE CONTROVERSY

Who ever would’ve guessed Melissa Etheridge ever entertained a career in Christian music? According to a recent Rolling Stone article, one of her first gigs was opening for Phil Keaggy, though the piece also suggests the guitar virtuoso told her to try another route: “In high school I had dreams of maybe having a career in Christian music,” Etheridge says in that interview. “He basically said, ‘I don’t think there’s a place for people like you in Christian music.’ But he said it very nicely. I thought, ‘OK. They don’t want me; I don’t want them.’”

However, according to a report by Mark Joseph in the Huffington Post, Keaggy doesn’t recall the conversation but offered the following in response to the story: “Well, first off, I hardly remember saying such a thing to her, at least in such a negative tone, as may be perceived... Melissa and I have never met since that day, and I regret if she feels offended by what she thinks I said and meant.” It turns out that no offense was taken by Etheridge, who also issued an apology to Keaggy saying she never intended for his comment to appear homophobic and echoed her respect for sharing the stage with the living legend.

SALVADOR SINGER’S HONDURAS HAPPENINGS

Nic Gonzales, front man for eclectic Latin rockers Salvador, recently took a missions trip to Honduras with his wife and fellow recording artist Jaci Velasquez. The couple visited sites supported by The Salvador Foundation, including a school the organization helped build and places of employment for underprivileged citizens.

ANTHONY EVANS NO. 1 AT ITUNES

Smooth and soulful R&B singer Anthony Evans just released his third CD, The Bridge (EMI Gospel), and found it soaring up the digital format charts. The project topped iTunes’ Christian & Gospel list as the top downloaded CD for its recent street week, which comes on the heels of his “Meaningless” music video hitting No. 1 on Gospel Music Channel’s Soul charts.

Check out this week's ! Album Alert. For more headlines, visit the news feed at CMCentral.com.