CCM group NewSong was formed in Valdosta, GA, in 1981 by Eddie Carswell, Billy Goodwin, Eddie Middleton, and Bobby Apon, who met while attending Morningside Baptist Church. The quartet's local popularity quickly swelled, and in 1982 they signed to Covenant Records to issue their debut LP, Son in My Eyes; a move to the Word label preceded NewSong's 1984 follow-up, The Word.