The Exkursions

The Exkursions were a power trio formed in Chicago in 1968 and said to be influenced by Cream and Jimi Hendrix. Their sound spawned out of Chicago's own particular blend of jazz, blues and rock.
The band was led by Mike Johnson who later went on to record solo projects and even earn songwriter of the year award.
Mike Johnson passed away in his sleep of a heart attack on February 9th, 2013 in his Nashville home. During a troubled adolescence, Mike Johnson dropped out of school and ended up playing guitar for the legendary Paul Butterfield Blues Band. After receiving help from the Teen Challenge ministry, Mike surrendered his life to Christ. He formed The Exkursions and started playing some of the world's very first heavy Christian rock music. Johnson went on to record several influential albums of Jesus Music as a solo artist in the 1970s, the most well known being 1976's The Artist/The Riddle. He also combined with Randy Matthews & Danny Taylor with an album entitled "Matthews, Taylor And Johnson."
Randy Matthews wrote about first meeting Mike at a "rather primitive Christian rock festival held in a high school gym" in 1972. Larry Norman was there as well. "I was excited about meeting Larry, but even more so about meeting Mike who, in my mind, was THE true father of what we now call Contemporary Christian Music," wrote Matthews in a blog by Mark Hollingsworth called Embracing the Gray. "It was because of his young visionary work with The Exkursions, a missionary band who worked with the Billy Graham Association and at the same time performed on street corners that had captured my imagination."

R.I.P. Mike Johnson: October 11, 1945 - February 9, 2013