BIRTHDATE:  November 21, 1962

BIRTHPLACE:  Paducah, Kentucky

SIBLINGS:  One older brother (Herbert Sheldon Chapman Jr.) [Steven has joked before how glad he was that he was born second!]

FIRST MUSICAL INFLUENCE:  His dad, Herb Sr., is a singer/songwriter/guitar player who has owed a music store by day and practiced his craft by night for many years.  Not only did he teach Steven to play, but he also was able to afford his children a vast array of instruments on which to practice because of the store.  Still, Steven says that it was those late Saturday nights of his youth that had the most impact.  His dad and friends would stay up late into the night, making "that McCracken County sound."  Steven would lie awake listening and was drawn to the process of making music.

FIRST SINGING GROUPS:  The Singing Chapmans (Steven and Herbie).  They were enormously popular in their area and performed often.  Also Chapman-Henderson (college band).

EDUCATION:  Graduated from Heath High School in 1981.  Named "Mr. Heath" by his classmates.  Attended Anderson College.

FAMILY:  Married Mary Beth Chapman (Yes, Chapman was also her maiden name!) at the age of 21, on October 13, 1984.  They have six children:  Emily Elizabeth, Caleb Stevenson, Will Franklin, and three adopted daughters, Shaohannah Hope, Stevey Joy and Maria Sue (who sadly passed away in May of 2008).  Shaohannah was adopted from China in 2000; Stevey in 2003 and Maria in 2004.  It had been Emily's dream to have a baby sister and to see her parents adopt a child.

FIRST SONG:  "Built to Last" which was recorded by The Imperials.  It had previously been recorded by Steven on his record label of the same name.

FIRST JOB:  Opryland.  It helped him work in his skills -- and he also learned to clog dance!

WHEN SIGNED:  1986 to Sparrow Records.  He's been with them ever since.

FAVORITE SODA:  Diet Pepsi

FAVORITE PIZZA:  Pepperoni & Mushroom w/stuffed crust

FAVORITE TOOTHPASTE:  Crest

FAVORITE CANDY BAR:  Snickers

FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR:  Maui Brownie Madness

FAVORITE SALAD DRESSING:  Honey mustard

FAVORITE VALENTINE CANDY:  Chocolate Turtles

FAVORITE CIRCUS ACT:  Dancing Poodles

FAVORITE HYMN:  Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

FAVORITE BIBLE VERSE:  Hebrews 12:2

MOST MEMORABLE MEETING:  Billy Graham

FAVORITE MOVIES:  Chariots of Fire & Shadowlands

FAVORITE COMIC STRIP:  Peanuts

DISNEY CHARACTER WHOSE PERSONALITY IS MOST LIKE YOURS:  Tigger

INSTRUMENT YOU WISH YOU COULD PLAY:  Harmonica

MENTOR:  Scotty Smith, Pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee

FAVORITE ELECTRONIC/MUSICAL "TOY":  Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier

BEST FRIEND:  Geoff Moore, Sparrow Label Mate and Occasional Co-Writer

PERSON YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRAVEL BACK IN TIME TO MEET: Corey Ten Boom, whose life story inspired Steven's song titled "Hiding Place" and/or Oswald Chambers, whose literary works including "My Utmost For His Highest" & "Abandoned to God" have inspired him to search for "what it means to live a life that is totally abandoned to God."

FAVORITE THINGS TO COLLECT:  Guitars and Hotel Shampoo

FAVORITE GUITAR THAT HE OWNS:  An old 1950's model Martin New Yorker that Mary Beth bought for him.  "When I was growing up, my dad was the choir director in our church.  The lady who played the organ, her husband had this guitar he had bought when he was in the war or something.  He had it under his bed and just babied it and never even really played it.  But he knew how much I love guitar, and whenever I would go over there, he would take it out from under the bed and let me play it," says Steven.  The small-bodied guitar fit just right in the eager hands of the 12-year-old Chapman.  And when this family friend passed away a few years ago, his widow called Steven's family to see if perhaps the now professional guitar guru might want to buy this memory from his past, an offer Mary Beth couldn't pass up.

NUMBER OF GUITARS HE OWNS:  Somewhere around 20, according to an October, 1996 CCM Magazine article.

INITIAL CAREER GOAL:  Steven first entered college as a pre-med major.  He was a very bright student who was going to be a dentist.

NICKNAMES:  "Stevei" (as a child); "Dr. Chapman" in college as a pre-med major; "Steven Curtis Clapton" & "Steven Courteous Chapman" by bandmates.

FAVORITE TV SHOW:  The Andy Griffith Show

SONG HE WISHES HE'D WRITTEN:  "The Living Years" by Mike & the Mechanics

FAVORITE VACATION SPOT:  Seaside, Florida

FAVORITE BOOKS:  "Abba's Child" by Brennan Manning, "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis

MOST ANNOYING HABIT:  Nail-biting

BAD HABIT:  Being late

FAVORITE FOOD:  Thai, Indian & Mexican

DREAM DUET:  Michael McDonald

FAVORITE SECULAR ALBUM:  Doobie Bros. Vol 1

DREAM MOVIE ROLE:  Luke Skywalker, Indians Jones, Marty McFly

FAVORITE/MOST EMBARRASSING BIRTHDAY GIFT:  Sexy Lingerie, which he opened at dinner in front of family and friends.  Supposedly, he has since come to better appreciate the offering and now refers to it as "the gift that keeps on giving"!

NUMBER OF DOVE AWARDS:  44 as of Spring, 2001.

QUOTE:  "The one great challenge of the incredible opportunity, of the platform I’ve experienced and enjoyed for the last 10 years has been that of saying with my mouth and knowing in my heart that my priorities are my relationship with God, #1, and then, secondly, my relationship with my family and my ministry to them as a father and as a husband. And if I’m not doing that ministry to the glory of God, then I can scratch the rest of it."