Micheal English

Singer Michael English says his greatest fear is not that he'll yield to temptation and once again get hooked on painkilling prescription drugs.

"I believe God has done a number on me and taken away the desire for those things," English, 45, said in a phone interview from his home near Nashville, Tenn.

"But the problem for me is, if I ever get into an accident or need surgery, I won't be able to take the stuff," he said.

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The North Carolina native is five years into recovery in his battle to stay drug-free. Not coincidentally, in the past half-decade English has remarried, celebrated the birth of a child and is working on a new CD.

The chapters of English's life and career reveal a bumpy ride spelled out in his new autobiography "The Prodigal Comes Home" written with Lynn Vincent.

The North Carolina native was raised on Southern gospel music and is blessed with a natural tenor voice. He sang his way through several gospel groups, including the Grammy-winning Gaither Vocal Band from 1985 to 1991.

His experience led him to a burgeoning solo career that peaked in 1994 with a handful of top Christian radio hits and multiple Dove Awards. His song "In Christ Alone" won Song of the Year.

But an affair with another Christian music artist that hit newsstands with a thud threw his personal life into turmoil and crippled his career. A stab at pop music showed some promise, but a deepening addiction to prescription pain killers such as Loritab and Oxycontin hammered his health and ability to perform, and took him on a downward spiral.

"You can function to a point, but your body is craving and you can only handle so much," he said.

Stints in detox and rehab programs in 2000 came just before his sentence on a guilty plea to 12 counts of prescription drug fraud. Even though English fell back into addiction, a methodone program finally helped get his life back on track. He has slowly built a renewed concert schedule, but currently performs without a backup band, doing "track" dates such as the one scheduled Sunday at Sandy Pines in Hopkins.

Nearly five years ago, he married the former Marcie Stambaugh, who has some family roots in the Grand Rapids area. Their daughter, Isabella, just turned 3.

English said he is very excited about his upcoming CD, produced by Mark Miller of the country band Sawyer Brown.

"This is the first record I've done with a pure and clean heart that feels good about the future," he said. "It's a Christian music album, kind of an alternative pop style."

The working title is the same as his book: "The Prodigal Comes Home."

These days, English performs songs from throughout his career, including several from a greatest hits collection released last year.

He said his musical and spiritual lives have been renewed.

"I used to have a resume that was impeccable, but now it's a rotten one," he said. "But I'm more equipped now for the job than I've ever been."