John Michael Talbot was born in Oklahoma City in 1954 and grew up in Indianapolis. He moved to Arkansas and founded the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage in 1982, an integrated monastic community of celibates, singles who can marry, families, and domestics who live in their own homes. He still serves as minister general. He was a founding artist of Sparrow Records in 1976. After a successful career with Sparrow, in 1992 John Michael founded his own record label, Troubadour for the Lord, and is now recognized as one of Catholic music's most popular artists. Talbot is author of Reflections on St. Francis (Liturgical Press, 2009) and The Universal Monk (Liturgical Press, 2011). He has been married to Viola Talbot since 1989 and leads an active concert and teaching ministry from his home at Little Portion Hermitage Monastery.