Appreciation: Larry Norman, 1947-2008

Today, if you want to play rock and pop music about God, there are a variety of avenues.

You can get involved in music at your church, get a band together at youth group, or go to Nashville and attempt to hook up with one of numerous contemporary Christian music labels.

That’s oversimplifying it, probably more than a bit. But the point is, there is this thing that is known as contemporary Christian music that makes millions of dollars a year and boasts international superstars such as Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and Switchfoot.

But first, there was Larry Norman.

When I heard Norman died Sunday at his home in Oregon, my inclination was not to write an appreciation, because I try not to write appreciations of people whose work I did not honestly make part of my life. Norman was a little before my time. But where it not for him, the pop culture landscape may have been very different for millions of Christian music fans.

Known as the father of Christian rock, Norman started recording with the band People! in the late 1960s, scoring a Top 10 hit with a cover of the Zombies song, I Love You. That People! album included a song called We Need A Whole Lot More of Jesus, and A Lot Less Rock and Roll.

Norman soon left People! and pursued his own music, recording influential albums such as Upon This Rock in 1969 and Only Visiting This Planet in 1972. His signature tunes included the declaration, Why Should the Devil (Have all the Good Music).

Mixing rock ’n’ roll and spiritual messages came naturally to Norman. He was born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1947 to a father who preached in hospitals and prisons, according to his biography at musicianguide.com. Like many boys his age, Norman eventually became enamored of Elvis Presley’s music.

“I wanted to push aside the traditional gospel quartet music, break down the church doors and let the hippies and the prostitutes and other unwashed rabble into the sanctuary,” he said in an interview with Contemporary Musicians magazine. “I wanted to talk about feeding the poor, going into the world . . . I wanted the church to get active and go out and do what Jesus told us to do. I felt that while the hymns had great theology soaked into their lyrics, that most of the modern music was anemic and needed a transfusion.”

Today, contemporary Christian stars are embraced on the stages of megachurches across the country and even play the White House -- a privilege Norman eventually enjoyed, twice. But when Norman started, Christian rock was regarded by most churches as silly at best, dangerous at worst. Rock ’n’ roll was, of course, the Devil’s music. From the other side, Norman constantly had to contend with record labels that tried to edit the Christian content of his music.

Eventually Norman had successors, even Bod Dylan for a spell, and contemporary Christian stars such as Randy Stonehill began by working with Norman. Like many aging rockers, Norman quieted down in his later years, but still found himself celebrated by the people who followed in his footsteps. In 1995, artists such as Audio Adrenaline and Rebecca St. James recorded a tribute CD, One Way: Songs of Larry Norman. The trio dc talk almost singlehandedly brought the Norman classic I Wish We’d All Been Ready back to public consciousness.

So, while Norman’s music and sound belonged to another era, for many of us, we cannot help but appreciate the trail that he blazed and feel sad his visit to this planet is now over.

~ Christianity Today has a real good, objective story about Norman.

Comments

[michael]

Larry was an inspiration for me...i remember growing up in church in the 80s and he was someone i could relate to, because he played the music i liked along with the christian message! church, to me, was kinda boring and i couldn't relate to it...but i sure related to larry...and i KNOW there are many others who can relate to what i'm saying! He was an inspiration! may he rest in peace! he was "only visiting this planet"!

[Curt]

Thanks for recognizing Larry. He "discovered" and promoted my favorite Christian rocker growing up, Mark Heard. Mark's music helped me through a bout with clinical depression. In a roundabout way (which so often it is in God's providence) Larry had a major influence on my life. I know Larry was very flawed in his personal relations and I cant help but wonder if his bi-polar condition and head trauma from his plane crash played into that. But both on the spiritual and physical planes, that's why we need a savior. Larry is experiencing a great measure of that delieverence now.

[Mike]

Thanks Rich for knowing and recognizing the heritage of Christian Rock. I am 49 years old. I remember going to an "afterglow" for youth after a Bill Glass Crusade meeting in the early 70's with my youth group. A Christian rock group was performing. My youth pastor was so upset with the style of music he had us walk out. We were singing "We don't need no rock-n-roll singers, His banner over me is love" in the church van on the way home.

I grew out of that stage to volunteer at Ichthus for 4 years in the mid-80's when I was a student at Asbury Seminary. God used Larry Norman the let the world know, indeed, that the Devil did not have all the good music! God also demonstrated through Larry that He uses imperfect people to be a vessel of His light.

Mike
Stanton, KY

[Jeff in Lexington]

I recall seeing Larry Norman in concert at Asbury probably 25 years ago. Even as a young teenager, I was moved by his music. He was unlike anyone I had seen or heard before! His influence on contemporary Christian music cannot be overstated.