Larry Norman (1947-2008)

It saddens me to report that a week ago today, Larry Norman, the Father of Christian Rock, passed away of heart failure.

Many/most of you have probably never heard of Larry Norman. He started his career back in the 1960s in San Francisco, California as part of the "Jesus Movement" while signed to Capitol Records and later MGM.

"[In] 1971, TIME magazine was reporting on the growth of the Jesus Movement, and while Larry Norman took some steps to distance himself from it, he had become the most popular musician among its followers. TIME Magazine reported that Eric Clapton had become a 'convert of the Jesus Movement,' and a 1971 cover article also named members of Peter, Paul, and Mary and Fleetwood Mac within its sphere of influence. Johnny Cash was also named."

Larry was also a huge influence in helping musicians break their drug habits. He started a Bible study called "The Vineyard" in the 1970s that was attended by actors and musicians. Most notably: Bob Dylan.

By the end of the '70s, Larry left the major labels and pursued a career as an independent artist. Throughout his career, his work has appeared on over 90 albums. Van Morrison as well as John Mellencamp have claimed to be fans of Larry and over 300 artists have covered his songs, including Sammy Davis, Jr.

Larry's had problems with his heart for decades. Surgery after surgery have been performed, although it was usually just a struggle to even get into the operating room. Costly operations are difficult to pay for when you're an independent musician with no health insurance. Larry had to rely primarily on the financial support of his fans to cover his medical expenses.

I was introduced to Larry Norman's music back in 1995 or so. My sister Krysti was dating my now brother-in-law Marc, who was also my youth pastor at the time. Marc had been a fan of Larry's music for years and was quite eager to share that fanaticism with a new generation (me).



In May of 1996, Marc and I journeyed to Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, just outside of Toronto, to see Larry. It was my first time, Marc's too, if I recall. We drove over 13 hours overnight to get there. We arrived at the venue about 4 hours before the show and were pretty much the only attendees around. The promotor heard how far we'd traveled, and reserved two seats front and center just for us. It was a pretty amazing experience considering the history and influence of Larry's message and his music. It was also a reminder of how fragile his health was, even then. Forty-eight at the time, he already had had major heart surgery more than once. He had to stop the concert halfway through due to a bout of coughing and to go take some heart meds. After thirty or so minutes, though, he came back out and finished his set.



Marc and I had the opportunity to meet him afterwards. I don't remember much about it, being 15ish at the time, but I do remember that Larry was very low-key and happy just to be able to talk to his fans about what's going on in their lives, his music, or anything really. It was quite an experience. Something I'll never forget.



I'm not sure the timeline, but maybe a year later, Larry was performing in Iowa somewhere. Marc and I badly wanted to see him again, and knowing how (un)healthy he was, knew we'd better take the chance when we had it. This time we brought along my sister, Marc's wife, so she could experience the magic. She wasn't the hugest fan of Larry's before she saw him live; most people aren't. He doesn't have the most radio-friendly voice or anything. But after she saw him in person, she came to appreciate the artist that Larry truly is: goofy at times, but at his core, a genuine human being who had the gift of influencing people with his message and music.





When I was in high school, I had the opportunity to pick a song to present to my english class. We were looking at music and the meaning behind the words in the songs. I chose Larry Norman's "America." It was the perfect chance to present Larry to people who likely hadn't heard of him before. I'm not sure if I converted any fans, but it was pretty cool for me.

In the ten years since I've seen Larry live, he's had a stroke and other ailments, disallowing him to even play the guitar for a couple years earlier this decade. I've often wanted to see him one last time, as I'm older and more in tune with myself and the world. Seeing him perform was very limited in occurrence and distant in location; it just never really worked out. I'm very thankful and blessed that I was able to see him when I did.

Larry, thank you for the gift of your music, for the blessing of your message, and the convictions of your heart. You will be missed, but never forgotten.

Now that I've been a little lax in tracking down your albums, I suppose that those vinyl records going for $400 awhile back on eBay will be even harder to track down.

Here's a classic video of Larry, likely from the '80s:



At the time of his death, Norman had been working on a new project with Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock and Pixies frontman Frank Black, who cites Norman as a major influence. That music will be released later this year (Reuters).

Source: Wikipedia