Larry was a singer, song-writer and producer who was considered the 'father of Christian rock music'. His solo albums recorded in the 1970's on his own independent label 'Solid Rock', and the albums of other artists he discovered and produced laid the foundation for what would eventually become the Christian rock music industry, a genre which largely shunned him and his music. Norman was an eccentric visionary whose songs drew controversy from both the conservative religious establishment and the secular music press for his mix of radical religious, political and social themes. His 1969 solo album UPON THIS ROCK is regarded as the first Christian rock record, and his milestone 1972 release ONLY VISITING THIS PLANET is considered one of the best albums in the genre and was chosen by the United States Library of Congress in 2014 as an American cultural treasure. [http://www.larrynorman.com/about.html]
By 1970, when I was attending Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, NY, I was elected to serve on the student council as the Religious Life Director. I had a budget to work with and decided to commit a very large portion of it to bringing Larry Norman to the campus for a weekend. His fee and airfare took up most of the budget, but we were able to replace some of it by ticket sales and other events we sponsored.
The concert in the sanctuary of Pearce Memorial Free Methodist Church was packed! At the appointed time, Larry walked onto the stage in his blue jeans carrying his guitar case. He opened the case, retuned his guitar and introduced himself to screams of delight. He started to sing and share stories that mesmerized all of us. During the periods of wild applause, he simply stood with his head down and his finger pointed to the heavens - the traditional 'one-way' sign credited to him! For several songs, he slipped over to the grand piano and sang while playing.
I believe he arrived on Thursday and then flew home on Sunday. I scheduled him in chapel and also in several classes. However, trying to be respectful of jet-lag and his long trip, I scheduled him off during the afternoon. I figured he might appreciate the rest. Instead, I learned later that he hitch-hiked into Rochester with his guitar and played on the streets of downtown for several hours before hitching back to campus! This guy was serious about sharing his faith in Jesus!
We had no regrets about his time with us!
If you're not familiar with his music, I've included the lyrics to "Only Visiting This Planet" below. Perhaps his best known song was "I Wish We'd All Been Ready". If you'd like to listen to some of his songs, check out: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlcNAnvpr3u55f-0VU1jovfAc5s9GTcS0
Alice is a drag queen, Bowie's somewhere in between
Other bands are looking mean, me, I'm trying to stay clean.
I don't dig the radio, I hate what the charts pick
Rock and roll may not be dead, but it's getting sick.
All over the world disc jockeys sound the same
And every town I play is like the one from where I came.
Rolling Stones are millionaires, flower children pallbearers,
Beatles said All you need is love, and then they broke up.
Jimi took an overdose, Janis followed so close,
The whole music scene and all the bands are pretty comatose.
This time last year, people didn't wanna hear.
They looked at Jesus from afar, this year he's a superstar.
Dear John, who's more popular now?
I've been listening to some of Paul's new records.
Sometimes I think he really is dead.
It's 1973, I wonder who we're gonna see
Who's in power now? Think I'll turn on my TV,
The man on the news said China's gonna beat us,
We shot all our dreamers, there's no one left to lead us.
We need a solution, we need salvation,
Let's send some people to the moon and gather information.
They brought back a big bag of rocks.
Only cost thirteen billion. Must be nice rocks.
You think it's such a sad thing when you see a fallen king
Then you find out they're only princes to begin with
And everybody has to choose whether they will win or lose
Follow God or sing the blues, and who they're gonna sin with.
What a mess the world is in, I wonder who began it.
Don't ask me, I'm only visiting this planet.
Larry died February 24, 2008, at the age of sixty after a period of prolonged heart problems.
No comments:
Post a Comment