Remembering Larry the Lamb

Larry was kind enough to sign this CD cover from "Only Visiting This Planet."

NOTE: I penned this column in The (Maryville, TN) Daily Times a few years ago. (I think it was in 2004.) With Larry the Lamb now in the arms of the Great Shepherd of the Sheep, I thought it was timely to put it on the blog. The line drawing is a self-portrait by Larry.

It was an interesting plea on Larry Norman’s Web site:

“Could you look around your city and find the names and phone numbers of Christian bookstores and the churches which sell music inside their building? We’d like to contact them and see if they’re interested in Larry’s music. Thank you so much.”

So, I thought I would call one of the area Christian bookstores to get their response.

One store representative said something like, “Who? Never heard of him.”

The next one was a little more diplomatic, saying she never had anyone request his music, pretty much attributing it to a lack of airplay. “They (customers) usually come in asking about songs they’ve heard on the radio,” she explained, noting that stores don’t have time to individually deal with “just any artist.”

Pardon me for taking offense, but my response was along the lines of, “He’s pretty much the reason those folks (Christian music groups) are in your store to begin with.”

I neglected to mention the fact that Larry Norman’s breaking of fallow ground has yielded a great crop of green for Christian music retailers.

OK, Norman would admit that it wasn’t his work alone, but this really gripes my butter.

Granted, most of you readers have never heard of Larry Norman, particularly if are not Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) fans.

But for more than 30 years Norman has been referred to as the “father of Christian rock.” Nowadays, with the exploding CCM industry arguably entering a second and possibly even a third generation, he should probably be referred to as the “grandfather” of CCM. (Sorry, Larry.)

According to The Gospel Music Hall of Fame’s biography of Norman, his recording ministry began in 1966. His band People! opened for groups such as The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Janis Jolin and The Byrds. People! had a pop song entitled “I Love You!” that topped the secular charts and is among the more than 300 covers done by variety of non-gospel artists.

Rock artists ranging from Bob Dylan, to John Mellencamp, U2 and Van Morrison are said to be fans. The most telling statement of his originality and creativity in the rock arena: “Pete Townshend (of The Who) credited Larry’s own rock-opera, ‘The Epic,’ for inspiring the rock-opera ‘Tommy.’”

Unfortunately, it was all of those accolades from secular sources that caused suspicion in Christian quarters.

By 1969, Norman had recorded three albums for Capitol Records, the last of which was “Upon This Rock,” that included the original “left-behind” song, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready.” As “evangelical” a song as it was, becoming an anthem for the Jesus Movement, the album “Upon This Rock” was banned by Christian bookstores for about two years.

There is far more to the Larry Norman story than can be told here, but the question remains: Why does Larry have such a hard time getting into Christian bookstores? Truthfully, in 1999, a CD project of various artists covering his songs, entitled “One Way: The Songs of Larry Norman,” made it to the shelf. However, Larry’s classic albums — “Upon This Rock,” “Only Visiting This Planet,” “Stranded in Babylon,” and others — never seem to see the light of day in U.S. stores. Truth be known, Norman’s music does well in Europe, where retailers appear not to have any problem dealing with smaller labels, such as Solid Rock or Phydeaux.

Perhaps it’s not a retailer or airplay problem at all. Perhaps the issue has its roots in the attitudes of the church.

True, the lyrics are probing, even risqué at times — so much so, they are a bit uncomfortable, even though evangelical. Take, for example, “Why Don’t You Look Into Jesus,” from “Only Visiting This Planet”:

Drinking whiskey from a paper cup, you drown your sorrows til you can’t stand up.

Take a look at what you’ve done to yourself, why don’t you put the bottle back on the shelf.

Yellow fingers from your cigarettes, your hands are shakin’ while your body sweats.

Why don’t you look into Jesus, he’s got the answers.

If you’re going to affect society, sometimes you have to face it squarely on its own turf.

Again, given the sameness of much of CCM today, Norman’s approach may be part of what makes the industry — and the church — uncomfortable.

In one interview, cited by Donald Hughes’ in a column headlined, “Being Larry Norman,” Norman minced few words:

“Christian music barely affects society anymore. It’s really become a microcosmic subculture without much power to change lives. It’s like a soda fountain for Christians where they can go to taste different flavors. The best Christian music comes from the artists who work outside the industry and consider themselves ministers of the message, not purveyors and panderers.”

Norman told an interviewer for CCM magazine, “Christian music isn’t supposed to be polite. It’s supposed to be relevant.”

In a way, Larry kisses the culture; however, you could never say he beds down with it the way some CCM artists do.

Outside of his ministry struggles, Norman has faced other problems:

• There was a 1978 airplane accident resulted in partial brain damage that took years to overcome.
• In 1992, he suffered a severe heart attack, and like so many people has had to deal with issues of what insurers will and won’t cover in terms of costly treatments.

When he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2001, his son Michael flew to Nashville to accept the honor
and deliver a speech to the attendees.

Last fall, he performed what is likely to be his last concert.

As one who has benefited from Norman’s artistry, and the fields he plowed and seeded for others to harvest, this less than benign neglect on the part of the church — and the money-making machines associated with the church — pains me.

I’ve e-mailed the names of Christian retailers to Solid Rock with hopes that the stores will see fit to stock Norman’s records. I guarantee they’ll sell at least as well as some — if not better than most — of the artists they stock.

And let me offer you this: If you have never heard Larry Norman’s music, come out to the Greenway Music Festival at Green Meadow United Methodist Church, 1633 Louisville Road, Alcoa, on July 10. From noon to 7 p.m., there will be a number of Christian bands playing. In between sets we will be featuring Larry Norman’s music, and even giving away a couple of CDs (perhaps signed by “Larry the Lamb” himself) and a “Rock The Flock” T-shirt.

A warning though: You may never be the same.

After all, as Larry would say, “Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music?”

The Official Larry Norman Web site: www.larrynorman.com

‘Jesus Music’ Web site: www.one-way.org