Larry Norman

Larry David Norman (born April 8, 1947 in Corpus Christi, Texas) is an American singer-songwriter considered the forefather of Contemporary Christian Music. He is well known for his hard rock anthems alongside his delicate and haunting folk rock ballads. Norman is well respected for his creative songwriting. One critic lionized him in 1970 as the "Rebel Poet, Jukebox Balladeer" (Ed Plowman, Hollywood Free Paper).

Norman's music has been covered by a variety of artists including Petula Clark, Sammy Davis, Jr., Pat Boone, Jack Jones, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Cliff Richard, Frank Black, and dc Talk. His music has been translated into more than a dozen languages, studied in college literary classes and used in many films - Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music?, Thief In The Night, Tribulation Force, Live At Greenbelt – BBC Documentary, The Son Worshippers, etc.

Norman was inducted as a rock singer-songwriter into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame alongside Elvis Presley in 2001.

History

At age nine, Norman began writing his songs and performing them in public. For almost thirty years the press has referred to him as “the father of Christian rock” because it he was one of the first who first combined rock and roll with Christian lyrics. During the 1960s, he was banned in most Bible bookstores. But in later years he began to gain wider acceptance. Christian Artists Seminar awarded him their Lifetime Achievement Award and Contemporary Christian Music Magazine named Norman's Only Visiting This Planet record the most significant and influential gospel album ever released in the field of contemporary Christian music.

His recording ministry started in 1966 when the group he was a part of, People!, was offered a contract by Capitol Records and they found themselves on the same label as The Beatles and The Beach Boys. People! opened for secular groups like The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Janis Joplin, The Byrds and many others. Larry was outspoken about his beliefs. His music was original and thought-provoking. Pete Townshend is said to have credited Larry's own rock opera, The Epic, for inspiring the rock-opera, Tommy, recorded by The Who. Their first album was titled I Love You by the record company, to bank on the success of the group's hit single of the same name written by Chris White of The Zombies. However, Norman and People! had originally planned to call the record, We Need A Whole Lot More Of Jesus, And A Lot Less Rock And Roll. Norman is rumored to have quit the group on the day of the records, release, citing dissatisfaction over artistic control over People's creative output.

In 1969 Larry recorded his Capitol album, Upon This Rock, which introduced the songs “I Wish We’d All Been Ready,” and “Sweet Song of Salvation.” These songs became anthems for the burgeoning Jesus Movement. He also recorded the albums Only Visiting This Planet and So Long Ago The Garden for MGM/Verve Records. In the years that followed he headlined at The Hollywood Bowl, The Sydney Opera House, and London's Royal Albert Hall, which he sold out six times. His songs have been recorded by more that 350 other artists, translated into more than a dozen languages. He has also performed in Russia, China, India, Japan, Italy, South Africa, Israel, Poland, Prague, Australia, Norway, Sweden, France, England, and Belfast.

In 1972, Norman made his first screen appearance in Son of Blob (the campy sequel to the film, The Blob (also known as Beware! The Blob!) acting alongside Larry Hagman, Burgess Meredith, Robert Walker, Jr., Carole Lynley, stand–up comics Shelley Berman, Godfrey Cambridge and other established actors.

In 1975 he started his own label, Solid Rock Records, and recorded In Another Land and other style-breaking albums for his stable of Solid Rock artists. In Another Land was censored by Word Records, which insisted upon removing music they felt was “too ontroversial.”When his 1976 album, Something New Under The Son, met with similar censorship, he took off on a seven-month world tour and wrote Voyage Of The Vigilant.

Despite the censorship difficulties he was experiencing with his own albums, he was hitting home runs with other artists’ albums. He had found Randy Stonehill in Obscurity (TX), worked for several years to get him off of drugs, produced Welcome to Paradise, and took Randy with him all across Europe and America, which firmly established Randy’s recognition by 1977. He also discovered Steve Camp, who signed with Solid Rock and then asked Larry to let him sign with Myrhh. Larry had nurtured Keith Green, who later signed with Sparrow. Mark Heard was working in a chicken cage factory for Spinkomatic when Larry met him. Larry invited him to join Solid Rock. With the exception of Mark, who went on to release critically acclaimed albums, the albums of the other artists which were released on Solid Rock, have generally been considered the most definitive albums they ever recorded.

In 1978 Norman was in an airplane accident which caused partial brain damage and affected his recording output for the next twelve years. He continued to write new songs and perform them in concert but never released the studio versions.

By 1981 Norman and his father had started Phydeaux Records as an anti-bootlegging measure to compete with, and erode the sales of, illegal concert recordings such as Live at the Mac and pirated copies of studio tapes from albums like Rough Mix2. His vinyl albums currently sell among collectors for up to $400.

In 1990 Norman performed seven times at Moscow's 35,000 seat Olympic Stadium. The following summer he recorded Stranded in Babylon in Norway. It was voted "Album of the Year" by different European gospel magazines and compared often with Only Visiting This Planet. He returned to America to organize its U.S. release but in February of 1992 stress and years of physically exhausting tours led to a severe heart attack. He recovered at that time and began doing occasional concerts for the next ten years, releasing albums now and then.

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

In 2003 Norman held a "final concert" in his adopted hometown of Salem, Oregon; he has performed similar concerts in 2005 and 2006. In the summer of 2006 his group People! held a reunion concert. In the spring of 2007 he went on tour in Norway, Switzerland, Germany, and England.

Influence

Many artists have been influenced by Norman's music, including Frank Black of the Pixies. His album Frank Black & the Catholics features a cover song of Norman's Six-Sixty-Six. Black also covered Norman songs during solo concerts in 2005 and 2006. In the song Levitate Me, Black also parroted Norman's California/Texas accent with "Come on pilgrim, you know he loves you" – a phrase that Norman had inserted on the end of his 1978 blues song Watch What You're Doing. Black was one of the "special guests" at the June 2005 Elsinore Theater concert in Salem, joining Norman on the song, Watch What You're Doing. [1]

Other artists such as Dc Talk count themselves as fans of Norman's. Guns N' Roses keyboard player Dizzy Reed performed on Norman's Copper Wires album. While Norman was recording at George Martin's AIR Studios in 1974, Paul McCartney was quoted in an interview as saying that Norman could have been one of the most significant artist of the 1970s, if he didn't only restrict himself to spiritual themes. Bono and The Edge from U2 are also fans.

In the 1990s, animators for the popular television series, The Simpsons created a limited edition comic book featuring Norman as a Simpsons character. Watches were also sold that featured Norman's yellow, three fingered Simpsons' likeness.

Characteristics of Norman's Music

The majority of Norman's music that was produced during his most creative years (1966 - 1978, from his People! albums up through solo works like Something New Under the Son) remain the fountainhead of his creative work.

His songs addressed topics touching on politics (The Great American Novel), the eventual emptiness of free love (Pardon Me), the passive commercialism of war–time journalists (I Am The Six O'Clock News), witchcraft and the occult (Forget Your Hexagram) and alienation (Lonely by Myself), religious hypocrisy (Right Here In America) and many other topics unadressed by most American songwriters.

Quality of Production

Other than Streel Level and Bootleg, which were intentionally raw and dirty productions, the rest of Norman's music was of a significantly higher production quality than that of most other music of the singer–songwriter genre. Larry was able to get significant figures in secular music involved in the production process, most notably George Martin and Andy Johns.

Perhaps the most controversial involvement in Norman's career occurred over Daniel Amos's Horrendous Disc LP. The album, which was recorded in 1978, had been dropped by Maranatha! Music after the label decided to quit releasing rock and roll albums and focus on children's releases and gospel music. So the band, now without a record contract, began to shop the project around to various labels. After considering a number of offers including the Warner Brothers' label Curb Records, Amos settled on Norman's Solid Rock Records in late 1978. Norman had the album mixed and took photos of the band for the album's cover, though most of the tracks were recorded back in 1978 with Mike "Clay" Stone (Queen, Frank Zappa) as producer. For reasons that remain a mystery, the album was shelved until its release in April 1981, weeks before the band's follow up on Newpax Records, ¡Alarma!, hit record stores. While in People! during the mid 1960's, Norman shared the stage with D.A.'s Terry Scott Taylor in one of his early pre-Daniel Amos bands, Copperbrick Window. Decades later, Norman paid homage to Taylor on the D.A. tribute album, When Worlds Collide. However, the Horrendous Disc episode strained the relationship between D.A. and Norman.

Norman re-released Horrendous Disc on CD in 2000. The re-release stirred controversy among Daniel Amos fans by the inclusion of two bonus tracks: Tribute recordings to Daniel Amos that Larry recorded at the end of the Horrendous Disc CD. There was supposed to be eight minutes of silence after the album was finished, and then the surprise bonus tracks. But the pressing plant thought the eight minute lapse was an error and moved the two tribute recordings to follow immediately after the Daniel Amos album.

Larry was furious when he received a copy of the 1,000 units of the CD which had already been sent out and distributed. And it also angered Daniel Amos' hard core fans. The covers sung by Norman were of his favorite Daniel Amos song – "Hound of Heaven." One recording was a straight-ahead tribute version of the song and the second tribute recording was a version using a very laid–back jazz band. Norman was also accused by the DA fans of being too defensive in his liner notes. Currently, Daniel Amos and Larry are putting together a "Deluxe Edition" of "Horrendous Disc" with the original Horrendous Disc on the first disc and many bonus tracks on the second disc.

Selected discography

1960s

Album	Year of release
I Love You (with People!)	1968
Both Sides of People! (with People!)	1969
Upon This Rock	1969

1970s

Album	Year of release
Street Level	1970
Bootleg	1972
Only Visiting This Planet	1972
So Long Ago the Garden	1973
In Another Land	1976
Larry Norman (or Starstorm)	1977
Something New under the Son	1977

1980s

• The Israel Tapes, 1980 live album
• Roll Away The Stone, 1980 live album
• Something New under the Son, 1981 album
• Larry Norman And His Friends On Tour, 1981 live album
• Barking At The Ants, 1981 collection with other artists
• Letter Of The Law, 1982 album
• Labor Of Love, 1982 album
• The Story Of The Tune, 1983 album
• Come As A Child, 1983 live album
• Quiet Night, 1984 album
• bArchaeology, 1984 collection
• Stop This Flight, 1985 album
• Back To America, 1985 collection
• Down Under (But Not Out) 1986 album
• Rehearsal For Reality, 1986 album
• Home at Last, 1986 album
• The Best Of The 2nd Trilogy, 1988 collection
• White Blossoms From Black Roots, 1989 album
• Live At Flevo with Q. Stone, 1989 live album

1990s

• Live At Flevo, 1990 live album
• The Best Of Larry Norman, 1990 collection
• Rough Mix 3, 1990, album
• Stranded in Babylon, 1991 album
• Children Of Sorrow, 1994 live album
• Totally Unplugged, 1994 live album
• A Moment In Time, 1994 live album
• Footprints In The Sand, 1994 collection
• Omega Europa, 1994 live album
• Remixing This Planet, 1996 remix album
• Gathered Moments (Somewhere In This Lifetime), 1998 collection & live album
• Shouting In The Storm, 1998 live album
• Breathe In, Breathe Out, 1998 live album
• Copper Wires, 1998 album
• Live At The Mac, 1998 live album
• We Wish You A Larry Christmas, 1998 collection
• Home Box, 1998 featuring Home at Last & Footprints In The Sand together
• When Worlds Collide: A Tribute to Daniel Amos, 1999
• The Vineyard, 1999 live album
• Rough Street Love Letter, 1999 collection
• Father Touch, 1999 Phann Klubb release
• The Cottage Tapes - Book One, 1999 collection (featuring Randy Stonehill)

2000s

• In The Beginning, 2000 live album from Creation West 2000 festival
• Blarney Stone, 2000 album
• Sticks And Stones, 2000 album
• Tourniquet, 2001 album
• The Best Of Larry Norman, 2001 30 Year British Anniversary Tour celebration collection
• The Belfast Bootlegs, 2001 live collection through the years
• Agitator, 2002 "The Essential Series - CD2" collection
• Collaborator, 2002 "The Essential Series - CD4" collection
• Survivor, 2002 "The Essential Series - CD7" collection
• Instigator, 2002 "The Essential Series - CD1" collection
• Rock, Scissors et Papier, 2003 album
• Larry Norman Presents Solid Rock Sampler 1, 2003 collection (includes other artists)
• Live At Cornerstone 2001, 2003 live release
• Restless In Manhattan, 2003, live album from the early '70s
• Invitation Only, 2003 concert goer's release
• American Roots, 2003 collection
• The Very Best Of Larry Norman, 2003 collection
• Road Rage, 2003 live album
• Christmastime, 2003 Christmas album
• The Six O'Clock News, 2004 single
• Eve Of Destruction, 2004 single
• Snowblind, 2004 live album from the 1980s
• Infiltrator, 2004 "The Essential Series - CD6" collection
• Liberator, 2004 "The Essential Series - CD3" collection
• The Final Concert, 2004 live Final concert (maybe not!)
• Sessions, 2004 medical expenses special
• Heartland Junction, 2004 collection
• The Norman Invasion, 2004 live 2001 tour collection
• The Cottage Tapes - Book Two, 2004 collection (featuring Randy Stonehill)
• Emancipator, 2004 "The Essential Series - CD5" collection
• On The Prowl, 2004 live album from 1986
• 70 Miles From Lebanon, 2004 live album from 2003's "final" show
• 70 Miles From Lebanon, 2004 live DVD from 2003's "final" show
• Maximum Garden - The Anthology Series, 2004 alternate takes collection
• Maximum Planet - The Anthology Series, 2004 alternate takes collection
• The Very Best Of Larry Norman - Vol 2, 2004 collection
• Hattem, 2005 live album
• Face To Face, 2005 live DVD
• Siege At Elsinore, 2005 album (not to confused with the June concert in Salem)
• Frisbee, 2005 unsanctioned soundtrack album. Pulled upon release and retitled/repackaged as Slinky
• 4 Track Motorola '66 Corolla, 2005 alternate takes and outtakes album
• Live at the Elsinore, 2005 live album from June concert in Salem
• Dust On Rust, 2006 album
• Maximum Son - The Anthology Series, 2006 alternate takes collection

Videos

• "The Rock That Doesn't Roll", Switzerland, May 2007
• "Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music?", Switzerland, May 2007

Selected Contributions

• Welcome to Paradise, Randy Stonehill, 1977, Vocals, Produced and Arranged by Larry Norman.
• Lead Me Home, Dave Mattson, 1978, Vocals.
• The Sky Is Falling, Randy Stonehill, 1979, Vocals, Produced and Arranged by Larry Norman.
• Appalachian Melody, Mark Heard, 1979, Vocals, Produced and Arranged by Larry Norman.
• Stop the Dominoes, Mark Heard, 1981, Vocals.
• Victims of the Age, Mark Heard, 1982, Vocals.

External links

• Official Larry Norman Site
• Official British Site
• Jim Böthel's Unofficial Larry Norman Discography Site
• Larry in the UK
• Myspace Tribute Site
• Gospel Hall Of Fame page
• Larry Norman at the Arena Rock Recording Co.