Larry Norman passed away Sunday, February 24th, at 2:45 in the morning. He was 60 years old. Larry was often called "The Father of Christian Rock" for being one of the most prominent forerunners of the genre. He felt there was "nothin wrong with playing blues licks" at a time when Rock and Roll was viewed by most church folk as being of the devil.I think I first saw Larry at Ichthus 84'. The first record I got was "Stop this Flight", which to this day is still my favorite. Larry could be more entertaining with just himself and a guitar than most could be with a full band, lights, and all the other concert hall trimmings.
Seeing Larry in concert was a treat and I am glad I was able to see him multiple times. His heart was tender towards God and he always spent a good portion of his concert telling you in many ways that Jesus loves you.
The clip below is from the last time I saw him at Cornerstone in 2000.
Goodbye Larry... you were just passin through. I hope I'll see you in heaven.
Some more goodbyes and articles on his passing:
Razing the Bar
All of It
Matt's
YSMarko
Internetmonk
Assist
Pitchfork
Atypical Girl
Free Republic
Ray Fowler
Derek Vreeland
Spero News
4 comments:
oh wow. we always knew this day would come too soon, but still... He certainly lived a full life and made the most of his time here, and he certainly had an impact (a good one, in spite of the fact that one of the seeds of his life bloomed into the CCM industry! mixed bag of fruit, that).
I remember taking that picture!
Ichthus '93. (who's that kid standing next to him though?) ;-)
Andy, You had to have seen Larry earlier than '84. We saw him at one of those Jesus Festivals in Canada in the late '70's. He was there with Randy Stonehill. Wow, very cool picture but Andy, you're half the man there you are today :)
Larry, your music was there during my spiritual birth and throughout my walk with God. This world was not your home, you were just passing through. Look forward to seeing you at Home when my time here is over.
My buddy at NorthVu's just posted on this also - and I was not a huge fan of Larry Norman - but he was the fore-runner of Christian rock and the way he did it was kind of cool (being the first and all). He was definitely loved in the Christian community.
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