He opened for Janis Joplin and became well known to Christians and non-Christians alike early in his career, but if you’re under 30, you’ve probably never even heard of him. Larry Norman has been off the radar for decades, but he was one of the first guys to mesh faith in Jesus with power chords and blues riffs in the early 70’s. He died Sunday at the age of 60.
I was introduced to his records when I was in high school (yes, I really did listen to him on vinyl), and I was instantly drawn to his gut-level honesty. He wasn’t out to make Christian MusicTM, he was simply making good music influenced by his love for God. Unlike most of today’s antiseptic faith-based music, Larry pulled no punches. How many contemporary Christian artists could you imagine singing lines like this?
You got gonorrhea on Valentine’s Day
You’re still looking for the perfect lay
You think rock and roll will set you free
You’ll be dead before you’re 33
You’re shooting junk until you’re half insane
A broken needle in your purple vein
Why don’t you look into Jesus?
He’s got the answers