Larry Norman
Norman left the band and released his first solo album, Upon This Rock, in 1969. Although Norman was not the first, there were very few artists making Rock and Roll records with Gospel lyrics at the time, possibly because so many people believed that rock music was "evil". Larry Norman changed that and opened the door for other artists with his 1972 classic "Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music", in which he speaks out against this belief and shows that you can still be a Christian and listen to rock music. For this reason, Norman has often been called the grandfather of Jesus Music and Christian Rock.
In 1972, Norman made his acting debut in the Blob sequel, Beware! The Blob (also known as Son of Blob).
In the early 1970's, Norman produced the first few albums released by his friend Randy Stonehill.
In the late 1970's, Norman formed Solid Rock Records, which went on to release Stonehill's Welcome to Paradise, Daniel Amos' Horrendous Disc, Tom Howard's A View From The Bridge, and Mark Heard's Appalachian Melody.
Norman was severely injured in aboard an airplane in 1978 when an overhead compartment door fell on his head. He did not record a studio album for the next twelve years. A dispute with Word Records resulting in the dismantling of the Solid Rock label in 1980. Norman moved to Europe and formed the Phydeaux label.
In 1992, he suffered a severe heart attack and was expected to live less than one week. He survived high-risk surgery and was left with very limited cardiopulmonary ability. Even though easily winded, he continued to perform very occasionally. In 2005 he tentatively announced two concerts.
He was inducted into the Gospel Music Association's Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
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Influence
Many artists have been influenced by Norman's music including Frank Black of the Pixies, who even covered one of Norman's songs, "Six-Sixty-Six" on his album Frank Black & the Catholics. During the song "Levitate Me", Black says "Come on pilgrim, you know he loves you" - a phrase that Norman would use in his concerts.
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.
Selected Discography
- Upon This Rock, 1969 album
- Street Level, 1970 album
- Bootleg, 1971 album
- Only Visiting This Planet, 1972 album
- So Long Ago the Garden, 1973 album
- In Another Land, 1976 album
- Streams of White Light, 1977 album
- Something New under the Son, 1980 album
- Roll Away the Stone, 1980 album
- Home at Last, 1988 album
- Stranded in Babylon, 1991 album
- Omega Europa, 1994 live album
- Tourniquet, 2001 album
- Live At Cornerstone 2001, 2003 release
- Restless In Manhattan, 2003, live album from the early '70s
- Christmastime, 2003 Christmas album
- Snowblind, 2004 live album from the 1980s
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