Larry Norman
Larry David Norman (born April 8, 1947 in Corpus Christi, Texas)Norman was a member of the rock band People. That band released its first album in 1968 and had a Top 20 hit with the song, "I Love You".
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.
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.
Influence
Selected Discography
most titles available from Larry's website, www.larrynorman.com