An icon from my teen and young adult years has died. Larry Norman, the father of Jesus Music, died very early Sunday morning after years of heart problems.
Lots of detail, including a message dictated to his fans, available on this blogpost.
Izzy and I got to see Larry once together at Cornerstone 1998. He was showing the effects (cerebral) from the plane crash he had survived. But he was also reminding us of the power of Jesus Music to change an entire generation.
There were lots of folks who faulted him for his management of the music of others (Larry produced lots of folks, and fans of Mark Heard didn't like how Mark's music was handled after his death in 1992.) Larry may have been thinking about some of that in his final message to fans, posted there as well.
Izzy, who has been a fan since the early 1970's and who saw Larry several times, has been singing his music since we got the news just a bit ago. They don't make 'em like Larry anymore.
From The Outlaw
some say He was an outlaw that He roamed across the land
with a band of unschooled ruffians and a few old fishermen
no one knew just where He came from or exactly what He'd done
but they said it must be something bad that kept Him on the run
some day He was a poet that He'd stand upon the hill
and His voice could calm an angry crowd or make the waves stand still
that He spoke in many parables that few could understand
but the people sat for hours just to listen to that man
some say He was a sorceror a man of mystery
He could walk upon the water He could make a blind man see
that He conjured wine at weddings and did tricks with fish and bread
that He talked of being born again and raised people from the dead
some say a politician who spoke of being free
He was followed by the masses on the shores of galilee
He spoke out against corruption and He bowed to no decree
and they feared His strength and power so they nailed Him to a tree
some say He was the Son of God a man above all men
but He came to be a servant and to set us free from sin
and that's who i believe He was 'cause that's who i believe
and i think we should get ready 'cause it's time for us to leave
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2 comments:
Larry...RIP
A true original and difference maker.
You will be missed.....Jacob
Just a point of clarification. The airplane incident was not a crash in the way people think of such things. The overhead luggage compartment above Larry's section came down and gave his head a mighty whack.
He never was the world's greatest thinker, and the problems that came along after this didn't help. But in the end, it was congestive heart failure that got him, at just about 61 years of age.
You can hear an extended, 2-part interview from 2005 on the Drew Marshall show. Hit the archives for 2005 and search the page for "Norman." (16 April, 28 May)
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