Introduction:
From the earliest moments of the Jesus Movement, Larry Norman has had a predominant place. In many ways, his name alone is synonymous with the revival. Let’s go back in a Time Machine and revisit the events that formed the man we think we know. (Below Material courtesy Wikipedia)
Larry David Norman (April 8, 1947 – February 24, 2008) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Christian rock music, and released more than 100 albums.
Early Life
Larry Norman was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, the oldest son of Joe Hendrex “Joe Billy” Norman (December 9, 1923 – April 28, 1999), and his wife, Margaret Evelyn “Marge” Stout (born in 1925 in Nebraska). Joe Norman had served as a sergeant in the US Army Air Corps during World War II and worked at the Southern Pacific Railroad while studying to become a teacher. After Norman’s birth, the family joined the Southern Baptist church. In 1950 the family moved to San Francisco, where they attended an African American Pentecostal church and then a Baptist church, where Norman became a Christian at the age of five. In 1959, Norman performed on the syndicated television show The Original Amateur Hour.
In 1960, Norman’s father began teaching in San Jose, California; the family lived in nearby Campbell. Norman graduated from Campbell High School in 1965 and won an academic scholarship to major in English at San Jose State College. After one semester, Norman “flunked out of college and lost [his] scholarship”.
Although Norman was able to play a variety of musical instruments, he never learned to read or write musical notation.
Career
Early bands
While still in high school, Norman formed a group called The Back Country Seven, which included his sister Nancy Jo and friend Gene Mason. After graduating, Norman continued performing locally.
In 1966 Norman opened a concert for People! at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California. He later became the band’s principal songwriter, sharing lead vocals with his Back Country Seven bandmate Gene Mason. People! performed about 200 concerts a year, appearing with Van Morrison and Them, The Animals, The Dave Clark Five, Paul Revere & the Raiders, The Doors, The Who, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Moby Grape, and San Jose bands Syndicate of Sound and Count Five.
The band’s cover of The Zombies’ “I Love You” became a hit single, selling over one million copies and charting strongly in several markets. Norman left People! just as Capitol released the band’s first album in mid 1968, but reunited with Mason for concerts in 1974 and 2006. According to rock historian Walter Rasmussen, Pete Townshend once said that The Who’s 1969 album Tommy was inspired by the rock opera “Epic” by People!; however, Townshend has since denied the connection.