Thanks to the editors in the religion section, and to weekly columnist Terry Mattingly, for reminding us of a name we haven't thought about in decades: Larry Norman.
This Saturday's "On Religion" column featured Mr. Mattingly's thoughts on the Christian rock-and-roller from the 1960s-70s. We haven't thought about Only Visiting This Planet in years. But that album had a big effect on Christian kids from a generation or so back--not to mention their parents.
Larry Norman, who died in 2008, looked like he belonged in the Allman Brothers Band. And he sounded like he needed to open for Bob Dylan, who could have just as easily penned Mr. Norman's song "The Great American Novel."
Larry Norman's Christian-based music shook up not only the Christian music world, but the music world in general. "You could be famous if you'd just drop the God stuff," Paul McCartney once apparently told him. But, as it happened, Larry Norman couldn't. His most famous song might have been "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?" It's a good question.
Now then, we think we'll take a trip back a few decades, and go looking through the closet for Only Visiting This Planet, or maybe look up "Walking Backwards Down the Stairs" on YouTube. Like most good music, it probably holds up decades later.
Editorial on 04/24/2018