Larry Norman

(STACEY BARCHENGER)
Statesman Journal

February 26, 2008

Larry Norman, the pioneering artist who released the first Christian rock record in 1969, died of heart failure early Sunday in his Salem home. He was 60.

"I feel like a prize in a box of Cracker Jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up," Norman dictated to a friend Saturday, the day before he died. "I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home."

Norman was known as the "father of Christian rock" and was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame alongside Elvis Presley in 2001.

Norman has been called "the most significant artist in his field," and contemporary Christian and secular artists have covered his songs more than 300 times.

Norman's brother, Charles, said the family, including Norman's son, Michael, 22, is spending as much time together as possible.

"Up until Saturday night, he was creating, giving us instructions on his art and his ministry," Charles said.

Kit and Lori Close, the owners of Salem's Ranch Records, had known Norman since he moved to Salem in 1994. He would come in at night to play and talk music with them, Kit Close said. Oftentimes, they would talk for hours.

"The nice thing about him as a Christian was he didn't try to push it down anyone's throat," Kit Close said. "He lived his life in a nice way. He's a real sweet guy."

The genre-pioneering singer, songwriter and producer was working on a new album with artists Frank Black, the former frontman of The Pixies, and Isaac Brock of the band Modest Mouse. The album is set to be released later this year.

"Larry was my doorway into the music business, and he was the most Christ-like person I'd ever met," Black said Monday.

Norman's fresh approach to Christian music in the 1970s caused a stir among conservative Christians, who disapproved of his long hair and ripped jeans as well as his mix of radical social, political and religious lyrics. Much of his music was banned in Christian music stores.

"I had no desire to preach the gospel to the converted," he once said.

In 1966, Norman recorded for Capitol Records with his band People! Two years later, the band recorded the Billboard hit "I Love You," a cover of a song by The Zombies. Norman released his third album with Capitol, "Upon This Rock," in 1969 and in 1972 released the album "Only Visiting This Planet."

In 1974, Norman started his own independent record label, Solid Rock Records. Throughout his career, Norman released more than 60 albums.

Norman was born April 8, 1947, in Corpus Christi, Texas. He began playing music when he was 9, and in 1959 he performed on the "Ted Mack & the Original Amateur Hour" on CBS.