In 1950 Larry Norman’s family moved to San Francisco when he was 3. For a time they attended a black pentecostal church which clearly made a deep impression on the young Norman.

In 1967 Norman was briefly a member of local San Jose band People! who were a one hit wonder and released a cover of Zombies song “I love You” which went to number 1 in Japan and did well enough to sell more than a million copies and launched that band.

Norman promptly left People! but was offered a recording contract by Capitol and in 1970 they released ‘Upon This Rock’ which was among the first of a new genre called Christian Rock. It was a kind of urban gospel but caused much controversy at the time. It was seen as too contemporary for those in the church establishment at the time and was denounced by various church leaders.

At the same time it was too religious for a commercial label and he was dropped. There was a similar response to other albums by Larry in the 70’s.

His most pivotal work was “Only Visiting This Planet’ from 1972 which was part of a trilogy of albums including “So Long Ago the Garden” 1973 and ‘In Another Land’ from 1976. ‘Something New Under the Son’ from 1981 was a black inspired blues album that had elements of parody and satire about it.

It would be fair to say that Norman’s song writing was often obtuse and provocative. He disliked propaganda and shallow theology and wanted his audiences to think.

In many ways Larry was an early example of the whole indie label movement. Because his music didn’t fit into the musical markets of the day he was very motivated to promote his own work and that of his friends. He started his own label Solid Rock and worked with Randy Stonehill, Tom Howard, Mark Heard and others who had similar beginnings. Mixing business and friendship in this way proved complicated.

During the 70’s and early 80’s Larry toured extensively all around the world and it was often just him, his nylon stringed guitar and a piano on stage. His stage craft was compelling with his stories and songs cleverly linked often in comedic ways.

Looking back at all the many different versions of his songs and albums it is clear that Norman liked to constantly revise and re-visit many of them which makes it difficult to provide a definitive list. However one of the live albums would be a good introduction because the concerts included much of the linking sub text.

It has been reported elsewhere that more than 300 artists have recorded versions of his songs. It is clear that he inspired many to write and to make music. He died in 2008.