A Classic Replay: Flashback Friday - Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music?

(We continue our Friday Replays of Classic Flashback Friday. It gives me a chance to update new readers on the origins of Modern Christian Music. And a chance to update some broken links.)

Welcome to the latest edition of Flashback Friday. By way of introduction to my new readers, Flashback Friday is where I introduce my readers to the pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music, beginning with the Jesus Music Era of the Late 1960's and the 1970's. As we progress each week we shall move into the Seventies, and Eighties and perhaps beyond. Not exactly sure where I should end a flashback. Maybe with the year 1999/2000.

If any one person could be labeled the "First Father" or "Adam" of Christian Rock, that person would be, by almost unanimous choice (dare I say consensus), Larry David Norman (April 8, 1947 -February 24, 2008). He certainly was recognized by Servant.

S: No, No, Doctor, you've got it all wrong. Oh Well. Now then, I've also brought you some Servant.

L: Oh, what a stroke of luck, why two of my servants ran away last week, Larry and Normany. They ran into the shallow water and the crocks got them. I suppose they're in another land now.

That was the closing line of the Jungle Music Skit, and two artists were referenced here, Larry Norman and Servant. We shall get to Servant next week, and we will get to still more bands as we move into the eighties, which is known as Christian Music's Golden Age. If you didn't get the reference, Livingstone had two servants Larry and Normany (Larry Norman). Referenced also was In Another Land (1976), which was Normans sixth release as a Christian artist. He had actually been in the music industry since 1965 with the bands Back Country Seven (1964-65) and People (1965-68). He had a hit single "I Love You", with People, which reached #14 on Billboard's Hot 100. After a brief musical hiatus he returned to lead the nascent Christian Rock scene with Upon This Rock (1969).

With the rise of Christian Rock as a major force, a reactionary movement arose among the mainstream Christian community. A reaction in itself wasn't surprising, in fact Newton's Third Law of Motion required it (For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction). What was always surprising was where the reaction came from. It would be easy to slough off an attack from "the world". It really hurt when the bullets were fired by your fellow brothers and sisters. Christianity has always been plagued with friendly fire casualties.

1 Corinthians 9:19-22 lays out the principle of "All things to all men" or "every available method" to getting out the Gospel. Paul would have been on TV, Radio, the Internet, etc. (He would have also booked passage on The Titanic, but that's another story). Organized Christianity (aka Christen-dumb) has opposed just about every major technological innovation of the 20th Century as being of "the devil", with the result that, with a few rare exceptions, the Christian Church has always been seen as a bunch of Luddites.

Norman struck back with one of the most well known "defense songs" ever released entitled Why should the devil have all the good music. Even though a live video of this exists, the quality is poor. Here is an audio only version for your enjoyment.

One of the best things about this song is it's biting sarcasm, with the parts like "I grew it out long to make room for my brain". Boldness like this was a rarity, and paved the way for CCM's Caustic Clone Prince Steve Taylor, but we shall deal with him at another time.

Six Degrees of Larry Norman

Larry Norman isn't only one of the most influential and respected people in CCM History, his is also one of the most "well-connected" people in CCM history. His Street Level Artists Agency represented legends such as Randy Stonehill, Daniel Amos and Mark Heard, but the connections go much further, and include artists as diverse as DC Talk, Switchfoot and Rebecca St. James. Even more surprising, he is also one of the founders of a Protestant Denomination of sorts. Not surprising, they don't have a problem with Rock and Roll. For more information on these connections, check out my Six Degrees Page.

That concludes this edition of Flashback Friday. We shall return next Friday with Servant, the last band listed in the Jungle Music Skit. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

p.s. - Check out the Larry Norman page to purchase music on Amazon and support The Night Beat at the same time. Thanks.

Flashback Friday: God

Nobody could scream God's name better than Rebecca Jean Smallbone. No, that's not what I'm talking about. Get your head out of the gutter, this is a Christian Music blog after all. Not familiar with the name? You should, but perhaps you know her better by her stage name, Rebecca St. James. So far she's sticking with that name, which is a lot better than her married name, but more on that later.

Rebecca St. James is probably one of the most loved artists in the pop/rock arena of CCM. Hailing from the land Down Under, she is connected to the Jesus Music Era of CCM through her father, David Smallbone. It seems that in 1977, right around the time RSJ was born, Larry Norman released a self titled album that was on Rhema Records in Australia. Rhema was owned by David Smallbone, hence the connection.

God (1996) was RSJ's entrance into the upper echelon of CCM. Far from being a sophomore slump, it propelled her to Superstardom (and the ability for everyone to know you just by your initials). Just listen for yourself.

Pray (1998) followed, but I was really impressed when Transform (2000) came out. At this time she "transformed" her style to techno, and while she wasn't able to land the title of Christian Dance Queen (that Tiara is worn jointly by Plumb and Beckah Shae), it was a heroic effort. It was also pretty much of a swan song, musically. From this point on she only released one more album (2005 If I Had One Chance to Tell You Something) that would be pop-rock. She has pretty much turned to Modern Worship.

Well that and acting. Rebecca has become quite an accomplished actress in the Christian Movie Industry, nine films and counting. Her film career began with Left Behind in 2000 and recently included Suing The Devil.

Though about a decade or so separates us in age, and therefore I always considered her more of a little sister, it was with regret when I found out she was off the market (got married, for those not into the lingo). I know that you can't pick who you fall in love with, but Jacob Fink. I mean, really Rebecca. All I can say is don't give up your stage name. Nobody wants to refer to you as Rebecca Fink.

That concludes this edition of Flashback Friday. We continue with the Christmas Parade Tomorrow. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Night Beat Summer Music Preview

It's Summer, at least in popular thinking. It being only in the 50's and 60's for most of this week here in the Northeast you have to forgive us if we think it's still Winter. Still, we have passed Memorial Day.

While you are out enjoying the warm weather (hopefully), you're going to need some fresh tunes to enjoy on your iPod. Though they aren't as fresh as the ones I will mention in the post, may I heartily recommend any of the Winners of the 2nd Platinum Vinyl Awards (look at 2011). If you want something a bit more Current, these albums will be released throughout the Summer months.

During the Rebecca St. James Transform tour, one of the opening acts was brother/sister duo LaRue (Consisting of Natalie and Phillip LaRue). While Phillip has had a career as a solo artist, we haven't heard from Natalie since the band broke up in 2002. That changes this month with an EP entitled Even Now. It's currently scheduled for release on the 19th of this month.

July brings a bunch of new releases, but none more anticipated by The Night Beat than a pair of re-releases for a new generation. Petra is one of the most well known and loved Christian Bands of all time, and to many could even be called the fathers of Christian Rock. Two of Petra's most loved releases (I don't know of one that is hated, though the first couple were definitely works in progress), More Power To Ya (1982) and This Means War (1987) are being released among milestone anniversaries. You read that right 30 and 25 years respectively. Clicking on the title links will bring you to the mp3 page on Amazon, where you can get some of the best Christian Rock ever made right now on your iPod or computer. The special anniversary Cd's will be released on July 3, right in time for your 4th of July cookout. I will say I got these albums when they originally came out. I know that makes me sound old.

Project 86 follows up their Platinum Vinyl Award Winning Live Album 15.Live, itself an anniversary release, with a new studio release to be titled Wait for the Siren. You'll have to wait for August for that one.

Finally, we will close out the Summer releases with a Plum of a release. Actually that's Plumb (aka Tiffany Arbuckle Lee) and the album will be called Faster Than a Speeding Bullet. Actually, the title itself is somewhat ironic since it has been anticipated for about a year now and is setting vaporware records. When it does come out (and the latest date is around Labor Day) it should be awesome. Nobody can do dance like Plumb.

While that is not the entire list, it is all I will go into detail on. Summer is also the time we will get releases from Toby Mac, P.O.D., The Museum, and Kerrie Roberts. Most of the artists will be on tour at the many Music Festivals throughout the country this Summer. Of course, that's another post. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Why should the devil have all the good music?

Welcome to the latest edition of Flashback Friday. By way of introduction to my new readers, Flashback Friday is where I introduce my readers to the pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music, beginning with the Jesus Music Era of the Late 1960's and the 1970's. As we progress each week we shall move into the Seventies, and Eighties and perhaps beyond. Not exactly sure where I should end a flashback. Maybe with the year 1999/2000.

If any one person could be labeled the "First Father" or "Adam" of Christian Rock, that person would be, by almost unanimous choice (dare I say consensus), Larry David Norman (April 8, 1947 -February 24, 2008). He certainly was recognized by Servant.

S: No, No, Doctor, you've got it all wrong. Oh Well. Now then, I've also brought you some Servant.

L: Oh, what a stroke of luck, why two of my servants ran away last week, Larry and Normany. They ran into the shallow water and the crocks got them. I suppose they're in another land now.

That was the closing line of the Jungle Music Skit, and two artists were referenced here, Larry Norman and Servant. We shall get to Servant next week, and we will get to still more bands as we move into the eighties, which is known as Christian Music's Golden Age. If you didn't get the reference, Livingstone had two servants Larry and Normany (Larry Norman). Referenced also was In Another Land (1976), which was Normans sixth release as a Christian artist. He had actually been in the music industry since 1965 with the bands Back Country Seven (1964-65) and People (1965-68). He had a hit single "I Love You", with People, which reached #14 on Billboard's Hot 100. After a brief musical hiatus he returned to lead the nascent Christian Rock scene with Upon This Rock (1969).

With the rise of Christian Rock as a major force, a reactionary movement arose among the mainstream Christian community. A reaction in itself wasn't surprising, in fact Newton's Third Law of Motion required it (For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction). What was always surprising was where the reaction came from. It would be easy to slough off an attack from "the world". It really hurt when the bullets were fired by your fellow brothers and sisters. Christianity has always been plagued with friendly fire casualties.

1 Corinthians 9:19-22 lays out the principle of "All things to all men" or "every available method" to getting out the Gospel. Paul would have been on TV, Radio, the Internet, etc. (He would have also booked passage on The Titanic, but that's another story). Organized Christianity (aka Christen-dumb) has opposed just about every major technological innovation of the 20th Century as being of "the devil", with the result that, with a few rare exceptions, the Christian Church has always been seen as a bunch of Luddites.

Norman struck back with one of the most well known "defense songs" ever released entitled Why should the devil have all the good music. Even though a live video of this exists, the quality is poor. Here is an audio only version for your enjoyment.

One of the best things about this song is it's biting sarcasm, with the parts like "I grew it out long to make room for my brain". Boldness like this was a rarity, and paved the way for CCM's Caustic Clone Prince Steve Taylor, but we shall deal with him at another time.

Six Degrees of Larry Norman

Larry Norman isn't only one of the most influential and respected people in CCM History, his is also one of the most "well-connected" people in CCM history. His Street Level Artists Agency represented legends such as Randy Stonehill, Daniel Amos and Mark Heard, but the connections go much further, and include artists as diverse as DC Talk, Switchfoot and Rebecca St. James. Even more surprising, he is also one of the founders of a Protestant Denomination of sorts. Not surprising, they don't have a problem with Rock and Roll. For more information on these connections, check out my Six Degrees Page.

That concludes this edition of Flashback Friday. We shall return next Friday with Servant, the last band listed in the Jungle Music Skit. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

p.s. - Check out the Larry Norman page to purchase music on Amazon and support The Night Beat at the same time. Thanks.

The Heat is On: PVA 2011 3rd Qtr Nominees - Modern Worship

We are on to some of the genres that are always well contended. The biggest by far is the Modern Worship genre. It seems just about everyone will make a Worship Album from time to time. And while that's not all bad, it's just that they usually sound exactly the same, or as some would say, are Hillsong Clones. Sometimes you get lucky, and a band will do a worship album while staying true to their sound. Those are awesome. My favorite is still Ardent Worship: Skillet Live. It is the only Worship Album that I listened to in one listening without skipping a track. The Best Worship Album ever.

Modern Worship

The Twelve Nominees doesn't have as much of a ring as The Twelve Apostles or The Twelve Tribes, but it is true nonetheless. We had a full dozen eligible entries this quarter.

• The Road, Tricia Brock
• Perfect Love, Ronnie Freeman
• Freedom Calling, Jake Hamilton
• Love Shine Through, Tim Hughes
• Dwell, Aaron Keyes
• Make it Loud, Martha Munizzi
• Nothing is Impossible, Planetshakers
• Come and Drink, Matthew Reed
• I Will Praise You, Rebecca St. James
• Blessings, Laura Story
• The Journey, Stuart Townend
• As for Me and My House, John Waller

Based on my listening, several of these entries qualified in multiple categories. Matthew Reed and Aaron Keyes have a nomination in Alternative, based on the sound, Jake Hamilton has a second nomination in Rock, and Tricia Brock and Laura Story have a second nomination in Pop. We'll see how all those pan out when the final 7 are announced next year.

Next up is Pop, an always loaded genre. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.