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Jerry Davison

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JevInstincts

Larry Norman passed away February 24, ten days after Valentine's day. For a man who lived his life with the heart of a lion, in the end it was his heart that couldn't sustain the man. I can't think about music in my life, and not think of Larry. His impact on me was disproportionate to the music he made. Sure he released about a hundred albums - but for me he was defined by two songs that were an integral part of my youth. "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music" and "The Rock that Doesn't Roll."

Of course over the years I would pick up a couple dozen albums, (and later a lot of CDs) he was an artist who for me was captured in amber. He was synonymous with the early Jesus Movement, and his music was the soundtrack to a generation of disenfranchised and rebellious youth. His music wasn't safe, his observations were cutting, and he was brutally uncompromising.

As Larry's heyday came to a close, the 80's, 90's, and even the first half of the new millennium saw Larry active, but to me he was a man whose time had come, and gone. He was still an amazing performer live, but it was nostalgia - he was no longer a relevant force in music for me. He managed to package, and repackage his stuff in so many ways that I lost track of what I had, and finally had to say "uncle" I just couldn't keep up.

Despite reading about Larry's deteriorating health, I couldn't help but think that he was exaggerating the truth a little - after all he'd been dying since 1992 or so, and from a distance it seemed like another Larryism. He'd be around forever and this was just another part of the enigma that was Larry Norman.

When I first read about Larry's passing it came as a shock to me. Larry dead? Really? Are you sure this isn't just another part of the mystery? It wouldn't surprise me if he'd just gone underground for a while to look for Bruce Lee, Elvis, and Jim Morrison.

Larry called it years and years ago: "This world is not my home."

To Charles and the rest of the solid rock folks - he was a hell of a guy. He changed a lot of lives with his music. Mine included. One day get a chance to say "thank you" in person.

Jevon the Tall
February 2008