Died On This Date (February 24, 2008) Larry Norman / The Father of Christian Rock
themusicsover Larry Norman
April 8, 1947 – February 24, 2008
Larry Norman has been called “The Father of Christian Rock.” Before jumping into the Christian music arena, Norman was part of the Bay Area scene where he was afforded the opportunity to open for both Jimi Hendrix and the Doors. In 1969, his first Capitol Records release, Upon This Rock, became what many consider the first Christian rock album. Not without controversy, Norman would live on the fringes of Christian music due in part to his long hair and outspoken political beliefs. Larry Norman passed away from heart failure on February 24, 2008.
What You Should Own
Lee Freeman is best remembered as a founding guitarist and co-lead singer for ’60s psychedelic rock band, Strawberry Alarm Clock. Formed in Glendale, California in 1967, the band scored a handful of charting hits, including their biggest, “Incense and Peppermints.” Freeman was still in high school when, in 1965, he co-founded and sang lead for local garage band, Thee Sixpence. Within a couple of years, the group evolved into Strawberry Alarm Clock, a name chosen to pay tribute to the Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever.” “Incense and Peppermints” took a bit longer than most singles to become popular, but by the time it did, it propelled the group’s debut album to #11 on the Billboard charts. It ended up being their only album to chart. Over the next couple of years, they shared the bill with the likes of the Who, Country Joe & The Fish, the Beach Boys, and 
Guitar Slim was a New Orleans blues singer and guitarist whose “The Things That I Used To Do” is considered one of the most important records to the birth of rock ‘n roll. Slim learned to play the guitar as a child while working the cotton fields of Mississippi. After serving in the military during WWII, Slim began to build a local following due to his dynamic live shows. He was one of the first to wear outlandishly colorful outfits while sometimes dying his hair to match. And he is likely the first to commonly roam through the audience attached to a long guitar chord. On occasion he’d even walk out the front door of the club and literary stop traffic while playing a solo. He was also one of the earliest users of distortion in his playing. In 1954, he released his biggest hit, “That Thing That I Used To Do,” which was later covered by the likes of 
