Is Larry Norman the originator of this hybrid of contemporary rock music with Christian lyrical content? Can he be called the “father” of CCM?
No and yes. Earlier I mentioned that Larry Norman was the “engine” that propelled the fledgling Jesus music scene. I chose that word carefully because one of the embellishments Larry made was he was the first to join a gospel message to a contemporary beat, and that he was the originator of the entire genre by reason of being the sole person to dream up this new thing. Truth be told, gospel beat bands in the UK were setting Christian lyrics to contemporary tunes as far back as 1960, pre-dating even The Beatles. On top of that, Larry was singled out as being influenced by these early performers. Most notably, in the book Call to the Streets by Rev. Don Williams (1968), Larry Norman is said to have been impressed by a “gospel hard rock band” named Agape who “convinced Larry” to play Christian music. That aside, Larry Norman was undoubtedly one of the most gifted and talented of the early Jesus music performers. He had already tasted a modicum of success, having been part of a band with a
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