I'd Like To Dedicate This Next Song to JesusThe freaky origins of Christian rock.

Remarks from the Fray:

I can't see much connection between today's Christian music and that of the 60s and 70s. Certainly, the people in the article proved their was a market for Christian music. But other than that, it's hard to draw comparisons because as a subset of popular music, Christian rock has never inspired itself as much as it has sought inspiration from the secular music that dominates the scene. These old-time bands, not surprisingly, sounded a lot like the top secular bands of their day. Today, it is even more pronounced, as nearly every major Christian artist bears an amazing resemblance to a secular counterpart, stretching beyond just their sound and into everything from hairstyles to fashion.

--Sundown

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My in-laws became Christians at the time of the Jesus People movement. Their recollections of it are fond indeed. Young people especially were taking up the mantle of a living faith. A lot of the contemporary notions of worship and outward expressions of love for Jesus even in staid mainline churches like Presbyterian, Methodist, and Episopal came out of that era--though you could safely argue that those expressions were really endemic to the Christian church for thousands of years and had simply been suppressed for a very long time.

We certainly owe much of CCM to it. My wife, who's been a Christian her whole life, recalls that most Christian music was pretty awful growing up. Listening to some of it now and comparing it to groups and individual musical artists like Jars of Clay, Caedmon's Call, and Shawn McDonald I'd have to agree. Now at least we have an excellent variety of music and I think we have guys like this to thank.

--boethius

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Christian music has always had a contemporary sound. Just look at many "traditional" hymns. They were written to the tunes of (then contemporary) bar songs. I guess if you *want* to pin CCM on one person you can. I would say that the movement, as it is discussed here, started as wildfire. It started in many places at once and spread quickly.

--chalktalk

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Larry Norman is about as wierd as it gets, but he maintained a Christian walk during a tough time in history.

What about Phil Keaggy? He's rated as one of the world's best guitarists. He was playing Christian music in 1969 and maintains a strong witness as a Christian musician even today.

There's Second Chapter of Acts, Resurrection Band, Petra, Randy Stonehill, Keith Green, just to name a very few. These were all raw, hard-rocking musicians who not only entertained with their music, but witnessed for Christ and walked the walk!!! They weren't gay or drug dependant (after their conversion to Christianity, of course) or swapping sex partners. They were young people who had had a genuine experience with Christ and were excited to share it through their music.

Your article makes it sound as though early "Christian" musicians were not only weirdos, but though they professed Christ with their music, they continued to live a sinful life. I don't see a balance, only a smirk of sorts implying that early Christian musicians were just a sham, only into themselves and their beliefs whether they were right or wrong. Give the good guys a chance too!

--markrbb75

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