There does exist a Larry Norman bio pick called "Fallen Angel". Its fascinating but hugely unflattering - I should probably call it an expos'e. I didn't know of the Thornbury book, I'll have to check it out.
I have seen the Fallen Angel documentary, and yes, it does not paint him in the best light. Norman was (like everybody else in this world) a flawed individual. Unforutanely the documentary is very one-sided, only interviewing people that felt hurt by him (some of who have already recanted their testimonies given in the film!), without any input or interviews from Norman himself or his family. In research for his book, Gregory Thornbury was given full access to everything Norman's family had hat Larry kept, and he kept just about everything (letters of correspondence with people, etc.) This book does a great job at showing it from both sides. By no means does it yet to portray him as a saint, but it does document his side in just about all of the controversial issues that the film documents, in a much more balanced picture. I highly recommend the book! If they made a new film (either dramatized or a brand-new documentary), the Thornbury book would be the perfect template to adapt a screenplay from.
Thanks for the further notes on the Thornbury book. The fact that the author is given full access offers great advantages but often forces a bias in favor of those giving the access - in this case Larry's family. That said, I am anxious to read the story he presents. However, there shouldn't just be the one side of the story out there - it's good that another side is presented. That's interesting there have been recants on the "Fallen Angel" interviews - do you have citations?
I agree that one does run the risk of bias when you do have the family's involvement (i.e. the John Gotti movie made recently). That being said, I think Thornbury was pretty fair and impartial. He does not shy away from Norman's shortcomings. Here is a page of Pamela Norman's recant, as posted on "The Truth About Larry Norman," a website that does debunk some of the claims from the Fallen Angel documentary: Recantations | The Truth About Larry Norman
I remember Haworth's sixties work for the Fleur de Lys etc.He played some great jagged guitar lines reminiscent of Mick Wayne.
I agree: wrote a song for Elvis, almost a heroin death, traded his future publishing to leave his WB contract, big success with Broken Heart, goes back to secular music with a one off album on CBS, etc.
Alas, ‘Christian musical artists’ and ‘sex, parties, drugs’ aren't mutually exclusive. Christian artists weren’t immune to what was common in the secular music world. Probably makes some of their stories that much more interesting because the public persona was so different to what was happening behind-the-scenes for some artists. Kind of assuming none of the artists could compete with Motley Crue’s The Dirt, but then again not much surprises me anymore.
Yeah, I saw that one from Pam before. It does not make for recantations in the plural - it is only one and it's not much of a recantation. I do understand her feelings that the film should have included her reconciliation with Larry on his death bed and the positive aspects of their relationship. What she believes was twisting of her words may well have been. However, more powerful insight about their relationship came from Larry himself in a recording the family released of Larry interviewing Pam on her indiscretions. The Norman family's intentions were to show how Pam was a bad gal, but it was significantly more effective in displaying how controlling Larry was as a husband who would require his wife to record such a confessional.
Yes. And he release two albums on Island and two on A&M before he released The Gap on a Christian label in 1980. He became a very tasteful slide player. The guy has some real gems in his catalog.
Mark Heard ... a much better one than the horribly edited and compiled one that came out right after his death.
I haven't seen either (yet), but there is a biopic called Ragamuffin, and a documentary called Rich Mullins: A Ragamuffin's Legacy, both released in 2014.
The only movie I'd like to see about any of these people or anyone else in this genre, barring Al Green, is the movie that exposes them all as hypocites & frauds. They're no more holy than televangelists who profit off of someone else's blind faith & vulnerability while their ego & greed unconscionably allow them to get lost in the trappings of stardom. Pompous scumbags.
Agreed... ...that's why a Stryper biopic would be so entertaining. It must have been a challenge to navigate fame, fortune and "the scene" while trying to stay true to the Lord. They're also no stranger to adversity, hardship, drama and sadly, tragedy. They not only survived it all but are now putting out some of the best music of their career and touring regularly.
Christian music............yuck!!! If I wanted to torture someone I'd force them to listen to Christian music.
Highly recommended! While there is much Christian music that I hold dear and love, Christian movies often make me cringe at the poor acting, filming, story-line, etc. etc. I felt that Ragamuffin broke through the normal issues quite well. While I don't doubt the sincerity and effort in movies such as "God's Not Dead", "God's Not Dead 2: This Time He's Really Not Dead" and so many / even most of the other similarly-themed movies, I just can't get over the overly-predictable character development, story-lines, and the often poorly produced films in general. While it did have its own issues, I was very impressed with Ragamuffin... Definitely worth checking out!
