Genesis of a Genre: The Birth Of Christian Rock

By: Joe Markko

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Synopsis: Contemporary Christian Music is still four years away from being “a thing.” Larry Norman, one of the progenitors of the emerging genre, has just released his first Christian album, “Upon This Rock.” Amy Grant is 9 years old. Matthew Ward, of the 2nd Chapter of Acts, is eleven. At the Salt Company Coffee House in Hollywood, Larry Norman shared the platform with a Southern California “power-trio” who called themselves, Agape. Intrigued by the gritty and unapologetically loud “blues-edge” to their music, Larry Norman “came out of his seat,” excited by the possibilities. No one else in his experience had yet married such hard-driving, high-energy rock music to the Gospel message. Playing out against the backdrop of the Jesus Movement – the “Fourth Great Awakening” in American Evangelical history – 20,000 people were reported to have responded to Agape’s audacious, Gospel message. And then, at their peak, they simply disappeared. A prequel to Contemporary Christian Music, the untold story of Agape is a story of beginnings; the Genesis of a Genre. It’s a tale about “the days of old” and The Birth of Christian Rock, when minstrels became messengers and the Word became flesh once again.