Saturday Song: Sweathog, 'Hallelujah'

Young Christians are fortunate to have so many God-honouring rock bands to listen to. Their styles range from soft rock to death metal. This is because people realized that music is merely a vehicle for a message. And since the Lord was praised with instruments and voices in the Psalms, there's no reason why rock music can't be employed for gospel purposes.

But things were so different in the early seventies when I was a teenager. Many Christian elders claimed that rock music was evil. They said it was the Devil's music and some claimed I'd be possessed by a demon if I listened to it.

I thank God that not everybody thought so. A few bands actually sang about Jesus, though some of them weren't born again believers. One song stands out in my mind as being a wonderful song which praised my Lord and Saviour. A band called Sweathog released a song called "Hallelujah" in 1972.

Hear this song here. Sorry about the commercial.

Though my church friends condemned me for listening to that "satanic" music, I cranked the volume whenever a god-honouring song came on. And though it was trendy to mention Jesus in songs in the early seventies, I still enjoyed those songs.

I felt sad when I found out later that Norman Greenbahm, Ocean, and The Doobie Brothers weren't devoted to Christ. Even so, I enjoyed their hits.

This also shows that people can profess to be saved but their lives show that they're lying. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:16 (KJV), "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?"

So, what do you think? Were you around when these hits were brand new? Did you enjoy them? If you want to, please leave me a comment in the box below. And if not, have a wonderful weekend anyway.

LEARNING THE REST OF THE STORY

In the summer of 1968, a band called People had a hit out called "I Love You."  Sharing the lead vocals was a young man named Larry Norman. I didn't know it at the time but he went on to become a pioneer of Christian rock music.

Ten years later,I discovered Larry Norman's solo album, Bootleg, at the public library in Edmonton. While listening to the double LP, I realized that he was the same person whose voice I heard a decade earlier. I confirmed it by looking at the line-up of band members on the People LP cover, a record my mom bought for me for a dollar back in 1974.

I've heard that the very day that "I Love You" hit number one in America, Larry quit the band. According to Wikipedia, most of the band members accepted Scientology. Larry had recently given his life to Christ so he left the group to pursue a solo career.

What was so significant about Larry's music for me? It showed that rock music was merely a tool and it could be used to spread the gospel. Many Christians insisted that it was the Devil's music and some even claimed I'd become possessed by a demon if I listened to it. Larry's lyrics showed me that those folks, sincere though they were, were mistaken.

Certainly music does effect one's mood. That has been demonstrated through experiments done on various people groups around the world. Even so, believing one can receive a demon merely by listening to rock music is superstitious nonsense.

I'm eternally grateful to Larry Norman. In spite of horrendous criticism from evangelical Christians and poor record sales, He persisted in making rock music with Christ-honouring lyrics. In spite of his weak heart and other health problems, he persisted with his vision of evangelizing and commenting on social issues through his distinctive musical style.

When I get to heaven or if Christ returns before I die, one of the first people I'll seek out is Larry. I want to thank him for giving me hope during a difficult time in my life. To learn more about this difficult time and how the heavenly father led me out of it, visit Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Powell's Books.

IT'S LIKE FINDING A LONG-LOST FRIEND

Have you ever heard a band and desperately wanted their music, yet no store stocked their albums? That's how I felt back in 1984 when a friend introduced me to a Los Angeles group called Daniel Amos. This Christian band didn't play the usual insipid music which my fellow church members offered me but real rock.

Back when I was a teenager, rock music was considered to be from the pit of hell. Some concerned Christians even warned me that the beat attracted demons and I might become possessed. How refreshing it was therefore when I discovered Larry Norman's music at the Edmonton Public Library in 1978. He wrote and sang genuine rock songs, not like the usual novelty attempts made by other bands to ride the religious pop gravy train. Larry was a committed Christian who put his complete trust in Jesus Christ.

Six years after that discovery, a preacher's son named Paul Morris introduced me to two wonderful Daniel Amos records. Not only did he play their Horrendous Disc and ¡Alarma! albums but he invited me to their concert while they were in Edmonton. I felt absolutely blown away at how fantastic the group's music was.

Though Paul made me a cassette copy of both albums, I still wished I owned the vinyl versions. Whenever I was at a Christian record store, I would enquire about Daniel Amos and get only blank stares from the clerks. As the years passed, my hope of finding even a used copy of Horrendous Disc or ¡Alarma! faded.

Only lately was I able to find the CD version of ¡Alarma! on Amazon and purchase it. To my delight, there was a second disc in the CD package containing unreleased tracks as well as alternate takes of the songs. Now I'm enjoying those memories of the summer of 1984 which the tunes bring to mind.

Since I know how to find even obscure artists on Amazon, I'm eager to buy all those albums which I taped or were given to me on cassette by friends. I've already bought many albums of German rock bands from the seventies and I hope to fill my shelves with many more memory-evoking recordings.

My love of obscure rock music and groups, considered wrongly as satanic, permeates my three memoirs. The first two are available from the Bruce Atchison's books page. How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity is stocked by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell's Books, and Virtual Bookworm Publishers.