Rock music and religion have always made for the strangest of bedfellows, yet the two of them are inextricably linked — both historically and, as odd as it may seem, even artistically.
Despite being often referred to as the "devil's music" by some of the more fringe elements of the Christian right for example, rock and roll has a rather long and storied tradition of having roots in the church. It's fairly common knowledge for example, that early rock and roll pioneers like Elvis were as influenced by what they heard in southern churches, as they were by the "race records" they heard on the radio.
Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmy Swaggart were cousins for Chrissakes (and my apologies to the Almighty there).
The tradition goes even deeper when you get into the history of rhythm and blues though. From Aretha Franklin to Marvin Gaye, you can pretty much pick any random R&B singer who came up in the fifties and sixties, and you won't find a background in gospel music too far behind. In many cases, you will also find that these same artists have spent lifetimes waging their own personal battles between the desires of the flesh and the joys of the spirit.
Marvin Gaye for example may have famously died for it at the hands of his preacher father. The Reverend Al Green is another example of an artist who has spent the latter part of his career walking a tightrope between his gospel recordings, and the more earthly come-ons of his sexier R&B records.
Little Richard may be the most famous example of a rock and roller fighting this inner-battle though. He has famously denounced the rock and roll lifestyle several times, citing how Jesus saved him from homosexuality. Yet, he has always drifted back to playing the likes of "Tutti Fruiti" and to singing about how that Miss Molly sure likes to ball in concert on the oldies circuit. From what I hear, Little Richard hands out bibles at his concerts these days though.
Not that the influence of religion on rock is limited to Christianity though. In the sixties and seventies especially, rock artists looked for higher inspiration in any number of places. Cat Stevens went back and forth on this for several years, before finally dropping out of sight altogether to reinvent himself as devout Muslim Yusef Islam. He has only just recently come back to getting his feet wet again playing music.
Others sought out eastern gurus and sages. Transcendental meditation as taught by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was particularly big for awhile, briefly claiming converts like the Beatles and the Beach Boys in the sixties. For awhile there in fact, it seemed every dime store eastern guru had his own personal rock and roll spokesperson. Sri Chimnoy had Santana, Meher Baba had Townshend, and so forth.
But perhaps the most famous rock to religion conversion of all time occurred when Bob Dylan released the album Slow Train Coming in 1979. For the next few years after Dylan first stunned his fans by boldly and publically embracing Jesus on that album, Dylan released two more Christian themed albums (Saved and Shot Of Love), and further confounded fans by refusing to play his old material at his concerts — which by this time more closely resembled tent revival meetings.
In fairness to Dylan, I always felt he got a bit of a raw shake during his "born again" years. The albums themselves hold up pretty well (with the possible exception of Saved). And although they are largely somewhat uneven, they also produced some of his better work in songs like "Gotta Serve Somebody" and "Every Grain Of Sand."
And as far as some of the more pointed, or even preachy lyrics he got dissed by critics for back then? Well, I guess it all depends on your point of view. But for me, it was never that big of a stretch between "something's happening here and you don't what it is...do you, Mr. Jones" and asking the non-believers "when you gonna' wake up?" on Slow Train. Again, the message may have changed, but the delivery certainly did not.
Dylan is of course not the only famous rock and roll Christian. Bono's been one for years, although these days he lets his faith speak more through his altruistic efforts on world hunger and the like than he does though his lyrics. The only advice I'd offer Bono in that department, is maybe to remember who the Christian messiah actually is (hint: it aint you).
Likewise, Alice Cooper converted not too long ago. The thing I love about Alice's story is that here is a guy who has basically been to hell and back — surviving a booze habit that damn near killed him. And he is still out there doing the same shock-rock act that made him famous in the first place. It's just a bit more PG these days. The late, great Johnny Cash — God rest his soul — is another guy I respect a lot that way.
Of course, there are also the inevitable examples where the connection of rock and religion has both been exploited, or otherwise taken to extremes bordering on the ridiculous. Can you say Stryper anyone? For those not old enough to remember, they were an eighties glam-metal band — complete with every Spinal Tap stereotype of teased hair and tight spandex pants you could possibly imagine — who just happened to be banging their heads for Jesus. I wonder what their groupies were like?
I've also always had problems with the whole "Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)" thing. Not because Christians shouldn't be allowed to rock the same way the heathens do. But because it's a multi-million dollar industry built largely on the guilt of good Christian kids who'd much rather be listening to secular bands, but can't because their parents won't allow them to. Something about that whole "devil's music" thing again.
Some of these artists are in fact quite talented, but many more of them are simply paler versions of their secular counterparts, often lacking the production values of the same. It sort of goes back to that old saying "why should the devil have all the good music?"
Well, quite frankly because he doesn't and he never has.
In fact, if one does his due-diligence and researches the whole notion of where the whole idea that rock is the devil's music comes from, you always arrive at exactly the same place. That would be the same segregated southern churches whose biggest fear about rock music wasn't the devil at all, but rather its origins in rhythm and blues and so-called race music. Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Slayer, and Marilyn Manson notwithstanding, the darker roots of rock and roll are more about color than about some imagined allegiance to a horn-rimmed, cloven hooved god. Sadly, this same attitude still exists in some of the more sequestered corners of the fundamentalist Christian fringe.
The thing is, when rock and roll is really doing its job the way that its supposed to, there shouldn't be a whole lot of difference between a concert and a revival meeting. The greatest performers — like Bono and Bruce Springsteen — have always understood this.
Whether the connection being made is to your inner-spirit, or to a higher power, it's all about making that joyous noise.
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