If you are around my age, you may remember a 1965 protest song from folk music singer Barry McGuire–The Eve of Destruction.
By 1971 he had joined the incipient “Jesus movement” and was singing a new type of Christian music.
My training as a percussionist began when I was around 7 and lasted through playing in the University of Cincinnati marching band (with all those College Conservatory of Music geeks). Then I ditched drums for guitar and got into folk music and early rock. There was Christian folk music at the time that I learned from Catholics. And then that early Christian music.
I grew up with country music, but then it went big time with the “Nashville sound” and I grew bored. Christian music went from the Jesus movement to “praise songs” that repeated 7 words 11 times (a friend referenced the convenience store chain–7/11 songs) and then bands performing big concerts. Money could be made–for the labels if not for the performers.
Back to McGuire. He was just a guest on John Fischer’s (another Jesus movement pioneer) The Catch podcast. John has been trying to figure out what happened to the music.
He thinks it was money.
McGuire said that it used to be that they took the music to the streets. They were ex-hippies who discovered Jesus and took the joy out to the people. Then “we all went indoors”. The music went into the churches and got lost.
What have we lost by huddling together in our buildings instead of going out into the world?
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