Editing Jesus music

{{Short description|Style of Christian music}}
{{for multi|the Lecrae song|Jesus Muzik|the documentary film|The Jesus Music}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Jesus music
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Folk music]]|[[folk rock]]|[[Christian music]]|[[psychedelic music]]}}
| cultural_origins  = Late 1960s – early 1970s, [[Jesus movement]]
| derivatives       =
| subgenrelist      =
| subgenres         =
| fusiongenres      =
| regional_scenes   =
| other_topics      = [[Christian music]]
}}
'''Jesus music''', known as '''gospel beat music''' in the United Kingdom, is a style of [[Christian music]] that originated on the [[West Coast of the United States]] in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This musical genre developed in parallel to the [[Jesus movement]]. It outlasted the movement that spawned it and the [[Christian music industry]] began to eclipse it and absorb its musicians around 1975.<ref>
{{cite book
  | last = Di Sabatino  | first =  David   | title = The Jesus People Movement: an annotated bibliography and general resource
  | publisher = Jester Media
  | year = 1999
  | location = Lake Forest, CA
  | page = 137
  }}
</ref>

==History==
Jesus music primarily began in population centers of the United States where the Jesus movement was gaining momentum&mdash;[[Southern California]] (especially [[Costa Mesa, California|Costa Mesa]] and Hollywood), San Francisco, Seattle, and Chicago&mdash;around 1969–70.<ref name="AJ">{{cite book  | last = Prothero  | first =  Stephen   | title = American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon  | publisher = Ferrar, Straus and Giroux  | year = 2004  | location = New York  }}</ref> Large numbers of [[hippie]]s and street musicians began converting to [[born-again]] [[Christianity]]. A number of these conversions, especially in southern California, were due largely to the outreach of [[Lonnie Frisbee]]<ref name="Frisbee documentary">{{cite video | people = David di Sabatino | title = Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher | medium = Documentary movie | publisher =David Di Sabatino | location = United States | url=http://www.lonniefrisbee.com | date= 2001 }}</ref> and [[Chuck Smith (pastor)|Pastor Chuck Smith]] of [[Calvary Chapel]] in Costa Mesa.<ref name="AJ" /> In the aftermath of such conversions, these musicians continued playing the same styles of music that they had been playing prior to their conversion, though they now infused their lyrics with a [[Christianity|Christian]] message. Of the many bands and artists that came out of this time-period, some became leaders within the Jesus movement. Most notably among them [[Larry Norman]], [[Barry McGuire]], [[Love Song (band)|Love Song]], [[2nd Chapter of Acts|Second Chapter of Acts]], [[Randy Stonehill]], [[Randy Matthews]], and during the mid-1970s, [[Keith Green]].

Much of the music<ref name="Di Sabatino 1999 136–137">{{cite book
  | last = Di Sabatino  | first =  David   | title = The Jesus People Movement: an annotated bibliography and general resource
  | publisher = Jester Media
  | year = 1999
  | location = Lake Forest, CA
  | pages = 136–137
  }}</ref>
was a blend of
<!--
Prior to adding or removing bands from this list, please discuss on the talk page.
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[[folk music]] and [[folk rock]]<ref>
{{cite book
  | last = Di Sabatino  | first =  David   | title = The Jesus People Movement: an annotated bibliography and general resource
  | publisher = Jester Media
  | year = 1999
  | location = Lake Forest, CA
  | page = 136
  }}
</ref>
([[Children of the Day]], [[Paul Clark (Christian musician)|Paul Clark]], [[Nancy Honeytree]], [[Mark Heard]], [[Paul Stookey|Noel Paul Stookey]], [[Karen Lafferty]], Debby Kerner & Ernie Rettino),
[[soft rock]] ([[Chuck Girard]], [[Tom Howard (musician)|Tom Howard]], [[Phil Keaggy]], [[Scott Wesley Brown]], [[Kelly Willard]]),
[[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] ([[Andraé Crouch|Andraé Crouch (and the Disciples)]]),
[[soul music]]/[[jazz fusion]] ([[Sweet Comfort Band]]),
[[country rock]] ([[Bethlehem (Jesus music)|Bethlehem]], [[Daniel Amos]], [[Gentle Faith]], The Talbot Brothers: [[John Michael Talbot|John Michael]] and Terry Talbot, [[The Way (Jesus music band)|The Way]]), Ron Salsbury and JC Power Outlet
and [[hard rock]] (Agape, [[All Saved Freak Band]], [[Petra (band)|Petra]], [[Resurrection Band]], [[Servant (band)|Servant]]).

Initially, the music tended to be relatively simple, as it drew largely on guitar-based folk and folk-rock influences. The message also seemed to be relatively simple, as the songwriters attempted to present the value of a Christ-centered spiritual experience without evoking the vocabulary or other trappings of ecclesiastical religion.  Rather than quoting religious cliches or King James Bible verses, they used storytelling, allegory, imagery, and complex metaphors, often with a colloquial language that flustered conservatives.

In addition to the basic message of salvation, the lyrics often reflected the expectation of the imminent [[Second Coming of Christ]] prominent in evangelical circles at the time, reflected and heightened by the publication of ''[[The Late, Great Planet Earth]]''.<ref name="AJ" /> Larry Norman voiced this in his song "I Wish We'd All Been Ready", singing "There's no time to change your mind/The Son has come and you've been left behind."<ref>{{cite journal | title = Revolution and the Eschaton: Images of Jesus in the Jesus Movement | journal = [[Trinity Journal (theology)|Trinity Journal]] | date = 2005-09-01 | first = James Alan | last = Patterson | volume = 26 | issue = 2 | pages = 267–277}}</ref>

Despite the message, the music was described by many as ''worldly'' at best or as "the Devil's music" in the worst case. This latter position was held by conservatives such as [[Bill Gothard]] as taught in his Basic Youth Conflicts Seminars. These were some of the main factors that caused many U.S. churches to largely reject the movement and these artists at the time. This suited many artists as they wanted to bring Jesus to non-Christians, not only to church youth.<ref name="Di Sabatino 1999 136–137"/><ref>{{cite book
  | last = Powell
  | first = Mark Allan
  | title = Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music
  | publisher = Hendrickson Publishers
  | year = 2002
  | location = Peabody, Massachusetts
  | url = https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofco00mark
  | isbn = 1-56563-679-1
  }}
</ref>
Larry Norman addressed this culture clash in his 1972 song, "Why Should The Devil Have All the Good Music?"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.christianguitar.org/csong2867/Larry-Norman-Why-Should-the-Devil-Have-All-the-Good-Music|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130414110941/http://www.christianguitar.org/csong2867/Larry-Norman-Why-Should-the-Devil-Have-All-the-Good-Music|url-status=usurped|archive-date=April 14, 2013|title=Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music - Larry Norman Worship Song - Christian Guitar Tabs|website=www.christianguitar.org}}</ref>

On the West Coast of the United States, Jesus music festivals began to emerge in the summer months of the early 1970s, featuring many of the artists listed above. While the music was often loud and the venue similar to the [[Monterey Pop Festival]] and [[Woodstock]], the atmosphere was decidedly different and attracted large crowds of camping families as well as teenagers and young adults.

By 1973, Jesus music was receiving enough attention inside the mainstream media that an industry began to emerge. By the mid-1970s, the phrase "[[contemporary Christian music]]" (CCM) had been coined by Ron Moore<ref>
{{citation 
  | title = Full Circle Jesus Music
  | year = 2009
  | url = http://www.fullcirclejesusmusic.com }}
</ref> and the first edition of ''[[CCM Magazine]]'' was published in July 1977. CCM now was a combination of traditional [[gospel music]], [[Southern gospel]] music, Jesus music artists, and in some cases a style of [[big-band]] music with Christian lyrics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.daveboyerministries.com/ |title=See Dave Boyer at |publisher=Daveboyerministries.com |access-date=2012-03-07}}</ref> By 1976, it was apparent that a new generation of performers who had grown up in the church wanted to play non-secular pop and rock music for other Christians. By the end of the 1970s the term "Jesus music" fell out of use as ''the movement'' was replaced by ''the industry''.

==Outside California==
In the United Kingdom, Parchment, Roger and Jan, Judy McKenzie, [[Malcolm and Alwyn]], [[Garth Hewitt]], [[Graham Kendrick]], Dave and Dana, Len Magee, [[Adrian Snell]], etc. were some of the most notable agents of the gospel beat.

[[Jesus People USA]] is an [[intentional community]] and ministry, currently located on the North Side of [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]]. Two of the first influences of JPUSA were [[Cornerstone (magazine)|Cornerstone magazine]] and [[Resurrection Band]].<ref name="ReferenceA">Liner notes to ''Music to Raise the Dead: 1972-1998'' by Resurrection Band.</ref>
[[Jim Palosaari]] was one of Britain's influential Jesus people and one of the founders of the group that became JPUSA, [[Servant (band)|Servant]]'s Highway Ministries, and [[Greenbelt festival]] in England, the largest [[Christian rock]] festival in the world.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>{{cite book
  | last = Powell
  | first = Mark Allan
  | title = Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music
  | publisher = Hendrickson Publishers
  | year = 2002
  | location = Peabody, Massachusetts
  | pages = [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofco00mark/page/808 808–809]
  | url = https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofco00mark/page/808
  | isbn = 1-56563-679-1
  }}
</ref>

==See also==
* [[Cultural depictions of Jesus]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Christian music articles}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jesus Music}}
[[Category:20th-century music genres]]
[[Category:Contemporary Christian music| ]]
[[Category:Popular music]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Jesus movement]]