One Way Records

One Way Records was a record label established by Larry Norman in 1970 to distribute his own work, and that of other Christian musicians including Randy Stonehill, after he had been released by Capitol Records in 1969.

History

Seeking to make a "more earthy sounding album which I could hand out to the street people I talked to on Hollywood Boulevard",^[1] in 1970 Norman established One Way Records with his own money,^[2] which was described as "an underground experimental" label,^[3] which was headquartered initially at his rented home at 6007 Carlos Avenue, Hollywood.^[4] When Norman left Capitol he took with him "demos" of songs he had recorded between 1966 and 1969, some of which were released on his One Way albums.^[5] Norman recorded, produced and released two independent albums of his own music through his One Way Records: Street Level (1970) and Bootleg (1971). Both albums "would feature grainy, underground looking black and white artwork. Both would also be ... mixing live concert recording, studio demos of previously unreleased songs and future classics. These albums would also reveal the smart and piercing humor Norman would always be noted for. Norman concerts were part rock and roll show, part revival meeting and part stand up comedy. This facet of his life and ministry would be introduced on these two albums.^[6]

One Way "used secular sub-distributors or "rack jobbers" and "one stops" to disseminate its records".^[7] Additionally Creative Sound,^[8] owned by Bob Cotterell,^[9] released and distributed Street Level, as well as Stonehill's Born Twice.^[10] By 1971 One Way Records was headquartered at 7046 Hollywood Boulevard.^[11]

Releases

Street Level (1970-1971)

In 1970 One Way Records released Street Level, which had on side one "a [1969] live concert recorded at Hollywood's First Presbyterian Church which ran a nightclub called the Salt Company".^[12] Norman recorded at night for discounted rates in Pat Boone's 8-track room at SunWest Studios, and also "Sigrid Jane" at Ray Charles' studio. Norman had messages inscribed on the inner groove of all One Way records.^[13] The first version of Street Level, which was only 400 copies, was "too confusing to the Christians", and as a result Norman recorded "a second version for the church kids" in 1971 that completely replaced side two with one recorded with a band called White Light.^[14] After its release in 1970, the Hollywood Free Paper described Norman as "a combination of lyricist, composer, performer, backwoods preacher [and] poet."^[15]

Born Twice (1971)

In 1971 One Way Records released Born Twice the debut album of Norman's friend and protegee Randy Stonehill, who had been converted in August 1970 in Norman's kitchen, that was produced by Norman.^[16] The album, primarily a live performance, was recorded for a mere $US800, and according to Stonehill, it "sounds like every penny of it!"^[17] The album was released on CD in 2005. Born Twice was recorded at Fat Chance Studio, with Norman singing harmonies, playing piano and organ, as well as mouth claves, Fred Bova playing lead guitar,^[18] Glenn Salwitz on bass guitar, and "Hilly" Hillman on drums.^[19]

Bootleg (1972)

In early 1972 One Way Records released Bootleg, a double album retrospective covering the previous four years of Norman's career compiled from demonstration recordings made while at Capitol,^[20] private recordings from his friends, and various interviews and live performances.^[21] Among the speeches included is "Let the Lions Come", which Norman addressed to Russia for Christ Ministries, which was founded by David V. Benson in 1958.^[22] It was deliberately recorded to sound like an unauthorized bootleg recording to ensure reception by street people. In 1999 Norman explained the unpolished nature of Bootleg: "Many songs which ended up being released on Bootleg, ... weren't really finished but I had to release the album immediately so it wouldn't violate the terms of my MGM contract which was soon going to be in effect. ... I just didn't have time to finish it. ... I didn't have the budget to make it a real album, I just used songs laying around to fill it up, which I regretted".^[23]

The Son Worshippers (1972)

In 1972 One Way released The Son Worshipers (JC4444),^[24] the soundtrack of the 1971 Christian documentary film of the same name that introduced the Jesus Movement,^[25] that includes Norman singing two shortened versions of his songs from Upon This Rock.^[26]

One Way logo

By 1971 One Way Records began to use the famous extended index finger (the "one way" sign) as their company logo.^[27] Norman had popularized the sign in his concerts,^[28] by habitually pointing an index finger toward heaven after each song,^[29] signifying to him that when he was applauded that God should get the applause instead.^[30] While it is claimed that Norman was the first to use the one way gesture in his early concerts in Hollywood,^[31] Norman said by 1972: "I wouldn't be surprised to find out the apostles did it".^[32] While some criticize Norman for copyrighting the One Way symbol,^[33] the linear notes to Norman's 1972 Bootleg album credit artist Lance Dennis Bowen (born 7 December 1944 in Los Angeles, California),^[34][35] who designed the original One Way poster,^[36] based on Norman's gesture, who also coined the term "Jesus Freak",^[37] and who managed the Salt Company coffee shop in Hollywood for its first eighteen months,^[38] and reveal that in 1969 both Bowen and Norman published and copyrighted it together.^[39][40] In an interview with Dale Ahlquist for Gilbert Magazine in December 1995, Norman explained the origin of the One Way logo:

I had broken my index finger on stage one night. The Bible has a verse which says, “Lift up your body as a living sacrifice.” So I would hold up my fist and extend my finger after each song. Inside I was thinking, “Take the rest of me, Lord. Take whatever you want.” And I was telling people, “Rock and roll is not the way. Drugs is not the way. Free love is not the way. There’s only one way to find the truth of life. You must die to self and be born again in Christ.” The next thing I know Lance Bowen paints a big “one way” sign on butcher paper and it’s the backdrop for my concert appearance in Hollywood. And soon it was an auto parts distributor making “One Way” bumpers stickers, belt buckles, tie-tacs, lapel pins, t–shirts and lamp shades down in Mexico and spewing it all over America.^[41]

Soon the One Way signal was used by Christians to indicate that Jesus was only one way to salvation,^[42] and it became "the iconic insignia of the Jesus movement",^[43] the 20th-century equivalent of the first-century Ichthus, as a counterpart to the secular "peace sign".^[44]

References and notes

1. ^ Larry Norman, "Linear Notes", Rough Street Love Letter (1999):4.
2. ^ While it is claimed that Norman borrowed $3,000 from Pat Boone to start One Way Records (see Randy Stonehill in Chris Willman, "RANDY STONEHILL: TURNING TWENTY", CCM (August 1990), http://www.nifty-music.com/stonehill/ccm0890.html), Norman denied this explicitly. (See Larry Norman, linear notes, Bootleg (2005 CDR Release-"Red Letter Edition"):2.
3. ^ Mike Callahan, David Edwards, and Patrice Eyries, "Solid Rock Album Discography" (January 10, 2009), http://www.bsnpubs.com/word/solidrock/solidrock.html
4. ^ See reverse album cover: http://www.meetjesushere.com/images/LPs/JC7397bV2.jpg
5. ^ "Chronology and Background of the Songs", On Being (1985/1986):14.
6. ^ low5point, "The Greatest Christian Albums of All Time" (4 March 2010), http://greatestchristianalbums.wordpress.com/
7. ^ Larry Norman, "Larry Norman: The Growth Of The Christian Music Industry", Cross Rhythms (11 October 2006):2, http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/music/Larry_Norman__The_Growth_Of_The_Christian_Music_Industry/24341/p2/
8. ^ "CreativeSound", http://csoundcorp.com/
9. ^ "News from Bob Cotterell", http://csoundcorp.com/news_index.html
10. ^ John J. Thompson, Raised by Wolves: The Story of Christian Rock & Roll ():8; Paul Baker, Contemporary Christian Music: Where It Came From, What It Is, Where It's Going (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1985):37, http://www.ccel.us/CCM.ch5.html
11. ^ See reverse of Born Twice at [1]
12. ^ http://keystonemagazine.com/Jesus%20Music.htm; Larry Norman, "Linear Notes", Rough Street Love Letter (1999):4.
13. ^ The Christian Librarian: The Journal of the Christian Libraries Fellowship, Vols. 35-37 (The Fellowship, 1991):109.
14. ^ Larry Norman, "Linear Notes", Rough Street Love Letter (1999):4; and Robert Termorshuizen, "Street Level (1970)", http://www.meetjesushere.com/streetlevel.htm
15. ^ "Superstar", Hollywood Free Paper 2:23 (December 1, 1970), http://www.hollywoodfreepaper.org/archive.php?id=29
16. ^ Jim Böthel, "Born Twice (1971)", http://www.meetjesushere.com/born_twice.htm
17. ^ (Interviewer in 1994: "When will Born Twice be released on CD?" Stonehill: "When someone in charge makes a grave error in judgment."
18. ^ Bova has been married to American actress Sarah Rush since 1999.
19. ^ P.F. Ahlquist [Pamela Norman], "Linear Notes", Born Twice (28 December 1971), UK release, see [2]
20. ^ Larry Norman, liner notes, The Cottage Tapes - Book One (1999):13.
21. ^ http://www.meetjesushere.com/bootleg.htm.
22. ^ Randall Balmer, ed., Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism: Revised and Expanded Edition, 2nd ed. (Baylor University Press, 2004):594.
23. ^ Larry Norman, liner notes, The Cottage Tapes - Book One (1999):9.
24. ^ "Musicals & Soundtracks", http://www.one-way.org/jesusmusic/musicals.htm
25. ^ Norman appears at (0:30) at the beginning of part 3, and throughout the documentary. See "The Son Worshipers Part 1", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvHSP3kT16A; "The Son Worshipers Part 2 ", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG_2EA3gtto&feature=related; "The Son Worshipers Part 3 ", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gntxDSupAhs&feature=related; and "The Son Worshipers Part 4", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2kVZxCMQt0&feature=related
26. ^ These songs are "Forget Your Hexagram" and "Sweet Sweet Song Of Salvation". See Robert Termorshuizen, "The Son Worshipers (1972)", http://www.meetjesushere.com/The_Son_Worshipers.htm
27. ^ Bob Gersztyn, "Jesus and Larry and Me", The Wittenburg Door, http://www.wittenburgdoor.com/larry-norman
28. ^ "Linear Notes", Bootleg, http://www.meetjesushere.com/images/btlginsa.jpg; Andrew Beaujon, "God Only Knows", Spin (May 2008):120.; Sarah Pulliam, "Larry Norman, 'Father of Christian Rock,' Dies at 60", Christianity Today (26 February 2008), http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/februaryweb-only/109-22.0.html.
29. ^ Bob Gersztyn, "Jesus and Larry and Me", The Wittenburg Door, http://www.wittenburgdoor.com/larry-norman
30. ^ Don Cusic, ed., Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music: Pop, Rock, and Worship (ABC-CLIO, 2009):312.
31. ^ "Linear Notes", Bootleg, http://www.meetjesushere.com/images/btlginsa.jpg; For example, see Randall Balmer, ed., Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism: Revised and Expanded Edition, 2nd ed. (Baylor University Press, 2004):494; Larry Witham, Who Shall Lead Them?: The Future of Ministry in America (Oxford University Press US, 2005):127.
32. ^ Larry Norman, in "Linear Notes", Bootleg, http://www.meetjesushere.com/images/btlginsa.jpg
33. ^ For example, see David Di Sabatino, "Frequently Asked Questions about FALLEN ANGEL: The OUTLAW LARRY NORMAN documentary", http://www.fallenangeldoc.com/faq.htm; John Cody, "Angel Tells Tragic Tale of Larry Norman", BC Christian News, http://www.canadianchristianity.com/bc/bccn/0709/20angel.html
34. ^ Ancestry.com. California Birth Index, 1905-1995; http://www.hollywoodfreepaper.org/
35. ^ "Linear Notes", Bootleg, http://www.meetjesushere.com/images/btlginsa.jpg
36. ^ "Can You Dig It?", Hollywood Free Paper 1:2 (21 October 1969), http://www.hollywoodfreepaper.org/archive.php?id=3
37. ^ Drugs in Our Schools: Hearings, Ninety-second Congress, Second Session, United States. Congress. House. Select Committee on Crime, Vol. 5 (U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1972):1908.
38. ^ Robert S. Ellwood, One Way: The Jesus Movement and its Meaning (Prentice-Hall, 1973):63; "Can You Dig It?", Hollywood Free Paper 1:2 (21 October 1969), http://www.hollywoodfreepaper.org/archive.php?id=3
39. ^ See "Linear Notes", Bootleg, http://www.meetjesushere.com/images/btlginsa.jpg. It is copyrighted 1969 by J.C. Love publishing company. See, for example, http://www.meetjesushere.com/images/Labels/JC4444aWt.jpg
40. ^ While David Di Sabatino believes Bowen "refashioned a popular symbol of the student movement - a clenched fist with the words "STRIKE" stenciled underneath - to an open-palmed hand with its index finger pointed upwards and the words "ONE WAY" beneath", Wally Zampa, who originated the Strike logo, indicated that his creation was made after Spring 1970, after the One Way logo was copyrighted. See David Di Sabatino, "Frequently Asked Questions about FALLEN ANGEL: The OUTLAW LARRY NORMAN documentary", http://www.fallenangeldoc.com/faq.htm; but cf. Lincoln Cushing, "Origins of the Clenched Fist-Peace Symbol Combination Graphic", (6 March 2009), http://www.docspopuli.org/articles/Fist-Peace.html; and Lincoln Cushing, "A Brief History of the "Clenched Fist" Image", Docs Populi (22 May 2009), http://www.docspopuli.org/articles/Fist.html
41. ^ Larry Norman, in "An Interview with Larry Norman by Dale Ahlquist", Gilbert Magazine (December 1995), http://www.alivingdog.com/LarryInt2.html
42. ^ Don Cusic, ed., Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music: Pop, Rock, and Worship (ABC-CLIO, 2009):312.
43. ^ David Di Sabatino, "Frequently Asked Questions about FALLEN ANGEL: The OUTLAW LARRY NORMAN documentary", http://www.fallenangeldoc.com/faq.html; Robert S. Ellwood, One Way: The Jesus Movement and its Meaning (Prentice-Hall, 1973):63.
44. ^ Bob Gersztyn, "Jesus and Larry and Me", The Wittenburg Door, http://www.wittenburgdoor.com/larry-norman