FEBRUARY 25, 2008: RANDY'S STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF LARRY NORMAN " I knew Larry Norman perhaps better than anyone, yet to this day I'm not sure that I really understood him completely.
For as brilliant and insightful as Larry was, I'm not sure that he understood himself completely. This issue became apparent
in the way he consistently seemed to "derail" relationships through out his life.
Larry is the man who introduced me to Jesus. He led me to the door of eternal life, and for that singular priceless gift I am
eternally in his debt.
In my relationship with Larry, I experienced the beauty of brotherhood, the richness of creative collaboration, the mystery
of human brokenness, and ultimately the overshadowing wings of God's all encompassing grace.
After 20 years of friction and distance between us that began around 1980, Larry and I realized that what united us in Christ was
far greater than what had separated us in our personal frailty and pride. We worked together on the re-issue of the
"Welcome to Paradise" recording and talked and laughed together over the phone from our respective homes in Seal Beach California
and Salem Oregon. We stood together onstage for what would be the last time at the Cornerstone Festival in July of 2001 and it
felt to me like being home. Then he "disappeared" into the mist. I wrote it off to the busy pace of life and his consuming health
problems but I still couldn't help but scratch my chin and wonder.
He graciously agreed to sing with me on my song, "We Were All So Young", for the "Edge of The World" project in 2003. We accomplished
that performance process long distance through computer technology. Then he was silent again.
I had hoped that in these last years we might continue to build on our recent reconciliation and even get together for some song
writing and recording, sharing what we had learned about life and about our craft to offer something better than ever to the world.
Death is so final..We are out of time, at least in this life. No more conversations, No more plans, No more songs. It's a strange sorrow that leaves
you feeling hollow, like someone knocked the wind out of you.
The light of hope, however, that lifts my spirit is the knowledge that Larry's profound contribution to the work of God's Kingdom is eternal and that his
struggles with his own demons is over."
Randy Stonehill
February 25, 2008
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ALSO: NashvilleOTHER NEWS
The rumors are true. Randy has been writing country music with a number of veteran songwriters in Music City - including the wonderful Warren Bros.
A regular event on his calendar has become the Bluebird Cafe songwriter events - where Randy is joined by Phil Keaggy and two other Nashville writers to share new songs.
It should be no surprise then to hear that some of the best songs have come from the collaborative creativity of Keaggy & Stonehill. There most recent album and DVD is the Candlelight Productions Stonehill & Keaggy Together - where each reprises favorite songs performed together. The next project expected from these two is a completely new entity (as yet unnamed) that will showcase brand new songs written and performed for electric guitar and driving percussion. This is music that transcends age.
ALSO: Randy has for the first time in his career put on his Producer's hat and developed a production house with producer and engineer Mike Pachelli to bring their musical and sonic expertise to independent artists hoping to avail themselves of their years of experience. Interested indie artists should contact Randy's management at