A Legacy of Music and Trusting the Lord

Hey everyone, listen to my podcast, Refocus with Jim Daly. Check out my latest episode on engaging the culture with Seth Dillon, the CEO of the Babylon Bee, a popular conservative website. To learn more, visit RefocusWithJimDaly.com. That's Christian singer Larnell Harris describing the amazing ways God has really used his music career, which spans five decades, and we're thrilled to have him here as our guest on Focus on the Family.

Your host is Focus president and author Jim Daly, and I'm John Fuller. Hey John, many of our seasoned listeners will remember Larnell over many of those five decades, actually. Larnell's amazing singing voice has been on display, those gifts that the Lord has given him in such incredible ways. He was with the Gaither vocal band in the late 80s, and he's probably most famous for the duets he sang with Sandy Patty.

I'm not sure, but we'll ask him in a moment. He also sang for Billy Graham Crusade for 30 years, and he was featured at Promise Keepers. I think I may have been at one of the events you sang at.

Up in Boulder. But behind all of that success and many music awards, four or five Grammys over the years, most important to him is his commitment to Christ and what faithfulness means in this journey of life. Bottom line, these are the reasons why we wanted to talk to Larnell, to talk to him about faith and music and worshipping the Lord and what it's meant to him over these many years. I remember Jim being at a radio station in East Texas back in the 80s playing Larnell's music. We had record albums and his stuff was there and go-to music for us. That's great. So you were spinning the music.

We had the vinyl going, man. Well, thank you for that. And I got to tell you, I have come all the way from Kentucky, and it's the first time that I didn't come. I'm not singing anything. Not yet.

Not yet. There you go. Well, no, we love it. And we appreciate the journey all the way from Kentucky to Colorado. Well, it's good to be with you. It's been many years since I've been here.

I was here for one of the chapel services. It's been years. Oh, yeah.

It's been years and years and years ago. This campus, though, huh? Yeah. Well, I'm going to assume. Yeah. But who's here? I've been here since 94, so in this location. What a wonderful thing. I want to start with your family of origin, because I think it's really a great story, a victory story, as you called it.

Yeah. And I understand your parents had rough backgrounds like so many of us. I don't know what it was about that era, the parents of us now that are in our 50s and 60s.

But it was just kind of the 20s and the 30s, and there were some just funny stuff going on with bootlegging and other stuff. But what was going on in your family? Well, my mom was a lady stonked in her faith. I mean, she loved the Lord. She was a Pentecostal holiness woman, and she was a prayer warrior. So she was serious. Oh, she was dead serious. She wore that white dress with them big buttons running down the front.

Right. And, boy, she'd flat run over you in the service. Because she, you know, she was not sophisticated. She would shout. In fact, that whole church back there in Danville, Kentucky, people would come from all over the state to witness what they called a watchcare service. That was the service from bringing in the New Year. And the drums would be going, the cymbals, somebody would have a tambourine, a pastor would get up and speak, and the place would just erupt.

That's what I grew up with. It was a fervent worship. So it was no surprise to me that my mom prayed my dad into the kingdom.

Yeah. So tenacity, perseverance, all of that was part of her character. It was indeed. And so she was not going to sit still and have her husband not be a part of the kingdom. So she prayed him in. She prayed him in. I can remember sitting at her knee as a little boy, I mean four or five years old, and she'd be praying for dad. He'd be knocking on the door. And the circumstances was as such that she couldn't let him in.

Now, I'm a very young kid. I don't know all the dynamics of grown-up relationships, but there was a lot going on. And she'd be praying for him. And a lot of his friends were praying for him because dad was a good guy. He was trying to make a living.

Sure. Her prayers – remember in Scripture where it wasn't the faith of the paralytic, it was the faith of the friends and those who loved him. And they took him up on the roof. And I can imagine that every prayer that my mom prayed was taking another shingle off of that roof.

What a beautiful way to look at that. Until finally he could be dropped down to the face of Jesus and look him square in the face. And you know what happened? God healed him of the greatest disease that there is, the most insidious malady that there is – sin. What was he coming out of?

Just for the listener to be able to paint that picture. So the environment that he came out of, why your mom was praying so much for him, what was happening? Well, his dad went to prison. And there are things that – I have a 90-year-old aunt in Danville. And there are still things that she will not tell me about those – She's been sworn to secrecy. Sworn to secrecy.

My family has that same thing. That's what I'm talking about. It's like, what did you do?

They won't tell you. Yeah, you know what? And some of it might be beneficial.

I mean, over the years – But some of it's benign. And you're going, oh, that's it? Yeah.

I mean, wow, okay. Exactly, exactly. It was life. It was life. In your case, the family, the adults around you were bootlegging.

I mean, that was kind of the thing. Hey, not only them – Selling beer and – Yeah, you know, I could sell you a pint. This is a dry – And you became a salesman as a young kid.

What do you want? I could sell you a pint as well as anybody else. I was – and this is a dry county. Right.

I mean, yeah, this is a dry place. So – but I also remember – and I don't want to tell too much because you've got to read the book. But there are – Oh, it's good.

It's good to read. I remember when Sammy Dexter came, who was the detective in town and came to our home. You remember his name. Oh, yeah.

Sammy was a good guy. And – And you're like 9, 10 years old? At that time, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And he came and took my dad off.

Right. And it was a traumatic thing for Mom and me. I can almost – So your dad was arrested. He was arrested and tried and spent some time in prison.

What did that do for you? I mean, I'm always a believer in the pendulum of God, for the wisdom, if you can see it as a boy, which I felt – a very similar story. My dad wasn't bootlegging, but he was on the other end.

He was on the receiving end of it. And in some ways as a child, being 9, 10, 11 years old – he died when I was 12 – there are some positives that can come out of that where you're observing this as a boy and going, okay, I don't want to do that. I don't want to be like that.

I don't want to suffer the consequences. Exactly. Did you have some of that process? I did. And I got it from him. Oh, interesting. When he's – now that he's – he is at this time pretty tied into the church. He is – the pastor is – seemingly can't go to pray for someone in the hospital unless he takes my dad.

Yeah. And now his occupation, which is not bootlegging, but he's always been a – loved to cook, and so now he's a baker. He comes out with a – Wow. With something else that he can do.

So he goes to jail, comes out – Comes out. As a baker. As a baker.

And then sets up a business. One of the old boys in town, Mr. Burke, hired my dad at Burke's Bakery. It's a very famous bakery, still going. And now I go into the shop and see my dad making donuts and pies and cakes and – Now you're talking. Now we got something. And he's taking those donuts and he's dipping them in that sugar and he holds them up. Now, we shouldn't eat this stuff, okay?

Right. But now he's holding – he puts them up on a rack and you pull one off and you taste and you sit. And with pride, my dad made that. That's amazing. This is my dad's new life. And now, again, we talk about the training of a child. Yes.

Who needed to see that? I really believe that most of what has happened in my life over the years has been due to that episode, those days watching my mom and dad take a situation and turn it around through prayer. Right. How old were you when you came to Christ?

I joined church when I was 12. Okay. Okay. I didn't really make a commitment because I didn't understand it all. Yeah, sure.

I mean, it sounds odd, the blood of Jesus and what does that mean and that's scary. Who can wrap that around, yeah. Yeah, so what happened? Well, I met an old boy by the name of Stan Morris. I was auditioning actually for a group called the Spurlows. As a teenager.

Well, I'm out of college now. Okay, okay. So we have jumped forward a bunch and Stan explained it to me for the first time, but what happened was that set this up. I was 16 years old and my dad, through the years, they always had fast cars, he and his uncle.

Well, they were booed like this. They had to have them running through those hills. Okay. So there was a new highway, US 127, between Danville and Stanford, Kentucky, about 10 miles, and they just put in this new highway. It was flat and I'm saying, today, today I'm going to find out how fast this thing will go. So I get this thing out on the beginning of that highway. I lose my nerve. I mean, I'm moving, okay. And I lose my nerve and I pull over to the side of the road.

I'm almost in Stanford, 10 miles. That 10 miles went fast. Yeah, my knuckles are hurting because I've been holding onto this wheel and now I didn't notice that the state police had pulled up behind me. And so I'm sitting there, cop gets out of the car, he walks up to the driver's side of the window. He said, kid, you could have killed yourself. I said, listen, I'm going to put you down for 70 plus, 70 miles an hour plus.

I don't know how fast you were going and I wasn't going to kill myself to save you. When I met Stan, he introduced me to the one who did just that, who allowed himself to go to the cross for me. And that news broke my heart. You caught it. I caught it.

I caught it. I had my degree in hand. I was going out.

I was going to be teaching school. I had met my wife, but that news broke my heart. And when Stan explained it, I went back to that event and said, my Lord, thank you so much for what you've done. And then I was in a position where I could begin to grow and grow in the Lord.

Larnell, let me go back. And it's wonderful. I think in very similar ways we tracked. I mean, I was, I became a Christian at 15, but wobbled along. I didn't really understand it. Then when I was 22, that's when the Lord really got a hold of me and there was a greater fullness to my understanding. It sounds like very similarly.

Because we all know it. Yeah. And I think you just mature. You've seen more of life and in your 20s, you're beginning to make big decisions and you know that God needs to be a part of this. I think as a teenager, sometimes you can put God to the side because there's so much going on. But in that respect, your teachers and other adults in your life had a tremendous influence for you.

Same again for me. And I want you to speak to your experience with those teachers who, as you described in your book, were kind of like lookouts for those kids that had potential. How did that work for you in your music career? Well, they were saying, those old teachers, it's out there. You can have it. You can be someone.

Guess what? We know because we've been out there. So they encouraged you. Oh, they encouraged us. A lot of kids. And I don't think that this has anything to do with economics or living once out of the track or another. I think that many of us have people in our lives who have, in one sense, given us a dream, helped us find a dream. Yeah, identify.

Identify and sometimes just scoop the top of it so that you look out and you can go as far as you are willing to work to go. In your context, I think it was Miss Georgie, if I remember correctly. But in that context, I mean, you weren't excited about music. And a lot of professional musicians, they get on it early and then that's their drive.

That's their passion. It didn't really happen that way for you, right? It did not. Miss Georgie and others had to encourage you to say, you can do this.

You're pretty good. They really did. Miss Georgie was getting on my last nerve to tell the truth about it.

But what a great thing. Oh, yeah. Every kid in town took piano lessons from her, first of all. Oh, she was the piano teacher. She was the piano teacher. That says it all right there.

That's right. And she found out that I could carry a tune. Okay. But I'm a boy soprano. Listen, you don't – you haven't lived – you've lived the life of a boy soprano. You get teased.

I mean, it's a tough life. Okay. But she would take me around to various tees and things. Women's meetings.

Around Danville, Kentucky. All six and a half acres of it. You know what I mean? And she – but she went to my mother one time and said, Adam A., you should not let Larnell play any sports in the dust because – Oh, no. Every sports in the dust. Every sports in the dust.

Because the dust will hurt his voice. So I got to tell you, she really did get on my last nerve. But she – as I got older and – in fact, I did my first concert at the first Baptist church, Danville, Kentucky. Ms. Georgie Dunahigh playing the piano. I'm nine years old.

I'm in my little gray suit. There's a picture – listen, the book is worth the picture. Just get the book and see the picture. And the great thing about it is she didn't want anything. She didn't want anything. She was just a lady that God had put into my life for a time. And as I got older, you know what I hope?

I hope that every town has one. A Ms. Georgie who will not give up, who will worry you to death, who in her own little way continues to needle because she is, again, saying, it's out there. It's out there.

And you can get it. And Ms. Georgie and Ms. Stevens and Ms. Summers and all of those teachers in an all-black high school – not high school, really grades one through 12 – consolidated when I was a senior and went to what was known as Danville High School. But those grandmas and grandpas and teachers, administrators spoke life. So people ask me, why did you write the book?

Because of them. But you did have some difficulty in your career, too. I was particularly drawn to some of the early gigs, if I can use the lingo, that you had to decide.

Am I going to be part of this? Describe kind of the faith decision you had to make to not want to be in nightclubs and things like that, where it was a dark environment, not a good environment. And I got to tell you, when I got out of college and met Stan and really began to understand what a faith walk was about, a lot of my decisions changed.

I mean, I came out of school with a degree in voice and was ready to go into the Kentucky school system and teach my old band director, Macaulay Arthur, who had taken me around to various schools, colleges on his own dime. I was ready to do that. But a lot of that changed because now I got to consider what God is doing in my life.

Right. It was serious for you. It was very serious. And if I'm supposed to be in the Spurlows or whatever group, it will be here. And I did end up in some dark places trying to figure this out. But I believe wholeheartedly that as it was as when I was growing up and learning about who God was, that I was being protected as I went along and learning that there was some stuff that I was going to run across that I would have to throw out of my life.

Some places that I would not be able to thrive. It was too dark. Thirty days from that day, I called Mitzi, who was now pregnant with our first. And this is two, three years later. And she was home with her doctor and her mom. And I called her and I said, I'll be home in 30 days. And I had no idea what I was going to do. Just being on the road. I had been on the road. I was anemic. I was sick. I had vocal issues.

I had the formation of nodules on my voice. I didn't have, you know, full blown. But I could. It was impacting.

It was impacting everything. And so I got home and now I've got to find a job. We've just bought a little house. Listen, the payments were $120 a week.

I thought, there's no way, no way we can make that. And God remained faithful through that time. We never missed a payment on anything. We never missed.

We didn't go through any hard times, any of that. But I went through some emotional hard times. And God took me to his word. And I began to just take baths in it.

And I did that. And my relationship with him was growing and growing. And it was growing to the point that I could say this. And this was the open door. Lord, if you're going to allow my voice to be taken.

If I'm not going to sing anymore, I'd go to doctors and they'd say, you know what, I'm not certain that you're going to sound that way anymore. And I was able to say, Lord, if you're going to allow that, then you must have something awfully good coming. So it wasn't bitterness.

You didn't look that direction. It was bitterness at first. Hey, you know, you go through all the stages.

It was bitterness and it was why me and it was anger. And I went through all those stages, all those psychological cartwheels and norms. But I finished because of the word of God in my heart. And really, again, trying to understand all of this. Because, you know what, even in where we were playing, we were simply preparing music to go and sing and win people to Christ.

This was just a way for us to sit still and work on our music. So I'm going, I'm doing the right thing here, I mean, I thought. But, you know, I got to the point in Scripture and I said, you know what, you've got something awfully good coming.

I don't know what it is. That's a good place to be. It's a great place to be.

Where you can have that faith in Christ. It's be content in all things, right? And it was a lesson God was saying to me.

And I didn't know this until years later. This is not about voice. This is not about concerts.

This is about me. And we're not going to trust in voice, and we're not going to trust in all of these outside things. What we're going to trust in is me.

And it's a lesson I've never forgotten. There's a song that, you mentioned Sandy. Sandy and I sing this song, I've just seen Jesus. A few people have heard it. And I love singing that, and especially with her. And there's a line in that song, it says, all that I've done before doesn't matter anymore.

Why? Because Jesus is alive, and he has covered it all. And wants more than anything else, for those of you who are listening, to be the integral part of your life.

If you will put yourself in the place where he can do his work in your heart and in your life. It's a lesson that I've never forgotten. Yeah, and I love that. That is what it's about.

And so often, especially I think in these areas of the arts, whether it's acting or music, even Christians flounder there, because it's a heady thing to win Grammys and to do those things. I love the story of your wife, Mitzi, when you won your first Grammy. Oh, gee. And she left you a note. Do you remember what that note says? Oh, I do. Listen, I still have it. I think, tell the folks what that was.

Because to me, I think this is what a wonderful spouse can do for you. Oh, man. Well, then she is the greatest. I had been nominated for not one, but two Grammys that year. And first of all, I didn't believe it. When I got the call, I thought, who is this?

One of your friends playing a joke. Yes, and then I sat in the corner when I verified that it had indeed happened. And I said, oh, my goodness, someone's listening to this stuff. But we went to the, I went to the Grammys, she didn't go. But when I got home, she had a little party for me. And we had some friends and family over. Now, my wife, when she was teaching school, she has a master's in special ed, so she was up early out. And so she would always write a note.

It would always be on the kitchen table, giving me my chores for the day. The list. The list. I still get it. So I get up, and here is what it said. Larnell, I love you.

We're so proud of you. Now, take the trash out. Now, I have to tell you that I was going to the trash with newspapers that had my picture in them.

Should I be doing this? Take the trash out, and listen, don't forget that trash that you missed. You missed it last time in the garage.

In the can. And I love you, I'll see you later. I love it.

And you know what? She's just an old country girl who doesn't, doesn't, not much excites. She's not impressed. You're not impressed.

I wish they were. And I tell you some other people are not impressed. People, we've been in the same church for many, many years.

My kids who are now grown, we have grandchildren, they went to daycare at our church. And I've tried to use those Grammys and some, I've been on the deacon board and finance committee. I've tried to use the influence of those deacons in some of those meetings.

Doesn't work. So they don't work anyway. They're also equally unimpressed. But I tell you what they do.

They have allowed me to get my feet in some doors that I probably would not have ever gotten in. You know, here at Focus on the Family, Larnell, we're about the family. And what I love about your career, and one of the reasons I was really fascinated to have you on the program, was how you managed that with the kids and everything else.

You gave a great story there about Mitzi, but you seem to always be able to put your family first. There's lots of business people that listen. There's lots of self-made people that are listening. They've poured a lot into their career, their vocation.

They're proud of it, and they should be. But at the same time, some people will look back and say, it cost me too much. It cost me my marriage.

It cost me my family. So if you are a writer of the Proverbs, what would you say to those in keeping all of this balanced? You know, and she's smart enough to do it, but I'm not. But the Lord put this on our hearts. In order to have some quality time, you have to have some quantity.

Over the years, we wanted each other to know, to be aware, and wanted our kids to know that at any given moment, regardless of what was going on, because sometimes I did have to travel, sometimes she was out, that at any given moment, I'd rather be with you than anybody else in the world. Isn't that a great feeling? That's a wonderful feeling. I can relate to that. I love that. This has been powerful.

I hope people will write to us here or call us, go online, get a copy of Larnell's book, Shaped Notes. And it's a great testimony to God's work in your life. And it's an encouragement to all of us who can see similar milestones in our own lives and to remember to praise Him for it and to give Him credit for those many good things and even the tough things, because we learned through that. And you've done it well putting it all together in Shaped Notes. Thank you for being with us.

What a joy. Thank you for having me. Well, it really was a thrill having you here, and I'm certain our listeners enjoyed hearing about your journey of faith. And in fact, as a listener, if you want the full story, contact us about getting a copy of Larnell's book and an audio download of the entire conversation with him.

There's a lot of additional content. We'll have the link in the show notes. And John, we should make Shaped Notes available to anyone who wants a copy. Send us a financial gift of any amount today, and we'll send that book right out to you as our way of saying thank you. If you can't afford it, let us know. I'm sure friends who support the ministry will be happy to help us get a copy into your hands. And if we haven't heard from you in a while, or if you've never supported Focus on the Family, would you please consider doing so today? We depend upon the generosity of friends like you to help us produce programs like this one and provide resources like our websites and counseling and Larnell's book.

And again, our number is 800, the letter A in the word family, or check the show notes for details. And next time, we'll be hearing about the consequences of marital breakup. When you go through a divorce, it's like going through the death of a relationship. In some ways, it's actually harder because that person is still around.

So it can almost seem like there's this haunting of your past. On behalf of Jim Daly and the entire team, thanks for listening to Focus on the Family. I'm John Fuller inviting you back as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ. If the fights with your spouse have become unbearable, if you feel like you can't take it anymore, there's still hope. Hope restored marriage intensives have helped thousands of couples like yours. Our biblically based counseling will help you find the root of your problems and face them together. Call us at 1-866-875-2915. We'll talk with you, pray with you, and help you find out which program will work best. That's 1-866-875-2915.