Larnelle Harris – After All These Years

CCM: What do you currently like about music today (contemporary Christian or otherwise)?
LH: I appreciate the fact that there are many talented musicians and writers growing in their faith and helping others to do the same through their art. And that goes back to why I was motivated to write the book. I hope we remember that we all stand on someone else’s shoulders, and that we all have the opportunity to teach those coming after us what we have learned. I hope I can pay it forward in the same way that other people came along beside me when I first began my journey.

CCM: And what would you change if you had the chance?
LH: I am invited to sing at Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York quite often. Carol Cymbala and their incredible choir, service after service, create a path to the throne of grace. One particular morning after the choir sang, Pastor Jim Cymbala said something that really stuck with me. He cautioned that we must be careful of worshipping worship. Instead, our music must lead to God worship. I think that should be something everyone in Christian music should contemplate on a daily basis.

CCM: What do you hope readers will take away from their entire Shaped Notes experience?
LH: Miss Georgia was a lady in our town who had no other agenda except the love of good music and kids. To tell the truth, she often got on my last nerve. She went to my mother and cautioned her about letting me play sports like football and baseball because the dust would hurt my voice. I can tell you as a nine-year-old boy, I did not care for that at all. But looking back now, my appreciation for her is overwhelming. I hope every town has more than a few Miss Georgia’s who help remove the ceiling from a young person’s dream or, in some cases, help them find their dream.

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