Generations of Country Artists Share Jesus

If you’re looking for a down-home meal with all the fixin’s, you won’t find it at Larry’s Country Diner, because what they’re serving up are the best country music artists of yesterday and today.  This nationally-broadcast show is flavored with impromptu dialogue and lots of music.  And Larry Black makes sure that every dish comes with a side of scripture.

CBN Reporter, Scott Ross, said, “I recently talked with my long-time-friend about his autobiography, The Cameras Weren’t Always Rollin’.  It’s about how God used this preacher’s kid from Mobile, Alabama, to not only bring together generations of country artists, but also gave them an outlet to share their experiences with Jesus.”

Larry Black said, “I really thought maybe I'd be a missionary. There was something intriguing about that. Uh, knew I didn't want to pastor a church.”  As Larry laughed he continued, “Knew I didn’t want to be a preacher.  And the Lord didn't have that for me. Radio is what finally broke through.”
 
Scott asked, “What was that radio breakthrough?” 

Larry explained, “I had a teacher in high school.  He had been an Admiral in the Navy and was teaching Algebra, and I had done a half time show with the band where I narrated what they were doing on field. And the next day in Algebra class, he said, ‘You need to consider radio.’”  Larry started to laugh as he said, “I think he'd looked at my math scores and he said, ‘You need to consider radio.’ And I'd never thought about that.” 

So, after high school, he got married to Luann and took her around the country as he deejayed and marketed for a number of secular stations, mostly playing Rock-N-Roll.   Then, in 1969, he felt God calling him back to his Christian roots.  Pat Robertson hired him to work for the sales department on my program, The Scott Ross Show.  It was a first-of-its-kind radio broadcast that played both contemporary Christian and secular Rock-N-Roll. 

Larry said, “And back then, the government mandated that radio stations had to have a certain amount of religion. Well, no Rock-N-Roll radio station wanted religion, but here was an opportunity to write off your religious time with a show that played the same music that they played.”  

Later, I handed over the reins to him in 1976.  Changing the name to The Larry Black Show, he moved his operations to the music city, Nashville, Tennessee, where he would broadcast on 125 radio stations nationwide.  After 7 successful years, he got another big break when he landed a gig deejaying at Nashville’s iconic country music station, WSM.

Larry explained, “All of the country music stars listen to WSM. So, I was on there for two-and-a-half years. They knew me, they knew my family, they knew the kids' names, they knew Luann's name.”

During this time, Larry also ventured into acting.  In the coming years, he played in a number of movies and TV series such as Earnest Goes to Camp, In the Heat of the Night, The Cape, and October Sky.  He also created the highly successful TV show, Country’s Family Reunion, which has been airing for over two decades.

Larry described the show as, “Putting 30 of the legacy artists in a room with a live band, shoot it with eight cameras, and let them just laugh and giggle for two days.”
 
Scott added, “And you're talking about Country artists that were well known.”
 
Larry said, “Well, my perspective on it was, ‘It doesn't really matter who the person was, if they did something that was honorable and to be honored, then you honored that.’”

Then in 2009, he introduced Larry’s Country Diner. 

Larry explained, “I said, ‘I'll just do an hour show, but I don't want to sit with a fireplace in between me and the artist or a table between.’ You know, I wanted to do something different.”

But all that almost came to an end on June 18th, 2015.  An ATV accident in the mountains of Montana left him and his friend, Randy Little, badly injured.  But Larry knew God was in control.

Larry said, “A helicopter was flying over right at that time. They saw it happen. They were a medical helicopter from Cody, Wyoming. They landed, they picked him up and life-flighted him to Billings, Montana.”

Scott asked, “And you were still lying under the ATV?”
 
“Yeah,” answered Larry.

Larry had a broken back and punctured lungs.

Larry said, “There were multiple injuries, internal injuries, and they cut me out. When they lifted the ATV off of me, that's when I went south. And they lost me on the way to Billings.”
 
Scott said, “They thought you were dead.”

“Yeah,” answered Larry.

Randy was released from the hospital after 3 days, but Larry still had a long way to go.  

“So, I spent the next six days in ICU, in Billings at Saint Vincent hospital, and the next 33 days in the hospital.  I couldn't move,” explained Larry. “One of my other sponsors set up a Leer jet with a medical team to pick Luann and I up and fly us home.  And at that, kind of at that moment it was like, ‘Alright, readjust your life.’"

That included making God the focus on special episodes of Country’s Family Reunion. He called them the “Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting” and “Another Wednesday Night.”

During one of those episodes, a member from The Oak Ridge Boys said, “No matter what you’re doing, there’s a light that shines.  And everybody in here today is shining that light.”

Through these, and other stories in his autobiography, Larry wants to be clear that in the successes and struggles, God was always there.

Larry recalled when his wife, Luann, said, "Larry, you need to do it for your grandkids, the 10 grandkids, so they'll know the way you've come.”  Larry started to choke-up as he continued, “And I've said in the book, ‘God has no grandkids. He's got sons and daughters. He does not have grandchildren.’ And my desire for them is to know the God that I know and to serve Him.” With a slight smile that ended in a laugh, Larry added, “So that was a main reason for putting it all down while I could still remember most of it.”