Any record collector who has flipped through the dusty bins of any second-hand store knows that the variety and disturbing trends of easy listening and religious records knows no bounds, but even I was surprised to find this gem in a Goodwill store in Fletcher, North Carolina, just a few miles from Asheville.
Frank Garlock is an evangelical minister who spent a good part of the early 1970s travelling to high schools preaching about the evils of rock and roll.
The Big Beat: A Rock Blast is a double-LP lecture created as a companion to Garlock’s book of the same title. During my initial research, I found an interesting Garlock related story, but was unable to find much of a bio that would be of any real interest. I guess it is best to just let Garlock speak for himself, and on this record he does plenty of that!
This guy’s performance is Oscar material. In the lecture on this record he claims to have listened to and analysed more than 2000 rock songs in a single week. So let’s say the average rock song at the time was 2 minutes and 30 seconds – that’s 5000 minutes, or 3.5 days of continuous music listening. He would have to spend 14 hours per day for 6 days (I assume he spends his entire Sunday in holy worship) just to listen to the music. Even if his analysis took a mere 30 seconds per song, that would still add another 3 hours to his 14-hour work day. A 17-hour work day – without breaks – just to deconstruct rock and roll music? Now that is dedication. Tell me Frank, if rock and roll is so dangerous, and you have listened to so much of it, how come you are not deranged like the rest of us?
I found Garlock’s claims about the evils of rock and roll so inspiring, I produced an 80-minute radio show around his lecture.
Believe it or not, this guy Garlock has been at it for the last 30 years, as founder of Majesty Music. His more recent sermons answer questions like: What Kind of Music Does God Want Us to Have?
Asheville is a liberal (gay-friendly and full of hippies) enclave nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains of Western North Carolina. It is also the home of the godfather of electronic music, Robert Moog and André Cholmondeley, founder of the Frank Zappa cover band, Project Object, which often includes Zappa alumni: Napoleon Murphy Brock (saxophone); Ike Willis (guitar); and Don Preston (keyboards).
I make an annual “Thanksgiving pilgrimage” to Asheville to visit family and also to check out the locally owned book and record stores.
For records, the best places for good finds and some bargain prices are Reader’s Corner on Montford Avenue (great picks, plus $1 LP’s on the second floor) and Voltage Records on Lexington. If you visit Voltage, be sure to walk across the street to Heiwa Shokudo for some great Japanese food. If I still have a few bucks in my pocket, I head over to one of the six Goodwill stores in Buncombe country, three of which are in Asheville alone!
The music scene is enough of a reason to move there, with several incredible venues, my favourites include: The Grey Eagle, Stella Blue, and The Orange Peel. I have also heard great things about Tressas Downtown Jazz and Blues club, but I have not had a chance to check it out as yet.
Great restaurants are too many to list, but if you are interested in discovering some, you can start here. For food and music, Asheville cannot be beat!
I am the creator and site administrator at The Basement Rug. I have been collecting LP's and CD's for more than 30 years. I 
