Anti-Rock & Roll Crusade

Anti-Rock & Roll Crusade

Janet LaRene

Janet going girl reporter to the Community Baptist Church in Garden City to interview anti-rock and roll crusader priest. Glad to say they got on fine - Deday).

Q: Rev. Riblett, you recently constructed a seven foot cross out of rock and roll records contributed by members of your congregation, doused it with gasoline and set fire to it. Why did you do that?

A: Well, it all started several months ago when I preached a message on “Rock and Roll: The Devil’s Diversion.” That’s not an original title; it’s from another young man has a book by the same title — just preaching on the various evils of rock and roll, mainly the lyrics and the beat and all the rest of it that goes with it. It all blends together to make just immoral music as far as I’m concerned. I read some of the words to it quoted right out of some of their own magazines which I have to use with that message. At the end of . the service I gave an invitation — I almost didn’t but I decided to right on the spur of the minute — and we had 18 teenagers come forward rededicating their lives, many of them to give up rock and roll.

Because they never realize, although they sit and listen to it 24 hours a day — sometimes go to bed with it in their ear — listen to it on their car radio and at home and everything, they don’t really realize the words. Most of the time you can’t make out the words anyway because of all the jungle music behind it. We also had three or four come forward trusting Christ as their Saviour — that’s the best part of it. Also I preached the same message at Wayne Baptist Temple. We had 11 right there strictly rededicating their lives to give up rock and roll. Again they didn’t realize what the words said.

Q: If they didn’t realize it, do you think it could have any effect on them?

A: Yes. Because of the beat to it. You see, in normal music we have today in church — as a matter of fact I’m Minister of Music too — we hit the beat on the first and third beat and their music hits it on the second and fourth and that’s contrary to regular music, normal music. Psychologists, and this I take from their own words, which they know more about than I do, (say) it has a definite effect on the human body, the nervous system. We’ve run across so many of our teenagers can’t sit still. You’ve seen them. They sit around and they twitch and they shake and they’ve gotta be doin’ something all the time. And I believe that’s a direct cause of it. Because they listen to this stuff all the time, and the beat and the words. And some of them even use the excuse, “Well, I don’t listen to the words, I just listen to the music.” Which is, most of the time, the worst part of it. It’s been traced right back to the jungle drums. That’s where it all comes from. The head-hunters use the same beat before they go out to hunt heads and all this. Of course, that’s somebody else’s authority and not mine. I haven’t proven it. I can’t go to Africa.

Q: So what if the drum beat is from Africa;

A: Well, if the Americans want to go around acting like a bunch of Africans, I guess it’s their business. But ythe music is primarily to get the natives stirred up, you know. And that’s the only reason they beat the drums is to get ’em for war — war drums. I even have a record by Yma Sumac, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of her, called Yvarro and it’s got the jungle drums in it — was recorded right out there with the Africans and the Yvarro Indian tribe. And it’s got all the drums and everything to it. And they played these drums, beat these drums, before they even went to war or went out huntin’ heads, haha, for their collection.

Q: Have you ever gone to a Negro Baptist church?

A: A what?

Q: A Negro Baptist church?

A: I’ve heard their music. I haven’t been to one personally.

Q: What about the Negro gospel music?

A: Well, rock and roll takes it from — that’s where the history of rock and roll comes from. It starts out with country and western speeded up and faster and the beat put to it and from Negro gospel music. If you’ve ever listened to the Negroes’ gospel music, the only problem — it’s not really a problem — the only thing you can blame then for is enjoyin’ their religion. And I think the colored folk really enjoy their religion a lot more. And I think it would behoove us to enjoy ours, too. Heh, heh.

Q: So there is nothing evil in the origins of rock and roll?

A: No, because it’s taken from everything else. It’s not all by itself.

Q: What effect do you think rock and roll has on the young people you see in your congregation, other than making them jittery? Do you think it’s changing their life style?

A: Well, yes, since it comes from an evil influence it can’t have any good effect. Evil produces evil — it doesn’t produce good. Good begets good and evil begets evil. I don’t think it does them any good in their Christian testimony to go out and be listenin’ to this stuff. They’re supposed to be — the ones that are saved as we call them, the ones that are trustin’ Christ as their Saviour and have been born again as the Bible says — it’s not a very good testimony for them to go right out doing the same thing that the rest of the world does.Because we’re supposed to be different. We’re supposed to be peculiar. The Bible says that we’re a peculiar people. Old things have passed away, all things have become new. And one of the things that I think has to become new is the music. Because it’s no good.

Q: What kind of music do you listen to?

A: Mainly gospel.

Q: Getting back to the burning of a cross in the church parking lot, what was the ritual significance involved?

A: Well, that’s a strange one too. In my house I have a missionary room that we have for missionaries that come to preach here or any of the local churches and they can stay in my house, see. And it was Burl Nelson, missionary to Australia, and I told him I wanted to do something different, I should have something unique ... instead of just throwing them out there on a bonfire and burnin’ ’em. And he said why not make a cross. And I said well, that sounds good.

Q: Do you see any Biblical analogy to the effect the new music has on people? Say, Sodom and Gomorrah? Is it really that great a threat?

A: It possibly could be. Once they slip the suggestive lyrics in and nobody says anything it’ll keep gettin’ worse, just like Hollywood, the movies ... It progressively gets worse and the psychologists and all the other men in the know say that it definitely has an effect on the nervous system. If you eventually destroy all their nerves and their morals and everything else you’ll have a Sodom and Gomorrah. Which is what it’s cornin’ to now.

Q: I noticed in a picture of the burning cross that most of the records turned in by your congregation were several years old — old Elvis Presley, The Platters. Have you heard any of the new sounds from the Detroit/Ann Arbor area — the MC5 in particular?

A: No I haven’t. Those albums in The Observer — I sent several young people into the church to bring them out to me as I was poundin’ them onto the cross there — it was mostly covers; I had most all the records taken out, because of the fire department, they didn’t want too much smoke — I received one letter, that they didn’t like the idea of my burnin’ Elvis Presley’s records because he’s such a nice guy and all this stuff. But I know to the contrary, that he’s not such a nice guy ... He looks good in public and before his fans and everything but I guess he doesn’t do so much in his private life. And he couldn’t be too good as he gets up there and sings and everything the girls wouldn’t tear their blouses off and run up and want to have babies by him and Ringo and all the rest of ’em you know. It just can’t be any good, that’s all.

Q: Well, then, it’s not just the music you object to, but also the life styles the musicians have?

A: Well, that plays a part in it. I don’t know of any really good people in it. All of ’em are either on pot or havin’ love-ins and everything. The Beatles are an immoral bunch. John Lennon and his girl friend — Japanese girl friend — Yoko Ono or whatever her name is, livin’ together — open adultery — and advertisin’ it everywhere so all their teenage idols could see it. And I guess all of ’em have been convicted of marijuana, smokin’ marijuana and heaven only knows what else. I don’t think it’s the greatest idols for our teenagers to look up to.

Q: What are your steps from here in the campaign against rock and roll. You said that you are Minister of Music in your church — have you considered starting your own group — fighting fire with fire?

A: No. I see no sense in it. The Bible has had the same appeal to young people through the ages. All of the Psalms, if we knew the Jewish lyrics to them, are songs and David wrote many of them while he was out in the fields you know and playin’ his harp. God appealed to him then through the written word just like he appeals to teenagers today. Only trouble is gettin’ ’em to sit down long enough, turn the rock and roll off long enough to listen to it. It’s on the radio you know, they got it plugged in their ears — transistors — sittin’ there shakin’.

From Creem Volume 2, No. 5 (Just goes to show well xq-print anything. Ed.)