American Contemporary Christian Music has evolved over the years with artists like Bebo Norman releasing one song of faith after another to describe their Christian journey. It has been a time of great challenge and redefinition of who and what God represents to him as a person and his response to being a Christian on the world’s stage.
Bebo Norman retired from Christian Contemporary music to pursue other ventures. He had a successful music career and his songs are still very much in circulation and a constant source of inspiration to many Christians. There are so many interesting things to learn about Norman.
Biography Of Bebo Norman
He was born Jeffrey Stephen Norman on 29 May 1973 and is a native of Columbus, Georgia. He graduated summa cum laud from the Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, and continued with a music career spanning almost 20 years.
‘Bebo’ became his lifelong nickname but it was initially his little sister’s way of saying Big Brother.
Bebo Norman started getting a following during his service year at the Young Life ministry where he first performed. Artists like Matt Wertz and producer Ed Cash came to recognition through the Young life ministry.
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Bebo Norman Retirement From Music
In 2013, Bebo Norman left the music scene which came as a little surprise to his fans who have spent years listening to him.
The decision to retire on his part had been going on for a while, he had been considering it till he finally announced his retirement at the end of 2013. His last album, Lights of Distant Cities is one of the albums he is proud of, and used it as the signature sign to bow out.
To Find My Way To You has been used in the CBS sitcom The Class and also earned a No 18 with his Lights of Distant Cities on the US Christian album.
He said, he and his wife had been praying about it and waited for the confirmation before finally leaving. He initially thought he would sing for one year but found himself singing for close to 20 years making the whole scene get too familiar for him.
10 Interesting Facts To Know About Him
1. He Started At Young Life
His music career started at the Young Life ministries and has been deeply involved in summer camp ministration there. He handled eight and nine-year-olds while in the service there.
After he released his third album, there was a request for donations to support the Young Life organization.
He won the 2010 GMA Dove Award for Inspirational Recorded Song for The Only Hope. To date, his most successful album is Myself When I Am Real.
2. Bebo Norman, Accidental Musician
In an interview with CBN, he revealed that he was an accidental musician as he didn’t set out to be a musician or even spend a long time doing it. He had only planned to sing for a season or a little time.
However, for a Christian, the decision was not just for him to make and now realizes that maybe that was how it was meant to be. The journey he realizes has been nothing short of amazing.
3. Bebo Norman Struggled With Performances On Tour
He was not particularly comfortable performing in front of a crowd during a tour as he felt it was not his gift to be a performer. Those uncomfortable moments really drained him, to say the least, and he had to always ask God for direction.
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4. He Always Asked God For Reevaluation
Bebo Norman placed himself in a position to always ask himself whether he was called to do the music and whether he was still on track.
For a gospel music artist, his credence lies in having a close relationship with God and reevaluation meant everything to his ministry.
5. Who Is His Wife, And Kids
Bebo Norman had always given out the aura of a single man but inside of him, there were moments he felt really alone.
The price of success and fame was that he could not develop close relationships till he met his wife, Roshare Finecey. They got married in 2003 to the shock of his many female fans who had thought he was single and available. Their union has been blessed with children, Miller and Smith.
6. His Friends Sang One Of His Songs At His Wedding
Bebo Norman wrote Where The Tree Stand Still Before His Wedding and his friends later changed some of the wordings and sang it at his wedding.
He still finds the song relevant as it relates to his future wife, and children who have all come to being.
7. He Once Left Medical School To Go Into Music
There was a time when he placed on hold his medical school placement to pursue a music career, time ran out and he lost that placement.
When he retired from music, he didn’t feel he can start medical school at his age.
8. Where Is He Bebo Norman Now?
Before he retired, his source of income came from his music career and used it to support his family, one of the challenges of retiring is how to support his family.
For a while, he was a stay-at-home dad, then he went into the remodeling of old houses to be sold. He still has the hope of working in ministry whether where he is now or in organizations.
He has worked for Compassion International before and does not find the idea of working in such an organization odd.
9. Bebo Norman Wrote Britney For Britney Spears
He wrote the song, Britney, for Britney Spears as an apology to celebrities who get tangled up in issues of fame, money, and success. It is still one of his most recognized songs that appeals to all but with a central message of the ability of humans to love one another just like Jesus would do.
The inspiration to write this song came after a late-night view of the TV and what was happening to a troubled Britney Spears.
Britney was the opening single for his ninth studio album titled, Bebo Norman, the song did not chart on Billboard Hot 100 but peaked at No 28 on the Hot Christian Adult Contemporary.
Lynne Spears, Britney Spear’s mom was appreciative of the song and praised it, well which can only mean it speaks deeply to the soul.
Britney Spears’s reaction to the song is not known but the guess is she might pick something from it.
10. Bebo Net Worth
With a music career spanning decades, he is considered to be successful though he later retired to pursue other ventures. Most of his earnings came from his professional career as a contemporary Christian musician.
He is estimated to have generated a considerable net worth of $16 million.
