#82 HIT THE SWITCH by Pantano/Salsbury (1977)

HIT THE SWITCH by Pantano/Salsbury (1977)
Solid Rock (SR-2008)

If there had been a Dove Award given for “Hairiest Album Cover,” Pantano/Salsbury’s Hit the Switch would’ve been a sure-fire contender.

In the end, this record is fondly remembered for more than chest hair and 70s fashion; it was like a visit with some old friends – fun, comfortable and full of substance.

Ron Salsbury started a band called JC Power Outlet with his friend John Pantano all the way back in the fall of 1970. In those early days, what they lacked in polish they made up for in exuberance! JC Power Outlet was sometimes referred to as “110 watts of pure Jesus power.” The guys were noticed by Larry Norman and reportedly ended up backing the enigmatic Mr. Norman on some tracks on his Street Level and Bootleg albums.



Then came  JC Power Outlet’s debut album. It was not a thing of beauty from a sonic standpoint; it was raw and uproarious. But the band’s sincerity and enthusiasm made that initial recording a treasured artifact from the Jesus Movement’s early days.

The group’s sophomore release, Forgiven, smoothed out some of the rough edges and will always be appreciated for its iconic album cover and a classic ballad titled I Choose to Follow. Forgiven made this list at #99.   

Frankly, not much is known about the 3-year period from Forgiven to Hit the Switch. We do know that, interestingly, David Edwards joined the group as bassist. [Edwards would later find an audience as a solo “new wave” artist in the early 80s.] JC Power Outlet is said to have left Myrrh Records in 1975; John and Ron reportedly disbanded the group shortly thereafter. While the groundbreaking band was no longer touring or recording, Ron Salsbury and John Pantano continued to write songs together and remained in contact with Larry Norman.

Larry Norman

Larry Norman, having been released by Capitol Records, set up his own label, the highly influential Solid Rock Records, in 1975. The label had distribution through Word Records and became label home to such acclaimed and groundbreaking artists as Randy Stonehill, Tom Howard, Mark Heard, and Daniel Amos. According to Christian Rock historian John J. Thompson, “Solid Rock became an important moment in the history of Christian rock music since it was the first artist-driven label.” Norman was reportedly impressed with Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer and his community at L’Abri in Switzerland, a place he had visited in 1972 while on his honeymoon. So he was inspired to start a label that would be less of a record company and more of a community. Norman said he wanted “to help other artists who didn’t want to be consumed by the business of making vinyl pancakes.” [It turned out that the business side of this whole endeavor wasn’t Larry’s strong suit, either…but that’s another story for another post.]  

The Solid Rock Family
Standing (L-R): Daniel Amos, Pantano/Salsbury
Kneeling: (L-R): Tom Howard, Mark Heard, Larry Norman, Randy Stonehill

Finally, here was a record label where the inmates were happily running the asylum. The artists would work on each other’s projects and even tour together. “We ate together, laughed together, cried together, traveled together,” said the late Tom Howard. “It wasn’t like a cult or anything; I mean, we’d go off to our own families and our own pockets of friendships. But there was definitely a sense of gathering among that small handful of artists.”

Ron, Larry, John

When Larry Norman approached Ron Salsbury and John Pantano about joining that “small handful of artists,” they agreed and Pantano/Salsbury became a part of Solid Rock Records. The Jesus Music veterans made clear their feelings about Solid Rock in the liner notes for Hit the Switch. They wrote, “Love and thanks to Larry, Randy, Tom, Phil [Mangano, the Solid Rock Business Manager], and to all the Solid Rock family.”

Like all other Solid Rock releases, Hit the Switch was given a gatefold album cover and featured photography and layout design by Larry Norman himself. Of course, Pantano and Salsbury both contributed as guitarists, songwriters, and vocalists on this album. Labelmates Norman and Stonehill contributed backing vocals and Tom Howard helped out on background vocals and Fender Rhodes electric piano. Howard also arranged and conducted the strings on the record. JC Power Outlet alum Bruce Neal played percussion. The rest of the cast included Peter Johnson on drums, David Coy on bass, and pianist Jeffrey David Hooven. John Pantano’s harmonica also makes an appearance. The album was produced and arranged by Larry Norman, and engineered by Stewart Whitmore. It was recorded at Mama Jo’s in North Hollywood.

Hit the Switch kicks off with a rollicking song that’s just a whole lot of fun for people who are over 40…and makes no sense at all to people under 30. I’m Just a Record, co-written by John Pantano and Larry Norman, is written from the point of view of the record album itself…something that I don’t think has ever been done before or since in the annals of CCM:

I’m just a record on your stereo
A piece of plastic spinnin’ ‘round
You know I’ll always keep a-turnin’
Until your needle wears me down
Yes I am gonna keep on rollin’
If you’ll keep rockin’ to the sound
‘Cause I’m a record on your stereo
A piece of plastic spinnin’ ‘round

Take off my jacket
I’ve got somethin’ up my sleeve
Turn me ‘round at 33

At this point, the song reminds the listener that an important distinction for CCM (or what Larry Norman called “Jesus Rock”) is that it’s not all about the music, that the truth of the Christian message matters:

Turn me up louder if you can’t hear the words
‘Cause I wanna tell you something if you’ll listen to me

I’ve got a writer, a producer, an engineer
I guess they’ve made me what I am
I’ve got a singer, I’ve got a band
And there’s some lyrics on my cover that might help you understand

Can a record have a message
Put the message in the groove
And be more than just rock and roll?
Can a person live the kind of life that’s happy and free
And still be true to all the things that are so deep in his soul?

The highly-distinguishable voice of Larry Norman can be heard on a line at the 2:31 mark. And, late in the tune, the lyrics take an even more playful turn…

I’m just a Solid Rock record
And I am gonna keep on turnin’
Until your parents turn me down

The song’s ending is quite creative, sounding as if someone has pulled the plug on the record player and the album is actually being slowed to a stop. This is really cool but totally lost on people who are too young to have grown up playing vinyl record albums. [Well, on second thought, hip hop fans are somewhat familiar with turntables, and they say vinyl’s making a comeback…time will tell, I guess.]

After I’m Just a Record, the boys seem to spend the rest of this album attempting to be taken more seriously as rock artists. Their enthusiasm and Christian commitment in the early 70s was never in question. But now it was time to put away the sloppy grunge and demonstrate some musical depth and seriousness.

One reviewer called Soul Seeker and Hold On “slow jams” that were “more progressive than anything they’d done previously, allowing some stretched-out guitar soloing for Pantano.” Both songs were real treats that seemed to go on even longer than their respective 6:08 and 5:31. There’s also a “talk box” type effect on the guitar solos that makes these songs quite memorable. Obviously, no regard was given to considerations like radio airplay (there was very little to be had anyway), so these songs were simply allowed to stretch out and breathe. It just sounds like the guys were having a good time, and these tunes, both penned by Pantano, hold up quite well to repeated listening.

I Need You wraps up Side One and acknowledges our utter dependence on the Lord. Written by Ron Salsbury, the song makes it clear that money, fame, and position will never be able to successfully take the place of the Lord in our lives. It features a blistering twin-lead guitar solo and also gives drummer Peter Johnson a chance to shine at the end of the song. 

As was the case for several Solid Rock albums, Sides One and Two were each given a title and a theme. On Hit the Switch, Side One was titled, “ROCK”  and Side Two was titled, “AND ROLL.” This signified, of course, that the heavier, more rock-oriented songs were all on Side One, while Side Two contained the softer pop and ballads. Of course, that’s something that was possible with LPs that has sadly gone by the wayside in the age of digital music. But I digress…

Side Two began with a very special song titled, People Tend to Forget. It’s a story song centered around two objects – an old cannon and an old wooden cross. The song makes the point that our freedom as Americans was purchased with blood; it didn’t come cheap. Likewise, the salvation of our souls was also bought with blood – the blood of Jesus. It’s the only song I can think of that’s equally appropriate listening for both Memorial Day and Good Friday. 

I was just a young boy and he an old man
He was sittin’ in the park on that summer day
He said, “Do you see that cannon, over by the tree?”
I said, “Yes. It doesn’t work. It’s just for play.”
He said, “Has anyone told you? Have you ever heard
‘Bout the war, the blood and pain that old gun stands for?”
And I just looked at him and finally nodded no
But I waited for him to tell me ‘cause I wanted to know 

And he told me of a war for freedom and final victory
And he told me ‘bout the many lives that were lost for him and me
And he said that that old cannon reminds you and me
That freedom is never cheap just because it’s free

Some prices are so high they’re only paid in blood
An empty helmet in the snow or still boots in the mud
To the many ones who die we’ll always be in debt
But people fail to remember; people tend to forget 

Many summers have come and gone but I was in that park the other day
And I remembered that old man and the words he had to say
Then I looked up at that old white church with a wooden cross on top
And as I sat there in the park alone, to myself I thought 

All about a war for freedom and final victory
and I thought about a Life that was lost for you and me
And I almost heard that old man ask if that cross reminded me
That freedom is never cheap just because it’s free 

Some prices are so high they’re only paid in blood
A lifeless body hanging still, His garments in the mud
To the One who gave His life, we’ll always be in debt
But people fail to remember; People tend to forget

The song, written by Ron Salsbury and J.D. Hooven, featured some tasteful, jazzy electric piano licks from Tom Howard. 

Next up was a pleasant pop song that would’ve made a nice radio single (if that had been possible in 1977). The song, penned by Salsbury, touted God as the Lover of My Soul – a “lover” who will never leave, never disappoint. 

A unique, powerful song called Magic of the Moonlight is next. The song addresses the emptiness of premarital sex and the pain of divorce, topics that were seldom (if ever) talked about in CCM. Instead of a heavy-handed tactic, writer Ron Salsbury took a clear but subtle approach and the overall feeling was one of sadness and lament, not condemnation and judgment. It was one thing for parents and youth leaders in the 70s to tell impressionable teens that sex outside of marriage was void of any true fulfillment. But for rock musicians like John and Ron to come alongside and reinforce that message…well, it was much needed and very effective.  

Gentle girl

Looking for the boy she’ll marry someday
She needs love

Every boy she’s with will give it, so they all say
But words of love and promise in the moonlight, they will say

Will only turn to lies when the moonlight fades away

And oh, it makes her wonder

Oh, it makes her cry every time
The magic of the moonlight says goodbye

Lonely boy

Looking for the girl who’ll never leave him
She spends the night
He knows that he has found the one to please him
Though trying not to beg all night, he asks the girl to stay
But wakes up in the morning just to find she’s slipped away

And oh, it makes him wonder

Oh, it makes him cry every time
The magic of the moonlight says goodbye

No one believed

That he would ever leave her but the day came
For twenty years
She had lived with him and shared the same name
But words of love and promise at the altar he once said
Are now but just a photograph because the magic’s dead

And oh, it makes her wonder

Oh, it makes her cry every time
The magic of the moonlight says goodbye

My only real criticism of this album is that on 2 or 3 songs, the guys fall into the “God-As-My-Girlfriend” syndrome (writing a song that sounds like a love song that could be about God or could be about an earthly lover). As a somewhat black-and-white kind of guy who seldom sees any shades of grey in anything, it’s a pet peeve of mine. But it was a fairly popular songwriting device for a lot of Christian artists in the mid to late 70s. One such song is the next tune on Hit the Switch - John Pantano’s worshipful ballad To Be Near You.

Pantano also wrote the album’s closing track, I Don’t Wanna Wander. This one reminds me of an interesting theological debate that has divided denominations for centuries: the question of so-called eternal security (sometimes referred to as “once saved, always saved”). 

The song works on one level as a worship song:

You’re a part of my dreams

when I’m wishing

You are my hope for the day
You’re the song in my heart
that keeps singing
You keep me longing to stay

And on another level as a testimony song:

Like a leaf in the wind

I was trembling

Like a child I was lonely with fear
I was waiting for someone
to love me
And suddenly You were so near

But they keep returning to that phrase:

No, I don’t wanna wander away

The bridge contains the following sentiment:

And love is here for those who see

That love is what we all were intended to need
We stand alone before ourselves
Our choice is free  

Of course, some will argue that we can never lose our salvation, and they point to Scriptures that bolster their claim. Others say that many references in the New Testament make it clear that we can voluntarily walk away from our faith. After all, why sing “I don’t wanna wander away” if it’s not even possible to do so?

Toward the end of the song, we hear the singer asking the Lord to “Keep me in Your arms, keep me in Your arms…”

Ron Salsbury's 2014 album
"Then and Now"

These days, Ron Salsbury is a cancer survivor and serves as Lead Pastor of New Life Community Church in Pismo Beach, CA (a Church of the Nazarene congregation). His bio on the church’s website never mentions JC Power Outlet or Pantano/Salsbury by name, but does say: “Ron served as a recording artist and leader of a praise band during the ‘Jesus Movement’ in the 70s.” The bio also describes Salsbury as being “passionate about how God is really in love with each one of us and that there is a hope in every one of God’s promises.” We also learn from his church website that Salsbury graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA in 1986, that he enjoys camping and hiking in Yosemite National Park, and that Psalm 18 is his favorite chapter in the Bible.

John Pantano

Some really exciting news is that Ron Salsbury has recently released a new CD! It’s called Then and Now, and contains new music as well as previously recorded songs from JC Power Outlet (I Choose to Follow, Don’t let Jesus Pass You By, and more) and Pantano/Salsbury (Lover of My Soul, People Tend to Forget and I Need You). It’s available at CD Baby.

Not as much is known about John Pantano. In fact, little to nothing can be gleaned about him from scouring the internet.

I did find a photograph on Facebook that appears to be John and Ron playing together during recent times.

Long-time friends and band mates John Pantano and Ron Salsbury

By the early 80s, the Solid Rock “family” had been blown apart. Larry Norman entered into what many called a “lost decade.” Randy Stonehill, Mark Heard, Daniel Amos and Tom Howard all landed on their feet, signed with other labels, and continued to write and record into the future. We never got another record from John Pantano and Ron Salsbury. But they left us with an album that continues to speak in a meaningful way to many people even today.

It was much more than “just a record on your stereo.”

Ed. note: With his family by his side, Ron Salsbury went Home to be with the Lord on Sunday July 31, 2016, after a long battle with cancer. He was 66.