Gospel music

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Gospel music is a musical genre characterized by dominant vocals (often with strong use of harmony) referencing lyrics of a religious nature, particularly Christian. Subgenres include contemporary gospel, urban contemporary gospel (also known as black gospel), and modern Gospel music (now more commonly known as praise and worship or Contemporary Christian music). Most forms of gospel music use electrical guitar, drums, and electrical bass guitars.

Gospel music is believed to have first come out of African-American churches in the first quarter of the twentieth century or, more loosely, to both black gospel music and to the religious music composed and sung by predominately white Southern Gospel artists. While the separation between the two styles was never absolute both drew from the Methodist hymnal and artists in one tradition sometimes sang songs belonging to the other.[dubious — see talk page] The sharp division between black and white America, particularly black and white churches, kept the two apart. While those divisions have lessened slightly in the past fifty years, the two traditions are still distinct. In both traditions, some performers, such as Mahalia Jackson have limited themselves to appearing in religious contexts only, while others, such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Golden Gate Quartet and Clara Ward, have performed gospel music in secular settings, even night clubs. Many performers, such as The Jordanaires, The Blackwood Brothers, Al Green, and Solomon Burke have performed both secular and religious music. It is common for such performers to include gospel songs in otherwise secular performances, although the opposite almost never happens.

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[edit] History

Gospel singer, songwriter, guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe was the first great star of Gospel music, surfacing on the pop music charts in 1938. She remained popular through the 1940s, continuing to hit the charts and drawing tens of thousands of fans to see her perform live in venues across the United States. She lost the support of some of her church fans, now and then, when she performed in secular venues as well, as when she recorded songs not recognized as 'Christian'. The fans she lost were somewhat forgiving, as she remained true to her faith, for the most part, throughout her recording career which spanned the remainder of her life.

[edit] Worldwide popularity

Although predominantly an American phenomenon, gospel music has spread throughout the world including to Australia with choirs such as The Elementals and Jonah & The Whalers and festivals such as the Australian Gospel Music Festival. Norway is home to the popular Oslo Gospel Choir and most importantly The Ansgar Gospel Choir. Gospel is also popular in the province of Quebec, Canada, where important gospel choirs such as Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir and Québec Celebration Gospel Choir are famous.

[edit] Gospel music genres

[edit] urban contemporary gospel

The music popularized by urban contemporary gospel pioneers had its roots mostly in spirituals sung by southern slaves during the 18th and 19th century but also in the freewheeling forms of religious devotion of 'Sanctified' or 'Holiness' churches, who encouraged individual church members to 'testify', speaking or singing spontaneously about their faith and experience, sometimes while dancing in celebration. In the 1920s Sanctified artists, such as Arizona Dranes, many of whom were also traveling preachers, started making records in a style that melded traditional religious themes with barrelhouse, blues and boogie-woogie techniques and brought jazz instruments, such as drums and horns, into the church.

[edit] Christian country music

Christian country music, a subgenre of gospel music with a country flair, is also known as Country Gospel or Inspirational Country.

[edit] Southern Gospel

Southern gospel or Country and shape note music publishing companies such as the A. J. Showalter Company (1879), the James D. Vaughan Publishing Company and the Stamps-Baxter Music and Printing Company.

Early gospel artists such as The Speer Family, The Blackwood Family (The Blackwood Brothers), The Lefevre Trio and The Carter Family achieved wide popularity through their recordings and radio performances in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Others such as Homer Rodeheaver, George Beverly Shea, Cliff Barrows or the Cathedral Quartet, became well-known through their association with popular evangelists such as Billy Sunday, Rex Humbard and Billy Graham.

[edit] Progressive Southern Gospel

Progressive Southern Gospel is an American music genre that has grown out of Southern Gospel over the past couple of decades.

[edit] Gospel music associations

[edit] Gospel Music Association

The Gospel Music Association is a major group of gospel artists who maintain a hall of fame covering all aspects of gospel music.

[edit] Southern Gospel Music Association

The Southern Gospel Music Association (SGMA) focuses on Southern Gospel specifically and has a physical Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame located in the Dollywood theme park at Pigeon Forge, TN.

[edit] Country Gospel Music Association

Based in Branson, Missouri the Country Gospel Music Association promotes the genre's performers and songwriters, broadcasts music across the Internet and holds the annual Country Gospel Music Awards.

[edit] Australian Gospel Music Association

The Australian Gospel Music Association promotes the genre's performers and songwriters and holds the annual Australian Gospel Music Awards.

[edit] Gospel Music Association Canada

Gospel Music Association Canada is a division of the GMA and promotes the genre's performers and songwriters in Canada. The organization has some 2,000 members.

[edit] Gospel Music Association of Japan

The Gospel Music Association of Japan is a division of the GMA and promotes the genre's performers and songwriters in Japan. The organization is based in Tokyo.

[edit] Slavic Gospel Association of New Zealand

The Slavic Gospel Association of New Zealand has a focus on praise music in various Slavonic languages on Gospel themes. The organization is based in Auckland.

[edit] Gospel choirs appearing in other music genres

One trend in modern music is to use a gospel choir occasionally in the middle of a song in a different genre, such as alternative or rock. The following are examples.

[edit] Further reading

  • Darden, Robert, People Get Ready: A New History of Black Gospel Music Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005, ISBN 0-8264-1752-3.
  • Boyer, Horace Clarence, How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel Elliott and Clark, 1995, ISBN 0-252-06877-7.
  • Heilbut, Tony, The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times Limelight Editions, 1997, ISBN 0-87910-034-6.
  • Albert E Brumley & Sons, The Best of Albert E Brumley, Gospel Songs, 1966, ISBN na-paperback

[edit] See also

[edit] External Gospel music websites

American roots music
African American music | Appalachian/old-time | Blues (Ragtime) | Cajun music | Country (Honky tonk and Bluegrass) | Folk music revival (1950s/'60s) | Jazz (Dixieland) | Native American | Spirituals and Gospel | Swamp pop | Tejano | Zydeco
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