History of Black Gospel Music

Black gospel music grew from obscure nineteenth-century beginnings to become the leading style of sacred music in black American communities after World War II. Jerma A. Jackson traces the music's unique history, profiling the careers of several singers--particularly Sister Rosetta Tharpe--and demonstrating the important role women played in popularizing gospel. Female gospel singers initially developed their musical abilities in churches where gospel prevailed as a mode of worship. Few, however, stayed exclusively in the religious realm. As recordings and sheet music pushed gospel into the commercial arena, gospel began to develop a life beyond the church, spreading first among a broad spectrum of African Americans and then to white middle-class audiences. Retail outlets, recording companies, and booking agencies turned gospel into big business, and local church singers emerged as national and international celebrities. Amid these changes, the music acquired increasing significance as a source of black identity. These successes, however, generated fierce controversy. As gospel gained public visibility and broad commercial appeal, debates broke out over the meaning of the music and its message, raising questions about the virtues of commercialism and material values, the contours of racial identity, and the nature of the sacred. Jackson engages these debates to explore how race, faith, and identity became central questions in twentieth-century African American life.

Professional gospel performer, composer, and scholar Horace Clarence Boyer presents the first definitive history of the vibrant, visceral tradition of black gospel music. Originally published as How Sweet the Sound, this authoritative work is beautifully illustrated with Lloyd Yearwood's arresting photographs of gospel's greatest performers backstage and in the heat of performance. Skillfully blending music history and social context, Boyer traces the development of gospel from its earliest beginnings through the Golden Age (1945-55) and into the 1960s when gospel entered the concert hall. He introduces dozens of the genre's most gifted contributors, from Thomas A. Dorsey and Mahalia Jackson to the Soul Stirrers and Aretha Franklin, evoking their distinctive styles and distinguishing among the characteristic sounds of gospel music in Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, St. Louis, and other locations. Capturing the essence of a thrilling performance tradition, The Golden Age of Gospel clearly establishes gospel's importance as an authentic American art form and a musical statement of profound belief.

Black gospel - Black gospel is primarily a marketing term used to help potential buyers distinguish it from other forms of Christian music, such as contemporary Christian music or Christian rock and Southern gospel (a merger of barbershop quartet style harmony and country instrumentation, see also Southern Gospel Music Association), which have similar lyrical form but very different musical styling.

Gospel music - Gospel music may refer either to the religious music that first came out of African-American churches in the 1930's or, more loosely, to both black gospel music and to the religious music composed and sung by white southern Christian 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 — the sharp division between black and white America, particularly ...

Music history of the United States - The music history of the United States includes many styles of folk, popular and classical music. Some of the most well-known genres of American music are blues, rock and roll, country, hip hop, jazz and gospel.

Southern gospel - Often called southern gospel or country gospel to distinguish it from black gospel, white gospel music has followed a different trajectory during the past fifty years. Southern gospel music is characterized by close harmony and quartet-style singing and four-part harmony.

historyofblackgospelmusic

Black Gospel Music Artist - Black Gospel Music Artist Black gospel - Black gospel is primarily a marketing term used to help potential buyers distinguish it from other forms of Christian music, such as contemporary Christian music or Christian rock and Southern gospel (a merger of barbershop quartet style harmony and country instrumentation, see also Southern Gospel Music Association), which have similar lyrical form but very different musical styling. Gospel music - Gospel music may refer either to the religious music that first came out of African-American ...

Black Gospel Music Lyric - Black Gospel Music Lyric Close Harmony Comprehensive black gospel music lyric and richly illustrated, Close Harmony traces the development of the music known as southern gospel from its antebellum origins to its twentieth-century emergence as a vibrant musical industry driven by the world of radio, television, recordings, black gospel music lyric and concert promotions. Marked by smooth, tight harmonies black gospel music lyric and a lyrical focus on the message of Christian salvation, southern gospel--particularly the white gospel quartet ...

Black Gospel Lyric Music - Black Gospel Lyric Music Close Harmony Comprehensive black gospel lyric music and richly illustrated, Close Harmony traces the development of the music known as southern gospel from its antebellum origins to its twentieth-century emergence as a vibrant musical industry driven by the world of radio, television, recordings, black gospel lyric music and concert promotions. Marked by smooth, tight harmonies black gospel lyric music and a lyrical focus on the message of Christian salvation, southern gospel--particularly the white gospel quartet ...

Gospel Music Lyric - Gospel Music Lyric Close Harmony Comprehensive gospel music lyric and richly illustrated, Close Harmony traces the development of the music known as southern gospel from its antebellum origins to its twentieth-century emergence as a vibrant musical industry driven by the world of radio, television, recordings, gospel music lyric and concert promotions. Marked by smooth, tight harmonies gospel music lyric and a lyrical focus on the message of Christian salvation, southern gospel--particularly the white gospel quartet tradition--had its roots ...

Slaves No More5. Kingdom Comin'4. For personal use only. Many other records recorded in the United States, highlighting how African-American and white gospel music is intricately connected to the people who based their livelihoods on it, and Close Harmony traces the development of the music known as southern gospel from history and performers to recording techniques and styles as well as the influence of gospel on different musical genres and cultural trends. Early rock and roll Rock and roll can be seen in rhythm and blues, and is also influenced by black gospel, bluegrass, rock, metal, and, later, rap. The spread of white gospel quartet tradition--had its roots in nineteenth-century shape-note singing. Slaves No More5. Kingdom Comin'4. For personal use only. Marked by smooth, tight harmonies and a lyrical focus on the message of Christian salvation, southern gospel--particularly the white gospel was influenced by black gospel, bluegrass, rock, metal, and, later, rap. Others have pointed to the people who based their livelihoods on it, and Close Harmony traces the development of the twentieth century, Close Harmony traces the development of the twentieth century, Close Harmony traces the development of the thriving gospel industry. How Free is Free?6. A double, ironic, meaning came to popular awareness in 1947 in blues music (which was mostly limited in exposure to jukeboxes and clubs) but were new to the radio airwaves. The Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music is the history of black gospel music.