Urban contemporary gospel
Encyclopedia
Traditional black gospel is music
that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian
life, as well as (in terms of the varying music styles) to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music. It is a form of Christian music
and a subgenre of gospel music
.
Like other forms of music
the creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. It is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, or as an entertainment product for the marketplace. However, a common theme as with most Christian music is praise, worship or thanks to God
and/or Christ
.
Traditional gospel music was popular in the mid-20th century. It is the primary source for urban contemporary gospel
and Christian hip hop
, which rose in popularity during the very late 20th century and early 21st century.
. Jubilee songs and sorrow songs were two type of spirituals that emerged during the 18th and 19th centuries. Some spirituals were also used to pass on hidden messages; for example, when Harriet Tubman
was nearby, slaves would sing "Go Down, Moses" to signify that a 'deliverer' was nearby. At this time, the term "gospel songs" referred to evangelical hymns sung by Protestant (Congregational and Methodist) Christians, especially those with a missionary
theme. Gospel composers included writers like Ira D. Sankey
and Mason Lowry, and Charles B. Tindell. Hymns, Protestant gospel songs, and spirituals make up the basic source of modern black gospel.
, Sallie Martin
, Willie Mae Ford Smith
and other pioneers popularized had its roots in the blues
as well as in the more freewheeling forms of religious devotion of "Sanctified" or "Holiness
" churches — sometimes called "holy rollers" by other denominations — who encouraged individual church members to "testify," speaking or singing spontaneously about their faith and experience of the Holy Ghost and "Getting Happy," 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.
Thomas Dorsey stretched the boundaries in his day to create great gospel music, choirs, and quartets. Talented vocalists have been singing these songs far beyond Dorsey's expectations. The method, dynamics and power behind the songs are different, but God's message is delivered each and every time.
Dorsey, who had once composed for and played piano behind blues
giants Tampa Red
, Ma Rainey
and Bessie Smith
, worked hard to develop this new music, organizing an annual convention for gospel artists, touring with Martin to sell sheet music and gradually overcoming the resistance of more conservative churches to what many of them considered sinful, worldly music. Combining the sixteen bar structure and blues modes and rhythms with religious lyrics, Dorsey's compositions opened up possibilities for innovative singers such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe
to apply their very individual talents to his songs, while inspiring church members to "shout" — either to call out catch phrases or to add musical lines of their own in response to the singers.
This looser style affected other black religious musical styles as well. The most popular groups in the 1930s were male quartets or small groups such as The Golden Gate Quartet
, who sang, usually unaccompanied, in jubilee style, mixing careful harmonies, melodious singing, playful syncopation and sophisticated arrangements to produce a fresh, experimental style far removed from the more somber hymn-singing. These groups also absorbed popular sounds from pop groups such as The Mills Brothers and produced songs that mixed conventional religious themes, humor and social and political commentary. They began to show more and more influence from gospel as they incorporated the new music into their repertoire.
In the 1930s gospel music of the civil rights movement was referred to as the black gospel period because this was the most prosperous era for gospel music. The message of many of the civil rights activist was supported by the message gospel music was putting forth.
, Pilgrim Travelers
, Soul Stirrers, Swan Silvertones
, Sensational Nightingales
and Five Blind Boys of Mississippi
introduced even more stylistic freedom to the close harmonies of jubilee style, adding ad libs and using repeated short phrases in the background to maintain a rhythmic base for the innovations of the lead singers. Melodically, gospel songs from this era were more diatonic and conjunct. As "the spirit leads the vocalist" the melodies would become more chromatic and disjunct, evoking pure spiritual emotion that was congruent with the accompanying body or musicians. Individual singers also stood out more as jubilee turned to "hard gospel" and as soloists began to shout more and more, often in falsettos anchored by a prominent bass. Quartet singers combined both individual virtuoso performances and innovative harmonic and rhythmic invention — what Ira Tucker Sr. and Paul Owens
of the Hummingbirds called "trickeration" — that amplified both the emotional and musical intensity of their songs.
By the 1940s, gospel music had expanded to members of all denominations prompting black gospel artists to begin tours and becoming full-time musicians. In this venture Sister Rosetta Tharpe
became a pioneer, initially selling millions of records with her ability to drive audiences into histeria by sliding and bending her pitch as well as accompanying herself on steel guitar. In contrast, Mahalia Jackson
used her dusky contralto voice to develop her gospel ballads as well as favouring a more joyful approach to singing the gospel
.
At the same time that quartet groups were reaching their zenith in the 1940s and 1950s, a number of women singers were achieving stardom. Some, such as Mahalia Jackson and Bessie Griffin
, were primarily soloists, while others, such as Clara Ward
, Albertina Walker
, The Caravans
, The Davis Sisters
and Dorothy Love Coates
, sang in small groups. While some groups, such as The Ward Singers, employed the sort of theatrics and daring group dynamics that male quartet groups used, for the most part women gospel singers relied instead on overpowering technique and dramatic personal witness to establish themselves.
Roberta Martin
in Chicago stood apart from other women gospel singers in many respects. She led groups that featured both men and women singers, employed an understated style that did not stress individual virtuosity, and sponsored a number of individual artists, such as James Cleveland
, who went on to change the face of gospel in the decades that followed.
, jazz
and many mainstream genres became apart of gospel music.
Rock 'n' roll, country, and rhythm & blues are influenced by gospel music. Many blues and R&B singers began as church musicians and later followed the secular careers. When roots music (which including spirituals) became popular in the 1960s and '70s, a combination of the powerful rhythm and timbres found in spirituals and "hard gospel" combined with the instrumentation and lyrical content of R&B and country contributed to various forms of rock music.
artists, particularly the "bird groups" such as the Orioles
, the Ravens
and the Flamingos
, who applied gospel quartets' a cappella
techniques to pop songs in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s. Individual gospel artists, such as Sam Cooke
, and secular artists who borrowed heavily from gospel, such as Ray Charles
, James Brown, and James Booker
, had an even greater impact later in the 1950s, helping to create soul music
by bringing even more gospel to rhythm and blues.
Elvis Presley
was less known for his gospel but he was a gospel artist. His gospel favorites were "Why me Lord," How Great Thou Art
, and "You'll never walk alone."
Many of the most prominent soul artists, such as Aretha Franklin
, Marvin Gaye
, Wilson Pickett
and Al Green
, had roots in the church and gospel music and brought with them much of the vocal styles of artists such as Clara Ward and Julius Cheeks
. During the 70's artist like Edwin Hawkins
with the 1969 hit "Oh Happy Day
", and Andre Crouch's hit "Take me Back
" were big inspirations on gospel music. Secular songwriters often appropriated gospel songs, such as the Pilgrim Travelers' song "I've Got A New Home," or the Doc Pomus
song Ray Charles
turned into a hit "Lonely Avenue
," or "Stand By Me
," which Ben E. King
and Leiber and Stoller adapted from a well-known gospel song, or Marvin Gaye
's "Can I Get a Witness
," which reworks traditional gospel catchphrases. In other cases secular musicians did the opposite, attaching phrases and titles from the gospel tradition to secular songs to create soul hits such as "Come See About Me
" for The Supremes
and "99½ Won't Do" for Wilson Pickett
.
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
life, as well as (in terms of the varying music styles) to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music. It is a form of Christian music
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
and a subgenre of gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
.
Like other forms of music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
the creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. It is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, or as an entertainment product for the marketplace. However, a common theme as with most Christian music is praise, worship or thanks to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and/or Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
.
Traditional gospel music was popular in the mid-20th century. It is the primary source for urban contemporary gospel
Urban contemporary gospel
Traditional black gospel is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...
and Christian hip hop
Christian hip hop
Christian hip hop is hip hop music characterized by a Christian worldview, with the general purposes of evangelization , edifying members of the church and/or simply entertaining.-History:Since hip-hop started in the 1970s, various hip-hop artists have...
, which rose in popularity during the very late 20th century and early 21st century.
Origins and development
The origins of gospel music are during American slavery, when enslaved Africans were introduced to the Christian religion and converted in large numbers. Remnants of different African cultures were combined with Western Christianity, with one result being the emergence of the spiritualSpiritual (music)
Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...
. Jubilee songs and sorrow songs were two type of spirituals that emerged during the 18th and 19th centuries. Some spirituals were also used to pass on hidden messages; for example, when Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...
was nearby, slaves would sing "Go Down, Moses" to signify that a 'deliverer' was nearby. At this time, the term "gospel songs" referred to evangelical hymns sung by Protestant (Congregational and Methodist) Christians, especially those with a missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
theme. Gospel composers included writers like Ira D. Sankey
Ira D. Sankey
Ira D. Sankey , known as The Sweet Singer of Methodism, was an American gospel singer and composer, associated with evangelist Dwight L...
and Mason Lowry, and Charles B. Tindell. Hymns, Protestant gospel songs, and spirituals make up the basic source of modern black gospel.
Original music (1920s – 1940s)
What most African Americans would identify today as "gospel" began in the early 20th century. The gospel music that Thomas A. DorseyThomas A. Dorsey
Thomas Andrew Dorsey was known as "the father of black gospel music" and was at one time so closely associated with the field that songs written in the new style were sometimes known as "dorseys." Earlier in his life he was a leading blues pianist known as Georgia Tom.As formulated by Dorsey,...
, Sallie Martin
Sallie Martin
Sallie Martin was a gospel singer nicknamed "the mother of gospel music" for her efforts to popularize the songs of Thomas A. Dorsey and her influence on other artists. Raised as a Baptist in Pittfield, Georgia, she joined the Pentecostal movement as a young woman...
, Willie Mae Ford Smith
Willie Mae Ford Smith
Willie Mae Ford , also known as Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith, was an American gospel singer.-Early years:Born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee as a child...
and other pioneers popularized had its roots in the blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
as well as in the more freewheeling forms of religious devotion of "Sanctified" or "Holiness
Holiness movement
The holiness movement refers to a set of beliefs and practices emerging from the Methodist Christian church in the mid 19th century. The movement is distinguished by its emphasis on John Wesley's doctrine of "Christian perfection" - the belief that it is possible to live free of voluntary sin - and...
" churches — sometimes called "holy rollers" by other denominations — who encouraged individual church members to "testify," speaking or singing spontaneously about their faith and experience of the Holy Ghost and "Getting Happy," sometimes while dancing in celebration. In the 1920s Sanctified artists, such as Arizona Dranes
Arizona Dranes
Arizona Dranes was one of the first gospel artists to bring the musical styles of Holiness churches' religious music to the public in her records for Okeh and performances in the 1920s. She introduced piano accompaniment to Holiness music, which had previously been largely a cappella, and...
, many of whom were also traveling preachers, started making records in a style that melded traditional religious themes with barrelhouse
Barrelhouse
Barrelhouse can refer to:*A "juke joint", a bar or saloon. Originates from the storage of barrels of alcohol.*An early form of jazz with wild, improvised piano, and an accented two-beat rhythm ....
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie (music)
Boogie-woogie is a style of piano-based blues that became popular in the late 1930s and early 1940s, but originated much earlier, and was extended from piano, to three pianos at once, guitar, big band, and country and western music, and even gospel. Whilst the blues traditionally depicts a variety...
techniques and brought jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
instruments, such as drums and horns, into the church.
Thomas Dorsey stretched the boundaries in his day to create great gospel music, choirs, and quartets. Talented vocalists have been singing these songs far beyond Dorsey's expectations. The method, dynamics and power behind the songs are different, but God's message is delivered each and every time.
Dorsey, who had once composed for and played piano behind blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
giants Tampa Red
Tampa Red
Tampa Red , born Hudson Woodbridge but known from childhood as Hudson Whittaker, was an American Chicago blues musician....
, Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey was one of the earliest known American professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record. She was billed as The Mother of the Blues....
and Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...
, worked hard to develop this new music, organizing an annual convention for gospel artists, touring with Martin to sell sheet music and gradually overcoming the resistance of more conservative churches to what many of them considered sinful, worldly music. Combining the sixteen bar structure and blues modes and rhythms with religious lyrics, Dorsey's compositions opened up possibilities for innovative singers such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an Amercian pioneering gospel singer, songwriter and recording artist who attained great popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and early rock and roll accompaniment...
to apply their very individual talents to his songs, while inspiring church members to "shout" — either to call out catch phrases or to add musical lines of their own in response to the singers.
This looser style affected other black religious musical styles as well. The most popular groups in the 1930s were male quartets or small groups such as The Golden Gate Quartet
The Golden Gate Quartet
The Golden Gate Quartet is an American vocal group. It was formed in 1934 and, with changes in membership, remains active. It is the most successful of all of the African-American gospel music groups who sang in the jubilee quartet style...
, who sang, usually unaccompanied, in jubilee style, mixing careful harmonies, melodious singing, playful syncopation and sophisticated arrangements to produce a fresh, experimental style far removed from the more somber hymn-singing. These groups also absorbed popular sounds from pop groups such as The Mills Brothers and produced songs that mixed conventional religious themes, humor and social and political commentary. They began to show more and more influence from gospel as they incorporated the new music into their repertoire.
In the 1930s gospel music of the civil rights movement was referred to as the black gospel period because this was the most prosperous era for gospel music. The message of many of the civil rights activist was supported by the message gospel music was putting forth.
Golden age (1940s – 1950s)
The new gospel music composed by Dorsey and others proved very important among quartets, who began turning in a new direction. Groups such as the Dixie HummingbirdsThe Dixie Hummingbirds
The Dixie Hummingbirds are an influential American gospel music group, spanning more than 80 years from the jubilee quartet style of the 1920s, through the "hard gospel" quartet style of Gospel's golden age in the 1940s and 1950s, to the eclectic pop-tinged songs of today.-History:Formed in 1928 in...
, Pilgrim Travelers
Pilgrim Travelers
The Pilgrim Travelers were a gospel group popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s.-Musical career:Formed in the early 1930s in Houston, Texas, they were strongly influenced by another Texas-based quartet, the Soul Stirrers...
, Soul Stirrers, Swan Silvertones
Swan Silvertones
The Swan Silvertones were an American gospel music group that achieved popularity in the 1940s and 1950s while led by Claude Jeter. Jeter formed the group in 1938 as the "Four Harmony Kings" while he was working as a coal miner in West Virginia...
, Sensational Nightingales
Sensational Nightingales
The Sensational Nightingales is a Gospel music quartet that reached its peak of popularity in the 1950s, when it featured Julius Cheeks as its lead singer. The Nightingales, with several changes of membership, continue to tour and record today....
and Five Blind Boys of Mississippi
Five Blind Boys of Mississippi
The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi was a post-war gospel quartet. Powered by lead singer Archie Brownlee, their single "Our Father" reached the Billboard R&B charts in the early 1950s, one of the first gospel records to do so.-History:...
introduced even more stylistic freedom to the close harmonies of jubilee style, adding ad libs and using repeated short phrases in the background to maintain a rhythmic base for the innovations of the lead singers. Melodically, gospel songs from this era were more diatonic and conjunct. As "the spirit leads the vocalist" the melodies would become more chromatic and disjunct, evoking pure spiritual emotion that was congruent with the accompanying body or musicians. Individual singers also stood out more as jubilee turned to "hard gospel" and as soloists began to shout more and more, often in falsettos anchored by a prominent bass. Quartet singers combined both individual virtuoso performances and innovative harmonic and rhythmic invention — what Ira Tucker Sr. and Paul Owens
Paul Owens (gospel singer)
Paul Owens was one of the foremost artists in African American gospel music, performing with the Dixie Hummingbirds, the Swan Silvertones and the Sensational Nightingales...
of the Hummingbirds called "trickeration" — that amplified both the emotional and musical intensity of their songs.
By the 1940s, gospel music had expanded to members of all denominations prompting black gospel artists to begin tours and becoming full-time musicians. In this venture Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an Amercian pioneering gospel singer, songwriter and recording artist who attained great popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and early rock and roll accompaniment...
became a pioneer, initially selling millions of records with her ability to drive audiences into histeria by sliding and bending her pitch as well as accompanying herself on steel guitar. In contrast, Mahalia Jackson
Mahalia Jackson
Mahalia Jackson – January 27, 1972) was an African-American gospel singer. Possessing a powerful contralto voice, she was referred to as "The Queen of Gospel"...
used her dusky contralto voice to develop her gospel ballads as well as favouring a more joyful approach to singing the gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
.
At the same time that quartet groups were reaching their zenith in the 1940s and 1950s, a number of women singers were achieving stardom. Some, such as Mahalia Jackson and Bessie Griffin
Bessie Griffin
Bessie Griffin was an African American gospel singer.Born Arlette B. Broil in New Orleans, Louisiana, she was steeped in church music as a child...
, were primarily soloists, while others, such as Clara Ward
Clara Ward
Clara Ward was an American gospel artist who achieved great success, both artistic and commercial, in the 1940s and 1950s as leader of The Famous Ward Singers....
, Albertina Walker
Albertina Walker
-Early years:Walker was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Ruben and Camille Coleman Walker. Her mother was born in Houston County, Georgia, and her father in Bibb County, Georgia. They moved to Chicago between 1917-1920 where they lived out their lives. Albertina had four siblings born in Bibb County...
, The Caravans
The Caravans
The Caravans is a Jubilee Gospel group that was started by Albertina Walker . The group reached its peak popularity during the 1950s and 1960s, launching the careers of a number of artists, including: Delores Washington, Albertina Walker, Bessie Griffin, Cassietta George, Dorothy Norwood, Inez...
, The Davis Sisters
The Davis Sisters
The Davis Sisters was an American gospel group founded by Ruth Davis and featuring her sisters Thelma, Audrey and Alfreda. Imogene Greene joined the group in 1950, and was later replaced by Jackie Verdell when Greene left to join the Caravans....
and Dorothy Love Coates
Dorothy Love Coates
Dorothy Love Coates was an American gospel singer.-Early years:Born Dorothy McGriff in Birmingham, Alabama, her early years were hard, . Her minister father left the family when she was six, divorcing her mother thereafter...
, sang in small groups. While some groups, such as The Ward Singers, employed the sort of theatrics and daring group dynamics that male quartet groups used, for the most part women gospel singers relied instead on overpowering technique and dramatic personal witness to establish themselves.
Roberta Martin
Roberta Martin
Roberta Martin was an American gospel composer, singer, pianist, arranger and choral organizer, helped launch the careers of many other gospel artists through her group, The Roberta Martin Singers.-Early years:...
in Chicago stood apart from other women gospel singers in many respects. She led groups that featured both men and women singers, employed an understated style that did not stress individual virtuosity, and sponsored a number of individual artists, such as James Cleveland
James Cleveland
The Reverend Dr. James Cleveland was a gospel singer, arranger, composer and, most significantly, the driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound, bringing the stylistic daring of hard gospel and jazz and pop music influences to arrangements for mass choirs...
, who went on to change the face of gospel in the decades that followed.
The 1960s – 1980s
Gospel started to break way from the traditional church setting, with the choirs, and just singing hymns. There were more solo artists that emerged during these decades. Gospel artists began to perform more than minister; they started to add more genres to gospel music. Disco Music, funkFunk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and many mainstream genres became apart of gospel music.
Rock 'n' roll, country, and rhythm & blues are influenced by gospel music. Many blues and R&B singers began as church musicians and later followed the secular careers. When roots music (which including spirituals) became popular in the 1960s and '70s, a combination of the powerful rhythm and timbres found in spirituals and "hard gospel" combined with the instrumentation and lyrical content of R&B and country contributed to various forms of rock music.
Gospel's influences
Gospel artists, who had been influenced by pop music trends for years, had a major influence on early rhythm and bluesRhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
artists, particularly the "bird groups" such as the Orioles
The Orioles
The Orioles were a successful and influential American R&B group of the late 1940s and early 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal bands who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound....
, the Ravens
The Ravens
The Ravens were an American R&B vocal group, formed in 1946 by Jimmy Ricks and Warren Suttles. They were one of the most successful and most influential vocal quartets of the period, and had several hits on the R&B chart in the late 1940s and early 1950s....
and the Flamingos
The Flamingos
The Flamingos were a doo wop group from the United States, most popular in the mid to late 1950s and best known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You".-Early quintet:...
, who applied gospel quartets' a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
techniques to pop songs in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s. Individual gospel artists, such as Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
, and secular artists who borrowed heavily from gospel, such as Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, James Brown, and James Booker
James Booker
James Carroll Booker III was a jazz, New Orleans rhythm and blues and soul musician born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.-Biography:...
, had an even greater impact later in the 1950s, helping to create soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
by bringing even more gospel to rhythm and blues.
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
was less known for his gospel but he was a gospel artist. His gospel favorites were "Why me Lord," How Great Thou Art
How Great Thou Art
How Great Thou Art may refer to:*"How Great Thou Art" by Carl Boberg*How Great Thou Art *How Great Thou Art *How Great Thou Art, an album by The Statler Brothers...
, and "You'll never walk alone."
Many of the most prominent soul artists, such as Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
, Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100...
and Al Green
Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
, had roots in the church and gospel music and brought with them much of the vocal styles of artists such as Clara Ward and Julius Cheeks
Julius Cheeks
Rev. Julius "June" Cheeks was an American gospel singer, who enjoyed the majority of his success with the Nightingales.-Musical career:...
. During the 70's artist like Edwin Hawkins
Edwin Hawkins
Edwin Hawkins is a Grammy Award-winning American gospel and R&B musician, pianist, choir master, composer and arranger. He is one of the originators of the urban contemporary gospel sound. He are best known for his arrangement of "Oh Happy Day" , which was included on the Songs of the Century list...
with the 1969 hit "Oh Happy Day
Oh Happy Day
"Oh Happy Day" is a 1967 gospel music arrangement of an 18th century hymn. Recorded by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, it became an international hit in 1969, reaching US #4 and UK #2 on the pop charts...
", and Andre Crouch's hit "Take me Back
Take Me Back
Take Me Back may refer to:* Take Me Back , a 1975 album by Andraé Crouch* "Take Me Back" , an R&B song released in 2009 written by and featuring Taio Cruz...
" were big inspirations on gospel music. Secular songwriters often appropriated gospel songs, such as the Pilgrim Travelers' song "I've Got A New Home," or the Doc Pomus
Doc Pomus
Jerome Solon Felder, better known as Doc Pomus , was a twentieth-century American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lyricist of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the category of non-performer in 1992. He was also inducted into...
song Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
turned into a hit "Lonely Avenue
Lonely Avenue
"Lonely Avenue" is a popular song written by Doc Pomus that became a rhythm and blues hit for Ray Charles in 1956. The song drew the attention of the music business to Doc Pomus, who had previously had little success as a songwriter.-Covers:...
," or "Stand By Me
Stand by Me (song)
"Stand by Me" is the title of a song originally performed by Ben E. King and written by King, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller, based on the spiritual "Lord Stand by Me,", plus two lines rooted in Psalms 46:2-3...
," which Ben E. King
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King , better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a U.S...
and Leiber and Stoller adapted from a well-known gospel song, or Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
's "Can I Get a Witness
Can I Get a Witness
"Can I Get a Witness" is a 1963 hit song by Marvin Gaye on the Tamla label. Written and produced by Motown songwriting and producing team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song was built among gospel-styled music and heralded Gaye's beginnings in the church with a rhythm and blues/rock and roll setting...
," which reworks traditional gospel catchphrases. In other cases secular musicians did the opposite, attaching phrases and titles from the gospel tradition to secular songs to create soul hits such as "Come See About Me
Come See About Me
"Come See About Me" is a 1964 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.The song became third of five consecutively released Supremes songs to top the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States...
" for The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
and "99½ Won't Do" for Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100...
.
Representative songwriters and artists
- Charles A. Tindley (1851–1933) is generally considered the "Father of Gospel Music". He composed many Christian hymns, including "I Shall Overcome", which was the basis for the now-famous anthem for the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, "We Shall OvercomeWe Shall Overcome"We Shall Overcome" is a protest song that became a key anthem of the African-American Civil Rights Movement . The title and structure of the song are derived from an early gospel song by African-American composer Charles Albert Tindley...
". Other famous songs included "We'll Understand It Better By and By" and "Leave It There" among many others. His soulful lyrics, rooted in the depth of feeling that rises from an oppressed people, love, patience and tolerance, rather than hate, revenge or retaliation. His hymns still appear in hymnals and songbooks used by all Christian denominations. - Thomas A. DorseyThomas A. DorseyThomas Andrew Dorsey was known as "the father of black gospel music" and was at one time so closely associated with the field that songs written in the new style were sometimes known as "dorseys." Earlier in his life he was a leading blues pianist known as Georgia Tom.As formulated by Dorsey,...
(1899–1993) had such a marked effect on the Golden Age of gospel that sheet music for songs written in his rhythmic, bluesy style were called "dorseys" at the time. Dorsey was an American pianist, arranger and composer of such standards as "Peace In The Valley"Peace in the Valley"Peace in the Valley" is a 1937 song written by Thomas A. Dorsey, originally for Mahalia Jackson. The song became a hit in 1951 for Red Foley and the Sunshine Boys, reaching No. 7 on the Country & Western Best Seller chart. It was among the first gospel recordings to sell one million copies...
, which was one of the first gospel recordings to sell one million copies. Originally focused on secular music, Dorsey began to write music with a religious theme after meeting Tindley at a National Baptist Convention. Initially, his blending of sacred themes with the secular musical styles of blues and jazz was condemned as "the devil's music" and shunned by conservative Christians. After several years' persistence, however, his style gained in popularity. Perhaps the most famous is "Take My Hand, Precious LordTake My Hand, Precious Lord"Take My Hand, Precious Lord" is a gospel song, lyrics by Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey , melody by George Nelson Allen .-History:...
", written after losing his wife to childbirth and his newborn son the next day. Dorsey wrote over 1000 songs in his lifetime and founded The National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses in 1932. - Sallie MartinSallie MartinSallie Martin was a gospel singer nicknamed "the mother of gospel music" for her efforts to popularize the songs of Thomas A. Dorsey and her influence on other artists. Raised as a Baptist in Pittfield, Georgia, she joined the Pentecostal movement as a young woman...
(1895–1988), who was proclaimed "The Mother of Gospel" by the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses, worked with Dorsey early in her career. Her performances were characterized by her rough alto voice and the shouting and ecstatic motions associated with the Pentecostal Holiness tradition. After joining Dorsey's choir in 1932, Martin also took over Dorsey's struggling music store, to its benefit. During the 1930s, Martin traveled to organize choruses throughout the South and Midwest. In 1940 Martin left Dorsey's group and began touring. Martin and gospel composer Kenneth Morris formed Martin and Morris, Inc., a publishing company which became the biggest of its kind in the United States. She then formed her own ensemble, the first female group in gospel history, called the Sallie Martin Singers. Martin was actively involved in the civil rights movement, and a Nigerian government building was named in honor of her support for the Nigerian Health Program. - Mother Willie Mae Ford SmithWillie Mae Ford SmithWillie Mae Ford , also known as Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith, was an American gospel singer.-Early years:Born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee as a child...
(1906–1994) - Mahalia JacksonMahalia JacksonMahalia Jackson – January 27, 1972) was an African-American gospel singer. Possessing a powerful contralto voice, she was referred to as "The Queen of Gospel"...
(1911–1972) - Clara WardClara WardClara Ward was an American gospel artist who achieved great success, both artistic and commercial, in the 1940s and 1950s as leader of The Famous Ward Singers....
(1924–1973) - James ClevelandJames ClevelandThe Reverend Dr. James Cleveland was a gospel singer, arranger, composer and, most significantly, the driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound, bringing the stylistic daring of hard gospel and jazz and pop music influences to arrangements for mass choirs...
(1931–1991) - Andrae CrouchAndrae CrouchAndraé Crouch is a seven-time Grammy Award-winning American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, recording artist, record producer, and pastor.-Early years:Born Andraé Edward Crouch in San Francisco, California....
(born 1942) helped establish the post-Dorsey style of urban contemporary Christian music. Andraé Crouch was a key figure in the Jesus MusicJesus musicJesus music, known as gospel beat music in the United Kingdom, is a style of Christian music which originated on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This musical genre developed in parallel to the Jesus movement...
movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and strongly influenced future American artists such as Michael W. SmithMichael W. SmithMichael Whitaker Smith is a Billboard top ten Billboard Hot 100 recording artist and Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian music. Smith also has achieved a considerable amount of...
and Amy GrantAmy GrantAmy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, media personality and actress, best known for her Christian music. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop"...
. Though his contemporary music is still subject to the age-old criticism of diluting the sacred message with contemporary music styles, his songs, such as "Soon and Very Soon", "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power", "Bless His Holy Name", and "My Tribute" have become staples in churches all around the world and recorded by mainstream artists such as Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and Paul SimonPaul SimonPaul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
. He was one of the first African-American Gospel artists to crossover to mainstream contemporary Christian musicContemporary Christian musicContemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
. Crouch has won numerous awards and honors over the years including eight Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s, four GMA Dove Awards, and ASCAP, BillboardBillboard Music AwardThe Billboard Music Award is an honor given by Billboard magazine, the preeminent publication covering the music business. The Billboard Music Awards show had been held annually in December until it went dormant in 2007, but it returned in May 2011...
and NAACP Awards. In 2004, he became the third-ever gospel artist to have a star enshrined on the Hollywood Walk of FameHollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
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