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A Brief History on the Development of Gospel Music

Gospel music is known for its emotive, spirit-filled soulful sound. It embraces the expression of grief, prayer, or soliloquy about personal circumstances of life, with a cry for deliverance from the oppressor. It is uplifting music of the soul expressing hopeful fulfilment of the promises of God. It usually expresses worship or thanks to God and praise for deliverance from adverse circumstances.

Where Did Gospel Music Come From?

Gospel music originated from the soulful cry of the Negro in the cotton fields of the slave era. It was forged out of the fires of suffering of the oppressed Negro people, and developed further during the years of hardship and depression that followed. The term “gospel music” became integrated into American folk music in the 1800s after the civil war.

The historical influence of gospel music on the music industry as we know it today is well documented. The modern music of today’s pop culture has evolved over the years drawing from many and varied streams, not the least of which is the rich heritage that has come down to us through the development of gospel music. From the cotton fields of the American slave plantations came the Negro spiritual. Further development of the blues form and the free improvisation on instruments left lying around after the American civil war helped provide an environment for the development of many creative forms of music. The gospel music industry today in all its various genres has sprung from the well of these early forms of free musical expression.

Black gospel music began to infiltrate black churches. The holiness-Pentecostal movement suited people who were not familiar with regular church music, and they also allowed the members of the congregation to use tambourines, drums, electric guitars or anything else they had at hand. The organ remained a prominent feature of the music of some churches that were established in this tradition. Gospel music and Pentecostalism went hand in hand. Many famous musicians such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Mahalia Jackson, and the Blackwood Brothers were raised in Pentecostal churches, or have acknowledged the influence of that tradition.

Thomas A. Dorsey (composer of "Precious Lord, Take My Hand”) established a publishing house in the 1930s, and invented the black gospel style of piano music. The National Baptist Convention first publicly endorsed gospel music in 1930 and this further helped establish gospel music as an accepted form of worship in American churches.

After the Second World War, gospel music was performed in major concert arenas such as Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden. Today, black gospel and white gospel tend to be distinct genres for different audiences. A Gospel Music Association was formed but it is mainly for white audiences and includes the music of famous white gospel artists such as George Beverly Shea and Bill and Gloria Gaither. There is a Gospel Music Hall of Fame, which includes a few black artists, such as Mahalia Jackson, but which ignores most black artists. In the black community, James Cleveland established the Gospel Music Workshop of America in 1969.

The Influence of Gospel Music Today

One of the earliest proponents of one of the most popular forms of music today was Elvis Presley. He is well known as “the king of rock’nroll.” A less well known fact is that he loved gospel music and was greatly influenced by it. Film footage of his concerts reveals him returning to his motel room after a performance to meet with well-known gospel singers of the day like the Statler brothers. Gathering together around the piano they would sing Elvis’ favourite gospel songs until the early hours of the morning. In one concert Elvis interrupted a group of teenage fans screaming, “Elvis is King!”, and said to his audience, “Folks, there is only one king.” Elvis Presley also released several gospel albums.

A more recent proponent of gospel music is Andrae Crouch. Known as “the father of modern gospel music” he wrote many famous gospel songs such as “Soon and Very Soon”, and “To God be the Glory”. His influence on the modern music scene is quite notable considering he is mainly known for his contribution to Christian music. He has worked with well-known secular artists such as Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Quincy Jones and others. His group of backing vocalists have recorded with Michael Jackson (Man in the Mirror) and Madonna (Like a Prayer.) He also did the musical arrangements for Disney’s well-known musical, “The Lion King.”

Andrae was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1998 and is one of only 3 people to have their name added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame while they were still alive.

Andrae was a main contributor to the music scene in the 1960s – a period known as the Jesus Movement when the CCM music genre (contemporary Christian music) was being developed. His music brought together the world of urban gospel and church music. His songs are now sung in churches all over the world. He helped other artists like Walter and Tramaine Hawkins, Jessy Dixon and The Winans begin their gospel careers.

Gospel Music and The Secret Place

The influence of Andre Crouch and other gospel artists on my own style of worship music can be seen not so much stylistically but in my general approach to spontaneous creativity during the performance of a song. I once had the privilege of attending a music seminar where Andrae Crouch demonstrated for us how he matched certain vowel sounds and creative vocal phrases with certain chords and harmonic structures. His whole approach to the performance (and creation) of a song was very fluid and spontaneous, and this I am sure had an influence on my own approach to singing “the song of the Lord,” though my style is quite different.

Gospel music itself was very influential in my own musical development as a child. I grew up listening to recordings of classic negro spirituals such as, “The Gospel Train is Coming”, “Swing Low Sweet Chariot”, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen”, “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho”, and many others. The influence of the pentatonic scale and simple phrasing of these Negro spirituals can be felt in my own folksy ballads and simple worship choruses.

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Links

Old Time Gospel Songs

How do I find a specific gospel song? All your favorite gospel songs of older time are now just a click away. Use the search to find a vast collection of old gospel songs and words to church hymns. Find the words to your top 100 gospel songs by browsing the large library for hard to find gospel songs. Search by title and artist.

Gospel Recording Artist Mighty Men of Faith

The group’s music is a blend of traditional and contemporary Gospel/Christian music. The site has audio clips, photos, videos, performance dates.