Thank you. When you think about gospel music, what comes to your mind? Artists? Songs?
Maybe you recall a church experience. For me, it's heritage, communication, and emotion. Let's take a compressed look into gospel music and begin with Negro spirituals. Africans who were brought to America brought along with them and practiced many forms of African spirituality. At first, slave owners weren't.
concerned about the spiritual health of their slaves, but were encouraged to use Christianity as a vehicle to better manage their slaves. Traditionally, drums, percussive instruments, and chants were used by Africans for many reasons like communication. This form of communication was adapted into the Negro spirituals, which were influenced by the Christian message. Things like, steal away to Jesus, contained hidden messages of stealing away or going to have a secret meeting about Jesus, which was freedom in the north. Let's take a listen to this sample.
Steal away to Go Down Moses, which though it has biblical and theological meaning on the surface, contained messages of hope for the slaves as they compared themselves to biblical stories of Israelite slaves in Egypt. Negro spirituals created the foundation for communication and the emotional ingredients for what was to become gospel music. So, how did spirituals make their transition to what we know now as gospel music today? Well, a blues artist named Georgia Tom, or as the gospel music industry knows him, Thomas Dorsey, is the father of the gospel music industry.
of gospel music. Once a prominent blues artist turned gospel writer, he pinned several gospel staples such as Highway to Heaven and Precious Lord Take My Hand. I love your name When I look back From whence I came Dreams and love were A love so dear Many, many a girl Fun fact, gospel music wasn't even called gospel music back then.
It was called gospel blues or holy blues, which evolved into a collection of hymns called Gospel Pearls. Precious Lord was made popular by one of Dorsey's mentees, Mahalia Jackson. Yes, that's right.
Dorsey mentored and trained Mahalia Jackson, who in her own right became known as the Queen of Gospel. Into the light Oh, he has a show to be. Singers like Mahalia Jackson, the Caravans, and the Clara Ward singers were considered the most dominant artists in what was called the Golden Age of Gospel.
At this point of gospel music history, there was no question about the message, the emotion, nor the heritage. But a question arises within the house of gospel. How do we reach more people? The answer came with yet another branch or evolution of gospel music called contemporary gospel.
Contemporary gospel is a sub-genre of gospel music that has a modern approach to it. This genre was arguably started by one song, Oh Happy Day, by Edwin Hawkins Singers. Happy day, oh a happy day, when Jesus was, oh when he was.
When Jesus was born. They were joined by artists and singers and songwriters who were key in establishing this subgenre. You have Walter Hawkins, Tremaine Hawkins, Andre Crouch, James Cleveland, the Winans, and the Clark Sisters. As gospel music continues to thrive, it is seeing the emerging of artists who evolved with the times.
times like Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, Mary Mary, and Todd Trippett, all the way to Tasha Cobbs and Travis Green. The influence of gospel music is powerful and inspirational and has solidified itself in both American and global history.