Gospel music

Gospel music

Gospel choir, hand in hand. Photo: Tim McCaig©

Throughout its history the word Gospel has become synonymous with a unique style and sound - raw soulful and spirit-filled singing usually by a choir.

This impression is consistent with Gospel's beginnings as church-based 'praise music'. It is still the most popular perception of Gospel; however, today its sound is very different.

From reggae to rumba, jazz to juju, Gospel is now expressed in as many ways as there are music genres. The only consistent thread is that it carries a Christian 'good news' message. This article looks at a few of the highlights of Gospel music as defined by the influence of Christian expression in black music.

A modern Gospel clip

Lexie Stobie performs Up To The Mountain on Songs of Praise.

A brief history of Gospel music

The history of Gospel is predated by its African roots, in the traditions of indigenous African people, with songs of praise, worship and testimony to cultural gods and deity. The earliest coming-together of a Christian message interpreted into black music history was through the incidence of the transatlantic slave trade - the movement of African people from their customary faiths into an interpretation of Christianity.

The first incarnations of Gospel music were in the three phases of Negro spirituals: work songs, jubilees and social Gospel. Work songs came into being pre-1867. They were songs and chant composed by the slaves and sung largely outside church, in the cotton fields and plantations. These songs drew from Biblical imagery as inspiration through the hardships of slavery but also as coded songs of hope and freedom.

Jubilees were similar to work songs but sung in church as slaves began to embrace Christian forms of worship. They were 'call and response' style hymns and developed harmony as different parts sung as a group.

The struggle for civil rights and the tangible problems of segregation and inequality inspired a new brand of socially aware Gospel music in the mid-1920s and through to the 1960s. These songs integrated social messages with scripture references. Gospel music divided into church-based worship songs on one side and music by Christians with more of a secular social conscience on the other.

The term 'Gospel' is attributed to Thomas A. Dorsey in the 1930s. Dorsey was a former bluesman who went on to write some of the most enduring standards of Gospel music. Dorsey's songs inspired a number of Gospel and Southern American artists, including Elvis Presley. The Gospel music of the civil rights era, often referred to as the Black Gospel period, defined Gospel's richest heritage with artists like Mahalia Jackson, The Clara Ward Singers, Dorothy Love Coates, The Caravans, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Blind Boys of Alabama and The Edwin Hawkins Singers.

1960s to present day

The financial success of secular black music in the 1960s and 70s ushered in a new kind of Gospel artist: more performance-aware yet equally spiritually and socially engaged. They included the 'Godfather of Soul' James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Reverend Al Green, Sam Cooke, Shirley Cesaer and The Staple Singers. It was common for these artists to chose one side of Gospel's divide as religious and secular music industry did not mix. It also confirmed the acceptance of Gospel artists as solo performers.

In the 70s and 80s artists like the Mighty Clouds of Joy, Andrae Crouch, Commissioned and Candi Staton brought the popular sounds of disco, funk and other mainstream genres into the growing spectrum of Gospel. This era also brought to prominence some of Gospel's biggest musical families including The Clark Sisters, The Hawkins and The Winans.

The 90s brought an R'n'B crossover explosion when Gospel artists such as Sounds of Blackness, Helen Baylor and Bebe and Cece Winans scored big international chart and club hits. This was also a good time to be 'Gospel' and British, as record companies took note of the US success and tried to emulate it with homegrown artists like Paul Johnson, The Escofferys, Nu Colours, Mica Paris, Ruby Turner, Patrick Jean-Paul Denis, Lavine Hudson and Bryan Powell. This favourable mood also bolstered recognition for the existing traditional Gospel groups like the London Community Gospel Choir and the Inspirational Choir.

The current genres of Gospel owe as much to its rich heritage as they do to the upbeat performance of urban or 'street music'. Kirk Franklin, Tye Tribbett, Tonex and J Moss have adopted a Holy Hip Hop attitude in bringing the 'good news' to a younger generation. However, the popularity of more traditional artists like Smokie Norful, Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams remains strong.

Today's UK Gospel sound celebrates the full spectrum of Gospel music, with funk bands like Four Kornerz, praise and worship with the traditional 'church' sound of Noel Robinson and Nu Image and the African influence of Muyiwa and Riversongz, and the urban styling of groups like Raymond and Co and Siani, and solo performers like Priscilla Jones and Roger Samuels. It also includes other subgenres like house, reggae and grime that dominate youth culture.

Gospel on the BBC

Gospel on BBC radio and television. You can use iPlayer to catch up with those series that are on the air for 7 days after broadcast.

Gospel programmes on the BBC