Learn about the origin of gospel music and its influences. Read about the history of gospel music, its development, and different types of gospel music.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Gospel Music | Definition, Origin & History
Table of Contents
- What is Gospel Music?
- The History of Gospel Music
- Different styles of Gospel Music
- The Significance of the History of Gospel Music
- Lesson Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 4 styles of gospel music?
There are four styles of gospel music. They include: the traditional gospel, contemporary gospel, quartet gospel, and the praise and worship gospel.
Why is gospel music important?
The enslaved people initially sang gospel music to express their suffering and hope of emancipation from slavery. Today, gospel music forms a crucial part of worship among Christians. It allows them to express and connect with the Supreme Being.
What is traditional gospel music?
Traditional gospel music comprises various forms, including the rural gospel style, gospel hymns, and the Holiness-Pentecostal style. It was common in churches of the blacks in the United States.
What is the difference between gospel and spiritual music?
The difference between gospel and spiritual music is that gospel music is the African-American Christian songs comprised of hymns and other oral traditions. On the other hand, spiritual were songs of hope sung by the enslaved people in the U.S before their emancipation.
Where did gospel music develop?
Gospel music developed in the United States during the slavery era and American Protestantism. The hymns sung by the white settlers and the spirituals sung by the blacks evolved through the centuries to what is known as gospel music.
Table of Contents
- What is Gospel Music?
- The History of Gospel Music
- Different styles of Gospel Music
- The Significance of the History of Gospel Music
- Lesson Summary
Initially, the term gospel music was used to refer to the religious songs sung by the Caucasian and the African-American Christians. The mode of worship in these two groups was similar; however, some differences began to creep in as time went by. Therefore, gospel music can be defined as African-American Christian music. Gospel music comprised the hymns and other songs borrowed from the oral traditions of the African-American culture. This type of music was sung by the enslaved people (during the slavery era in the U.S) while working on the plantations to raise their morale and also seek solace from the pain and suffering of slavery. The term gospel music was familiar and widely used by the end of the 19th century.
The Meaning and Etymology of Gospel
The term gospel was influenced by Latin and Greek. It has two Germanic roots, and when translated into Old English, it is written as Godspell. God means good, and the spell means news or account. The term was used to refer to the first four books of the New Testament Bible and any texts used in the Christianity doctrine. The term was later spelled as gospel in the 18th century. The term gospel means good news.
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The history of gospel music in the United States date back over one hundred years ago. The term 'gospel' was coined by Thomas Dorsey in 1921 during the National Baptist Convention. He is known as the father of gospel music and the songwriter of many songs, including 'Precious Lord.' The 17th century was dominated by psalm-singing; the hymns were introduced in the 18th century, while the rise of denominational hymns occurred in the 19th century.
The Origin of Gospel Music
Gospel music was born from the traditional hymns and spiritual songs the Africans sang during the slave era. The spirituals were songs of hope sung by the enslaved people before freedom/emancipation. The traditional hymns were introduced in the United States by the Europeans who had settled in North America.
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These hymns were composed in a book, and the white Americans sang them during their worship, mostly on Sundays. The singing of these hymns was audible to the enslaved people while on the plantations, and thus they modified them to a call-and-response format. An individual would sing one line of the hymn, and then the entire group would harmoniously repeat it. This gave rise to the Negros spirituals, which later influenced the development of gospel music.
The 'lining out' singing style in Scotland also influenced gospel music. This style was employed in singing hymns, especially by the early black Christians who attended churches of the whites. The song leader would sing a portion of the hymn and then be joined in unison by the members who sang in their natural voices. The black Christians later adopted this singing style after establishing their churches.
The Development of Gospel Music
Religious revival movements, including the Great Awakening (1730-1755), contributed to the spread and popularity of Christian music. Free singing was embraced during these revivals. This led to revival spirituals that emphasized choruses, refrains, and repeated lines. In addition, these revival songs had repetitive passages that made it easier for people to learn and memorize. The revival songs were of two types: repetitive chorus and call-and-response.
The introduction of singing schools in New England in the 1720s brought a shift from the old ways of singing hymns (pitch staff reading) to a new way of singing called shape-note singing (system of associating each note of scale with a specific syllable). This system was taught to most protestant churches by William Little and William Smith. This led to the development of gospel music in that individuals/ Christians could read musical staffs, rhythm, sing syllables, and harmony. Most songbooks were also published between 1798 and 1855.
The Maturation of Gospel Music
Before the Civil war, people bound in slavery, most in the America South, created spirituals that became part of their culture. These spirituals were never printed until the end of the civil war. In 1867, the first book containing spirituals known as Slave Songs of the United States was printed. These songs were spread to the North by the Fisk Jubilee Singers who were conducting fundraising campaigns to help the victims of the Civil war. The white Christians never accepted spirituals until the 20th century when they were included in the denominational hymns.
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Changes in Gospel During the 20th century
In the 1930s, gospel songs were promoted by individual publishing houses, which were more affordable than the denominational press. In 1932, one of the most influential publishing houses, Dorsey House of Music, was established in Chicago. It was owned by Thomas A. Dorsey, a composer, and a pianist. He aimed at selling affordable music sheets. He also created gospel blues, a gospel musical style comprised of a mixture of traditional gospel music with a taste of jazz and the blues. He was the first artist to change the tradition of the gospel music. His gospel music was rejected by the National Baptist church and considered more secular and modern. However, gospel blues were accepted with time and incorporated into the gospel music sector.
Gospel Music and Popular Music
The rising of numerous gospel publishing houses enabled most singers to compose and record songs. Some of the early publishing houses are:
- Roberta Martin Studio of Music, Chicago (1939);This studio was owned by Roberto Martin, the creator of modern style gospel piano music.
- Good Shepherd Music House in Gary, Indiana (1942)
- Ward's House of Music, Philadelphia (1953)
These houses published most of the gospel songs composed by various composers such as Alex Bradford and James Cleveland.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke were the outstanding artists in black gospel music. Mahalia Jackson is known as the Queen of the Gospel Singers. She was an official soloist in National Baptist Convention since she had a great and powerful voice. Mahalia Jackson also sang during the funeral of Martin Luther King in 1968.
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In the history of gospel music, there are several types of this kind of music, namely:
- Quartet gospel
- Traditional gospel
- Contemporary gospel
- Praise and worship gospel
- Gospel Blues
Quartet Gospel
Chicago was known for this type of music. Quartet gospel comprises a small group of male vocalists who sing together in tight harmonies. The common quartet groups were Staple singers and Soul Stirrers.
Traditional Gospel
This type of style is the foundation of the black church. It combines the early gospel music forms: gospel hymns, rural gospel style, and the Holiness-Pentecostal style. It features a more basic sound that a choir can sing. A choir is a group of members of the congregation who typically dress uniformly in robes. Examples of traditional gospel artists are the caravans and the Georgia Mass Choir.
Contemporary Gospel
Contemporary gospel songs emerged after the 1970s. They utilize instruments and exhibit attributes of popular music styles such as funk, jazz, and R and B. In addition, they emphasize solo artists, and rarely do these artists sing with a choir. Examples of contemporary gospel artists are Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, and Byron Cage.
Praise and Worship Gospel
This type of gospel combines the traditional and contemporary styles. The worship leader has a small group of singers who lead the congregation in singing the gospel music. Examples of contemporary praise and worship gospel artists are Tasha Cobbs and Shana Wilson.
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The history of gospel music plays a significant role in helping understand the evolution of gospel music from one century to the other. This includes the composition of the gospel songs, their rhythms, singing styles, recording, and publishing. Some of the hymns and spirituals sung in the previous centuries are very popular and utilized in most Christian churches today. In addition, modification of these songs has been done through modern instrumentation and singing styles, including the acoustic and reggae styles. As a result, gospel music is the backbone of many Christian churches today.
The history of gospel music is also important to the history of America. For example, it is linked to the slavery era of the African-Americans, the Civil war, and protestants revivals such as the Great Awakening revival.
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Gospel music definition can be stated as African-American Christian music. Gospel music comprised the hymns and other songs borrowed from the oral traditions of the African-American culture. This type of music was sung by the enslaved people (during the slavery era in the U.S). The term gospel simply means good news. The term 'gospel' was coined by Thomas A. Dorsey in 1921, during the National Baptist Convention. Thomas Dorsey was the first artist to change the tradition of gospel music. He created gospel blues, a gospel musical style comprised a mixture of traditional gospel music with a taste of jazz and the blues.
The traditional hymns were introduced to the United States by the Europeans who had settled in North America. The singing of these hymns was audible to the enslaved people while on the plantations, and thus they modified them to a call-and-response format. This gave rise to the Negros spirituals. The different styles of gospel music are traditional, contemporary, quartet, blues, and praise and worship gospels. Traditional gospel music followed a call-and-response form similar to hymns and sacred songs. The sound of traditional gospel is essential and can be easily sung by a choir. A choir is a group of members of the congregation who typically dress uniformly in robes.
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Video Transcript
Gospel Music
Have you ever heard a song that moved you to the point where you wanted to tell all of your friends about it? Well, that's the type of feeling you may experience when listening to gospel music. By its very definition, the term gospel means 'good news.' Gospel music is one of the vehicles through which the ideals of Christianity have been spread to audiences all over the world.
History
Gospel music is deeply rooted in the rich traditions of the African-American church. During the late 1800s, African-American churches in the southern United States started fusing various styles of music into their worship services, including African-American spirituals, hymns, and sacred songs. Such music was primarily sung at church and accompanied by hand-clapping and foot-stomping.
At the heart of the gospel music tradition was the use of a choir. The church choir consisted of a group of volunteer singers from the church congregation. Choir members could easily be distinguished from the rest of the congregation because they normally dressed in uniforms, which were choir robes. This might be something you remember from various films like The Blues Brothers, Sister Act 2, or Norbit. The types of music sung by the gospel choir followed the call-and-response format similar to that used in traditional hymns and sacred songs.
The traditional structure of gospel music changed in the late 1930s when Thomas A. Dorsey, who became known as the 'Father of Gospel Music,' began working for Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois. Dorsey was a former jazz pianist and composer who had worked with famous players such as Ma Rainey and Hudson Tamp Red Whitaker. Dorsey created a new style of gospel music called gospel blues, which infused his study of blues and jazz with traditional gospel music. It was initially rejected; however, by the end of the 1930s, gospel blues won over acceptance as the new form of traditional gospel.
Gospel music continued to evolve throughout the late 1930s. There are four distinct styles of gospel music including, but not limited to, quartet style, traditional gospel, contemporary gospel, and praise and worship.
The gospel quartet style is one in which a small number of male vocalists sing music together with tight harmonies. The major difference between traditional and contemporary gospel styles is that while traditional gospel usually features a more basic sound suited for singing by a choir, contemporary gospel places more emphasis on solo artists. Most contemporary artists rarely sing with a choir. Praise and worship is a combination of both contemporary and traditional gospel styles, in that a praise leader has a small group of singers to help lead the congregation into singing gospel music.
Artists
In addition to Thomas Dorsey, there are many others who contributed to the development of gospel music including James Cleveland and Mahalia Jackson. James Cleveland was a member of Pilgrim Baptist Church and sang under the direction of Thomas Dorsey. Cleveland was the founder of the Gospel Music Workshop Association (GMWA), the first gospel artist to record a live gospel LP, and the first gospel artist to sell 50,000 albums.
Mahalia Jackson, also known as the 'Queen of Gospel Music,' was another very influential force in gospel music. Jackson's powerful contralto-level voice was a symbol of hope and freedom during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Jackson knew Thomas Dorsey, and she mentored artists such as Aretha Franklin and Della Reese. In addition, Jackson has a famous singing scene in the film The Imitation of Life.
Other Notable Gospel Artists by Genre
Some examples of the male/quartet artists are:
- Joe Ligon and the Mighty Clouds of Joy
- Lee Williams and the Spiritual QC's
- The Dixie Hummingbirds
- The Rance Allen Group
- Robert Blair and the Fantastic Violinaires
- The Williams Brothers
- The Gospel Keynotes
- The Canton Spirituals
Some examples of traditional gospel artists are:
- Clara Ward
- The Caravans
- John P. Kee and the New Life Community Choir
- Mississippi Mass Choir
- Georgia Mass Choir
- Rev. Milton Brunson and the Thompson Community Singers
- Walter Hawkins
- Andrae Crouch
- Richard Smallwood & Vision
- Lady Tramaine Hawkins
Some contemporary gospel artists include:
- Lecrae (who does gospel rap)
- Mary Mary
- Kirk Franklin
- Yolanda Adams
- Marvin Sapp
- Commissioned
- Take 6
- Byron Cage
- CeCe Winans
- James Fortune & FIYA
- Donald Lawrence
And some praise and worship artists include:
- Tasha Cobbs
- Shana Wilson
- J.J. Hairston and Youthful Praise
- Israel Houghton & New Breed
Lesson Summary
Gospel music not only reflects the rich culture and heritage of African-Americans, but is symbolic of the trials and triumphs of the nation. The gospel music that had once functioned as a form of worship music traditionally sung by a choir has now evolved into a separate billion-dollar media industry. Many great gospel pioneers such as Thomas Dorsey, Mahalia Jackson, and James Cleveland have inspired generations of artists across the gospel music spectrum. While there are many styles of gospel music, the message of hope remains a constant force that listeners continue to cherish and celebrate throughout the world.
The Four Styles of Gospel Music
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| Quartet | Traditional | Contemporary | Praise and Worship |
|---|---|---|---|
| *A small group of male vocalists singing together with tight harmonies | *Usually features a more basic sound suited for singing by a choir | *Like traditional but emphasizes solo artists | *Features a praise leader who has a small group of singers to help lead the congregation in singing gospel music |
Learning Outcomes
A thorough exploration of this lesson on gospel music could result in your ability to:
- Analyze the roots of gospel music and specify some of its general characteristics
- Discuss the four styles of gospel music
- Name some of the major contributors to the gospel musical styles
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Gospel Music | Definition, Origin & History
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