American Roots Music

     In this blog I will be discussing the history of gospel music and how it developed into what it is today! I grew up in a Christian household so I have listened to gospel music my whole life! It is my favorite genre of music and some of my favorite artists are Kirk Franklin, Johnathan McReynolds, Naomi Raine, and Maverick City Music! But, we will talk more about that later! 

    Gospel Music is essentially the act of preaching in a musical setting. It helps Christians grow their faith and grow closer to God. It originated in the Southeast of the United States and it began to become popular around the 1930s. Gospel Music emerged from spirituals and hymns that were sung during the times of slavery. One of the people that helped develop gospel music is Thomas A. Dorsey. According to the Library of Congress, he is known as "The Father of Gospel Music". Though, because of his associations with despised secular music styles around that time, he was rejected by many black religious leaders. Though, like Dorsey, Mahalia Jackson was exposed to blues music and artists at a very early age. Mahalia Jackson and Thomas Dorsey worked together to create christian songs and went to the streets of Chicago and many different cities in the country to showcase their talent. Eventually, many musicians began to hear their songs and fell in love with it. This led to the formation of The National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses. 

    When Gospel music was in its early stages of development, it featured simple piano and organ accompaniment. Male vocal quartets were very popular and usually sang a cappella, but in the 1930s these groups switched to Gospel repertoire. A little after Hawaii became a US territory, the sound of the guitar began to influence many genres of music, including Gospel. This led to the creation of "sacred steel", which is a style of Gospel music. In 1969, Edwin Hawkins Singers released "O Happy Day". After this release Gospel music crossed over to the mainstream and became extremely popular. This song sold over 1 million copies within the first two months of its release date and Edwin Singers was awarded his first grammy.

   Within the last century, Gospel music had developed so much. Today, there are many genres of Gospel music, such as Southern Gospel, Shout Music, Contemporary Gospel, Soul Gospel, and many more! Southern Gospel lyrics are written to express faith regarding biblical teachings and to give christians songs to listen to that are not secular. Southern Gospel has developed into a very popular style of music, even for baby boomers. A few popular Southern Gospel artists are Gaither Vocal Band, Gold City, Greater Vision, and The Talleys. Shout Music originated in North Carolina and is performed by shout bands. Shout Music contains hand claps on the upbeat of each beat, very fast tempo, and chromatic basslines. Usually, near the end of a song, gospel artists break out into shout music. The instruments used to play shout music are drums (snare and base), trombones, cymbals, and a sousaphone. Shout music can last from 30 seconds to an hour and may flow into many different songs. 

 

   

    Contemporary Gospel music is influenced by jazz, R&B, and blues music. Early contemporary gospel music was highly frowned upon in more developed black churches. Contemporary gospel songs can imitate lyrics found in secular love songs, though the affection is towards God and not another human being. In the 1960s, this style of gospel music made its way into the traditional church setting. Many artists began to emerge during these times and started to perform these songs rather than ministering. Some popular contemporary gospel artists are Johnathan McReynolds, The Walls Group, and Toby Mac. The last genre of gospel music we will talk about is Soul Gospel. The term "soul" came from the feeling that African Americans feel while being in the United States. Soul gospel music contains handclaps, catchy rhythms, and call and response. 

    Currently some of my favorite gospel artists to listen to are Kirk Franklin, Johnathan McReynolds, Naomi Raine, and Maverick City Music. Kirk Franklin was born in Fort Worth, Dallas, Texas in 1970. His family engaged him into the church immediately. He was enrolled in piano classes at the age of 4 and at 7 he was offered a recording contract. However, his aunt turned it down. He was appointed choir director at his church at the age of 11. In his adolescent years, he smoked pot, drank, and went to many parties. However, he returned to the church after hearing that his friend got shot when Franklin was 15 years old. He began working as a pianist and had his first child at 18 as a single parent. In 1990, Franklin organized a 17 voice choir with him and his family and he released his first album in 1993 and sold over 1 million copies. He later became a soloist in 2000 and began to thrive. He has released 13 albums, been awarded 16 Grammy's, 23 Dove Awards, 23 Stellar Awards, a Soul Train Awards, and an American Music Award. One of my favorite songs of his is "Kingdom". This song is performed by Maverick City Music and Kirk Franklin. This song received the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance/Song at the 2023 Grammy. Maverick City Music was launched in 2018. On April 17, 2020, they released their debut album called "Maverick City Vol.3 Part 1" which reached number two on Top Gospel Albums Charts. They began to become more popular and started collaborating with other popular gospel artists such as Kirk Franklin, Johnathan McReynolds, and Naomi Raine.

    Johnathan McReynolds began his career in 2012. His second album called, "Life Music: Stage Two", was nominated for a Grammy Award and was number one on Billboard Gospel for four weeks. His third album "Make Room" earned him eight Stellar Awards and two Grammy nominations. It even reached number 1 on Billboard Gospel. In 2019, he got the opportunity to co-star as a judge on season 9 of BET's Sunday Best with Kirk Franklin, Erica Campbell, and Kelly Price. 

    Another one of my favorite gospel artists is Naomi Raine. Naomi Raine is a member of Maverick City Music. She started singing at the age of four and has been songwriting since she was seven years old. Her desire is to see christians united and worshiping in power. According to Life and Story of Gospel Music, "first viral single, "Pour Me Out," gave language to young audiences desiring to live a surrendered life.""Naomi has collaborated with many artists and has found so much joy in singing for the Lord. 

    Gospel Music has changed so much more than when it first started out. Today, there are so many different styles and genres of gospel music. Though there are different genres of gospel music, they all have the same purpose, which is to help christians grow their faith and grow closer to God. Thank you for reading and I hope you all learned something!

Works Cited

    I used ChatGPT to help me create an outline for this blog.

Admin. “Life and Story of Gospel Musician Naomi Raine - GOSPELHB.” GOSPELHB, 6 June 2023, gospelhb.com/naomi-raine.

“African American Gospel  | Ritual and Worship  | Musical Styles  | Articles and Essays  | the Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America  | Digital Collections  | Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/collections/songs-of-america/articles-and-essays/musical-styles/ritual-and-worship/african-american-gospel.

Gospel Music Styles – Early Gospel Music. www.earlygospel.com/gospel-music-styles.

“History of Contemporary Gospel.” Timeline of African American Music, timeline.carnegiehall.org/genres/contemporary-gospel.

“Jonathan McReynolds Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio and More | AllMusic.” AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/artist/jonathan-mcreynolds-mn0002571020#biography.

“Naomi Raine Biography | Last.fm.” Last.fm, www.last.fm/music/Naomi+Raine/+wiki.

Nielsen, Euell A. Kirk Franklin (1970- ) &Bull; 10 Nov. 2021, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/kirk-franklin-1970.

Wikipedia contributors. “Jonathan McReynolds.” Wikipedia, 9 Aug. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_McReynolds.

---. “Kingdom (Maverick City Music and Kirk Franklin Song).” Wikipedia, 6 Feb. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_(Maverick_City_Music_and_Kirk_Franklin_song).

---. “Maverick City Music.” Wikipedia, 17 Oct. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maverick_City_Music.

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