A Timeline of the History of Black Gospel Music
Contents
Join us as we take a look at the rich history of black gospel music, from its earliest roots to the present day.
Origins of Black Gospel Music
Black gospel music is a genre of music that was created by African Americans. The first type of black gospel music was called shout music. Shout music was created by slaves who would sing and shout while they were working. This type of music was designed to make work more enjoyable and to praise God.
The influence of the blues
The blues became a major influence on black gospel music, both in style and in lyrics. Spirituals began to sound more and more like the blues, with their fixed forms, repetition, call-and-response patterns, and use of blue notes. At the same time, the blues began to be used as a vehicle for social protest, with artists such as Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey singing about the struggles of African Americans in the early 1900s.
The earliest known recording of gospel music was made by Fisk University’s Jubilee Singers in 1871. The Jubilee Singers were a group of former slaves who had been educated at the university after the American Civil War. They toured the country, performing Negro spirituals for white audiences.
By the early twentieth century, there were a number of black gospel groups touring the country. These groups typically consisted of four or five singers who performed without instruments. The music was upbeat and often included clapping and stomping as part of the performance.
One of the most popular groups of this era was The Heavenly Gospel Singers, who were formed in Newark, New Jersey in 1932. The group toured extensively throughout the 1930s and 1940s, and their recordings were some of the first to bring black gospel music to a wider audience.
Another influential group from this period was The Soul Stirrers, who were started in Houston, Texas in 1926. The group’s lead singer, Sam Cooke, went on to have a hugely successful career as a pop singer in the 1950s before his untimely death in 1964.
The influence of spirituals
The influence of spirituals on black gospel music is undeniable. Spirituals were originally created by slaves in the United States who combined work songs with elements of Christianity. These songs were often created to express the hardships that slaves faced on a daily basis. Over time, spirituals became more refined and were eventually adapted into the black gospel genre.
The Golden Age of Gospel
The Golden Age of Gospel music was a time when the genre was just beginning to take shape. The 1940s and 1950s saw the rise of gospel quartets, who would harmonize together and sing spirituals and hymns. This was also a time when gospel music began to be recorded, and some of the first gospel albums were released. This era saw the birth of some of the most iconic gospel songs, such as “Amazing Grace” and “Oh Happy Day.”
Mahalia Jackson
Mahalia Jackson was a black gospel singer. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 26, 1911. Jackson began her singing career in the church choir at the age of six. In 1928, she moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she became a soloist with the choir at the Olivet Baptist Church. Jackson’s powerful voice and emotional style of singing made her one of the most popular gospel singers of her time. She recorded more than two dozen albums and toured the United States and Europe. Jackson died of a heart attack on January 27, 1972, in Chicago, Illinois.
The Swan Silvertones
The Swan Silvertones were one of the most popular and influential Gospel groups of the 1940s and 1950s. Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, the group was originally known as The Pinnacle Boys before changing their name in 1940. The Swan Silvertones were one of the first Gospel groups to use electric guitars and drums, and their music helped to shape the sound of Black Gospel for years to come.
The Swan Silvertones were founded by C.L. Franklin (father ofAretha Franklin) and singer/guitarist Willie Johnson. The group’s lineup changed frequently over the years, but some of their most notable members included lead singer Sonny Tee Hebert, baritone Otis Williams, and tenor Claude Jeter (who would go on to join The Inner Circle Quartet). The Swan Silvertones recorded for a number of different labels during their career, including Vee-Jay,Specialty, Gotham, checker, Mercury, and Peacock. They enjoyed their greatest success in the 1950s with a series of hit records that included “Burden Bearer” (1955), “Oh Mary Don’t You Weep” (1956), and “I’m So Glad Jesus Lifted Me” (1957).
The Swan Silvertones’ influence can be heard in the work of later Gospel groups like The Fairfield Four andThe Soul Stirrers, as well as in the secular music of R&B and Rock & Roll artists like Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis (both of whom covered Swan Silvertones songs). The group was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999.
The Fairfield Four
The Fairfield Four is an American gospel quartet founded in 1921 by James Denson and Walter Saunders in Fairfield, Alabama. The group’s repertoire includes both traditional hymns and spirituals, as well as more contemporary gospel songs. They have been honored with multiple Grammy Awards and have been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
The Fairfield Four rose to prominence in the 1940s and 1950s, when they were one of the most popular gospel groups in America. They toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe, performing at churches, concerts, and festivals. In addition to their live performances, they also recorded a number of albums that were popular with both gospel fans and secular audiences.
The Fairfield Four’s lineup has changed over the years, but the group has continued to perform and record into the 21st century. They remain one of the most respected and beloved gospel groups of all time.
The Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement of the late 1950s and early 1960s was a time when African Americans were fighting for their rights. This was also a time when black gospel music was at its peak. Gospel music is a genre of music that is based on the Bible and is typically sung by Christians.
Freedom Songs
The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s gave birth to a new style of music, called “freedom songs.” These songs were created to inspire and empower African Americans as they fought for equality and civil rights.
Freedom songs often had simple, repetitive melodies that were easy to sing, and they often included call-and-response singing. This style of singing allowed people who were not trained singers to join in and participate.
Freedom songs were an important part of the civil rights movement because they helped people feel connected to each other and to the larger struggle. They also showed the world that African Americans were united in their quest for equality.
Some well-known freedom songs from the civil rights era include “We Shall Overcome,” “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize,” and “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around.”
The Staple Singers
The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul and R&B group who recorded and performed from the late 1940s to the early 1980s. The group was founded by Roebuck “Pops” Staples on Chicago’s West Side in 1948. They first recorded together in 1950 for United Records. Despite their relatively humble beginnings, they went on to achieve mainstream success with a string of hits during the 1960s and 1970s, including “This Old Town (Pops Staples)”, “For What It’s Worth (Stephen Stills)”, “Respect Yourself”, and “I’ll Take You There”. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.
The Staple Singers were rooted in gospel music but crossed into the pop charts with hits like “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There.”
The Contemporary Era
In the Contemporary Era of black gospel music, we see a shift in the sound and the message. Gospel music is now being made by artists all over the world, and the message is becoming more global. Contemporary black gospel music is still rooted in the tradition of call and response, but the sound is more modern.
Kirk Franklin
Kirk Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American gospel musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God’s Property and One Nation Crew (1NC), and has won multiple awards, including twelve Grammy Awards. Kirk Franklin was born in Riverside, Texas to Gertrude and George Franklin. He was born into a religious family with both of his parents being ministers. As a young boy he played the piano and drums in the church his father pastored. Kirk Franklin’s mother died when he was only eleven years old which caused him to become withdrawn. As a teenager he started stealing cars as a form of rebellion but after being arrested and placed on probation in 1986 he decided that he needed to make better choices with his life.
In 1992, Kirk Franklin met with music executive Jerry Wexler who helped him sign a record deal with B-Rite Music. B-Rite Music released Kirk Franklin’s debut album Kirk Franklin & the Family on September 13, 1993 which charted on Billboard magazine’s Gospel Albums chart at number one and debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number seventy-two becoming the first gospel music album by a black artist to do so.[1] On November 2, 1993 the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling five hundred thousand copies in the United States.[2][3]
The second single “Tomorrow” from Kirk Franklin & the Family was released on February 28, 1994 and reached number eighty-four on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart[4] and number thirty-seven on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart.[5] In 1995, Kirk Franklin collaborated with Mississippi Mass Choir on ” Strongholds”, which peaked at number seventeen on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart.[6]
Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, record producer, actress, and radio host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. As of September 2009, she had sold 4.5 million albums since 1991 in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. On December 11, 2009, Billboard magazine named her the No. 1 Adult Gospel Artist of the decade and the top selling artist of Contemporary Gospel music for the past decade. In 1998, Adams was featured on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and sang “The Battle Is The Lord’s”, a song from her then-latest album He Leadeth Me which went on to win a Grammy Award in 2000. She was one of the first gospel artists to cross over into secular markets with crossover success on pop and R&B charts.
Adams began singing background vocals for Wizard Productions when she was in either seventh or ninth grade; by age 16, she had sung on numerousalbums with such artists as Michael Zager Band and Barbara Streisand. In 1977 as a teenager she joined The Southeast Inspirational Choir (directed by James Cleveland) under the direction of DebraGeorge Hurd at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston Texas.[citation needed] Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie offered her a full tuition scholarship to study music.[citation needed] Adams accepted the offer and enrolled at Southwestern Assemblies of God University.
After graduating from University, she moved to New York City in 1982 wherelabel executives told her that gospel artists didn’t sell records; they encouraged her to focus on singing secular music instead. In 1986 she was signed by Sound of Love International/Cloverland Records (an upstart label run by Tommy Boyce) and released her first album Just As I Am which reached Platinum status.[citation needed] Her follow-up LP Through The Storm reached Gold status,[citation needed]and The Power Of Love achieved double Platinum status.[citation needed] In 1993 Adams released Save The World which went Gold[citation needed]and yielding three hit singles: “Give It Up”, “Love Build Us Up” (a duet with BeBe Winans),”And I Didn’t Know”. These songs spent 26 weeks collectively at number one on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart and topped radio airplay across the country.[citation needed]Her fourth album Mountain High…Valley Low debuted at number one on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart[citation needed]and garnered two Grammy nominations including Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.[1]Throughout her careerAdams has sold more than eight million records worldwide.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
In 2005 after a 6-year hiatus from recording new material,[10]Adams released Day by Day which included musical contributions from Kirk Franklin, Gerald Levert, Kelly Price, John P. Kee and many others. The album debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Gospel charts[11](a position it held for 8 consecutive weeks), making it her fifth album to do so – an unprecedented accomplishment in contemporary gospel music.[12][13]”Be Blessed”, co-written by Benny Latimore is still receiving heavy rotation nearly 5 years after its release,[14]while other standouts such as “Believe” featuring Gerald Levert,”Still I Rise”, “This Too Shall Pass” featuring George Duke have become fan favorites.[15][16][/expand-heading]
Donnie McClurkin
Donnie McClurkin is an American gospel singer and musician. He started his career in the late 1970s as a member of the New York Gospel Choir. He has gone on to have a successful solo career, winning three Grammy Awards and eight Stellar Awards.
