View source for Gospel music

{{Short description|Genre of music emphasizing Christian lyrics}}
{{Redirect|Gospel (genre)|the literary genre|Gospel|the African-American musical genre|Black Gospel music}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2022}}
{{Multiple issues|{{Globalize|article|2name |date=September 2025
|2name= the [[United States]]}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Gospel music
| image             = Dartmouth Gospel Choir at the Gospel Brunch (3232282945).jpg
| image_size        = 
| caption           = The Dartmouth Gospel Choir
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Hymn#Christian hymnody|Christian hymns]]|[[spirituals]]}}
| cultural_origins  = Early 17th century, [[Scotland]]
| derivatives       = {{hlist|[[Country music|Country]]|[[rhythm and blues]]|[[soul music|soul]]|[[rock and roll]]}}
| subgenres         = [[Black gospel music|Black gospel]]
| fusiongenres      = {{hlist|[[Christian country music]]|[[gospel trap|trap gospel]]}}
| regional_scenes   = [[Southern gospel]]
| other_topics      = 
}}

'''Gospel music''' is a traditional genre of [[Christian music]] and a cornerstone of [[Christian media]], characterized by dominant vocals (often with strong harmonies), lyrics that reflect [[Christianity|Christian]] teachings and values. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, and as an entertainment product for the marketplace. Gospel music is characterized by dominant [[vocals]] and strong use of harmony with Christian lyrics. Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century.<ref name="Gospel History Timeline">{{cite web|title=Gospel History Timeline|url=http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/gmha/controller/timeline.htm |publisher=University of Southern California|access-date=January 31, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921215142/http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/gmha/controller/timeline.htm|archive-date=September 21, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Hymn]]s and sacred songs were often performed in a [[call-and-response]] fashion, heavily influenced by ancestral African music. Most of the churches relied on hand-clapping and foot-stomping as rhythmic accompaniment. Most of the singing was done ''[[a cappella]]''.<ref name="Jackson, Joyce Marie 1995">Jackson, Joyce Marie. "The changing nature of gospel music: A southern case study." ''African American Review'' 29.2 (1995): 185. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. October 5, 2010.</ref> The first published use of the term "gospel song" appeared in 1874.

The original gospel songs were written and composed by authors such as [[George Frederick Root|George F. Root]], [[Philip Bliss]], [[Charles H. Gabriel]], [[William Howard Doane]], and [[Fanny Crosby]].<ref name="Malone_520">{{harvp|Malone|1984|p=520}}</ref> Gospel music publishing houses emerged. The advent of radio in the 1920s greatly increased the audience for gospel music. Following [[World War II]], gospel music moved into major auditoriums, and gospel music concerts became quite elaborate.<ref name="Malone_523" />

[[Black Gospel music|Black]] and [[Southern gospel]] music are largely responsible for gospel's continued presence in [[contemporary Christian music]], with [[soul music]] by far the best-known [[popular music]] variant.<ref name="McGuinness 2022">{{cite web | last=McGuinness | first=Paul | title=A Change Is Gonna Come: How Gospel Gave Birth To Soul | website=uDiscover Music | date=August 26, 2022 | url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/in-depth-features/gospel-influenced-rhythm-n-blues/ | access-date=December 13, 2022}}</ref> The styles emerged from the [[African-American music]] and [[American folk music]] traditions and have evolved in various ways over the years, continuing to form the basis of [[Black church]] worship even today. It has also come to be used in churches of various other cultural traditions (especially within [[Pentecostalism]]), and by the gospel choir phenomenon spearheaded by [[Thomas A. Dorsey|Thomas Dorsey]], has become a form of musical devotion worldwide.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burnim |first=Mellonee |date=1980 |title=Gospel Music Research |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/779294 |journal=Black Music Research Journal |volume=1 |pages=63–70 |doi=10.2307/779294 |jstor=779294 |issn=0276-3605|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Southern Afroamerican gospel groups used all-male, [[tenor]]–[[lead vocal|lead]]–[[baritone]]–[[bass (voice type)|bass]] quartets. [[Sensational Nightingales]], the Soul Stirrers, Swan Silvertones, and [[the Dixie Hummingbirds]] were famous gospel groups.<ref>[https://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/gospel-ma0000002622 Gospel] allmusic Retrieved 20 November 2024</ref> [[Christian country music]], sometimes referred to as country gospel music, is a subgenre of gospel music with a country flair. Famous [[Christian country music]] performers were [[Grandpa Jones]], [[Webb Pierce]], [[Porter Wagoner]], and [[the Oak Ridge Boys]].<ref>[https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/oak-ridge-boys the Oak Ridge Boys] countrymusichalloffame.org Retrieved 30 November 2024</ref> British black gospel refers to gospel music of the [[African diaspora]] produced in the United Kingdom.

== History ==
According to Yale University music professor Willie Ruff, the singing of psalms in [[Scottish Gaelic]] by [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterians]] of the Scottish [[Hebrides]] evolved from "[[lining out]]"—where one person sang a solo and others followed—into the call and response of gospel music of the American South.<ref>{{cite news|title=From Charles Mackintosh's waterproof to Dolly the sheep: 43 innovations Scotland has given the world |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/charles-mackintosh-chemist-waterproof-google-doodle-scotland-inventions-innovation-bicycles-a7499911.html|newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=January 3, 2016}}</ref> 

=== 18th century ===
Perhaps the most famous gospel-based hymns were composed in the 1760s and 1770s by English writers [[John Newton]] ("[[Amazing Grace]]") and [[Augustus Toplady]] ("Rock of Ages"), members of the [[Anglican Church]]. Starting out as lyrics only, decades were needed for standardized tunes to be added to them. Although not directly connected with African-American gospel music, they were adopted by African Americans as well as white Americans, and Newton's connection with the [[Abolitionism|abolition]] movement provided cross-fertilization.

=== Holiness-Pentecostal era (19th century) ===
[[File:Philip Paul Bliss, 1838-1876, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left LCCN2005678063.jpg|thumb|upright|Philip Paul Bliss]]
The first published use of the term "Gospel song" probably appeared in 1874 when [[Philip Bliss]] released a songbook entitled ''Gospel Songs. A Choice Collection of Hymns and Tunes''. It was used to describe a new style of church music, songs that were easy to grasp and more easily singable than the traditional church [[hymns]], which came out of the mass revival movement starting with [[Dwight L. Moody]], whose musician was [[Ira D. Sankey]], as well as the [[Holiness movement|Holiness]]–[[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]] movement.<ref name="Malone_520"/> Prior to the meeting of Moody and Sankey in 1870, there was an American rural/frontier history of [[Revival meeting|revival]] and [[camp meeting]] songs, but the gospel hymn was of a different character, and it served the needs of mass revivals in the great cities.<ref>{{harvp|Christ-Janer|Hughes|Smith|1980|p=364}}</ref>

The revival movement employed popular singers and song leaders, the most famous of them being Ira D. Sankey. The original "gospel" songs were written and composed by authors such as [[George Frederick Root|George F. Root]], [[Philip Bliss]], [[Charles H. Gabriel]], [[William Howard Doane]], and [[Fanny Crosby]].<ref name="Malone_520"/> As an extension to his initial publication ''Gospel Songs'', Philip Bliss, in collaboration with Ira D. Sankey issued no's. 1 to 6 of ''Gospel Hymns'' in 1875.<ref>Benson, Louis F. ''The English Hymn: Its Development and Use in Worship.'' New York: George H. Doran Co., 1915, p. 486. Several sources cite the Bliss and Sankey 1875 publication as the first to use the word "gospel" in this sense. For example, {{harvp|Malone|1984|p=520}}.</ref> Sankey and Bliss's collection can be found in many libraries today.

The popularity of revival singers and the openness of rural churches to this type of music (in spite of its initial use in city revivals) led to the late 19th and early 20th century establishment of gospel music publishing houses such as those of [[Homer Rodeheaver]], [[E. O. Excell]], [[Charles Davis Tillman|Charlie Tillman]], and [[Charles Albert Tindley|Charles Tindley]]. These publishers were in the market for large quantities of new music, providing an outlet for the creative work of many songwriters and composers.<ref>Hall, Jacob Henry. ''Biography of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers''. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1914, provides contemporary information about songwriters, composers and publishers.</ref>

The advent of radio in the 1920s greatly increased the audience for gospel music, and [[James David Vaughan|James D. Vaughan]] used radio as an integral part of his business model, which also included traveling quartets to publicize the gospel music books he published several times a year.<ref>See also [[Charles Davis Tillman]].</ref> [[Virgil Oliver Stamps|Virgil O. Stamps]] and [[J. R. Baxter|Jesse R. Baxter]] studied Vaughan's business model and by the late 1920s were running heavy competition for Vaughan.<ref name="Malone_521">{{harvp|Malone|1984|p=521}}</ref> The 1920s also saw the marketing of gospel records by groups such as the [[Carter Family]].

=== Emergence of Black gospel (1920s–1970s) ===
{{Main|Black Gospel music}}
[[File:MahaliaJackson.jpg|thumb|right|[[Mahalia Jackson]] has been called the "Queen of Gospel".]]
The Pentecostal movement quickly made inroads with churches not attuned to the Europeanized Black church music that had become popular over the years since Emancipation. These congregations readily adopted and contributed to the gospel music publications of the early 20th century. [[Sister Rosetta Tharpe]], pioneer of [[rock and roll]], soon emerged from this tradition as the first great gospel recording artist.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/black-culture/shows/list/rock-and-roll-rosetta-tharpe/|title=Godmother of Rock and Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe|website=[[PBS]]|access-date=August 8, 2015|archive-date=February 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208060554/https://www.pbs.org/black-culture/shows/list/rock-and-roll-rosetta-tharpe/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The first person to introduce ragtime to gospel (and the first to play piano on a gospel recording) was [[Arizona Dranes]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/COGIC-Women-in-Gospel-Music.html|title=COGIC Women in Gospel Music on Patheos |date=June 10, 2009 |access-date=February 2, 2010 |website=Patheos.com}}</ref>

The 1930s saw the rise of Black gospel quartets such as the [[Five Blind Boys of Mississippi]] and the [[Five Blind Boys of Alabama]].<ref>{{harvp|Malone|1984|p=522}}</ref> In addition to these high-profile quartets, there were many Black gospel musicians performing in the 1920s and 30s, usually playing the guitar and singing in the streets of Southern cities.

In the 1930s, in Chicago, [[Thomas A. Dorsey]] turned to gospel music, establishing a publishing house.<ref name="Malone_523">{{harvp|Malone|1984|p=523}}</ref> It has been said that 1930 was the year traditional black gospel music began, as the National Baptist Convention first publicly endorsed the music at its 1930 meeting.<ref>{{harvp|Southern|1997|p=484}}</ref> Dorsey was responsible for developing the musical careers of many African-American artists, such as Mahalia Jackson (best known for her rendition of his "[[Take My Hand, Precious Lord|Precious Lord, Take My Hand]]").<ref name="Malone_523" />

Meanwhile, radio continued to develop an audience for gospel music, a fact that was commemorated in [[Albert E. Brumley]]'s 1937 song, "Turn Your Radio On" (which is still being published in gospel song books). (In 1972, a recording of "[[Turn Your Radio On (album)#Charts|Turn Your Radio On]]" by the Lewis Family was nominated for [[Dove Awards of 1972#Award recipients|Gospel Song of the Year]].)<ref>"The Gospel Music Association's Dove Awards Nominations for the Gospel Song of 1972", [[Canaan Records]] (Waco, Texas) CAS-9732-LP Stereo.</ref> The Soul Stirrers introduced R.H. Harris, Sam Cooke, and Johnnie Taylor. [[Sensational Nightingales]], Swan Silvertones, the Soul Stirrers, The Blind Boys of Alabama,<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/after-75-years-of-touring-the-blind-boys-of-alabama-are-still-reaping-blessings/2017/03/15/76e2eba2-0809-11e7-a15f-a58d4a988474_story.html  After 75 years of touring, the Blind Boys of Alabama are still reaping blessings]  The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 November 2024</ref> Five Blind Boys of Mississippi and [[the Dixie Hummingbirds]] were popular in afroamerican gospel fans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=RIP Barney Parks of Dixie Hummingbirds and Sensational Nightingales |url=https://journalofgospelmusic.com/gospel/rip-barney-parks-of-dixie-hummingbirds-and-sensational-nightingales/ | access-date=2025-01-20 |website=Journal of Gospel Music|date=March 4, 2007 }}</ref>

In 1964, the [[Gospel Music Association]] was established, which in turn began the [[GMA Dove Award|Dove Awards]] (in 1969) and the [[Gospel Music Hall of Fame]] (in 1972). Both of the latter two groups began primarily for Southern gospel performers, but in the late 1970s, began including artists of other subgenres, which brought in many Black artists.<ref>{{harvp|Malone|1984|p=524}}</ref> Deep gospel Artists such as [[James Cleveland]] and [[Aretha Franklin]] performed traditional gospel style.<ref>[https://www.berklee.edu/news/berklee-now/join-chorus-selection-gospel-music Join chorus selection gospel] 
 berklee.edu Retrieved 20 December 2024</ref> In 1969, [[James Cleveland]] established the [[Gospel Music Workshop of America]], a Black gospel outlet.

Late 20th-century musicians such as [[Elvis Presley]], [[Jerry Lee Lewis]], and the [[The Blackwood Brothers|Blackwood Brothers]] were also known for their gospel influences and recordings.<ref name="Malone_521" />

=== Contemporary Black gospel and gospel rap (1970s–present) ===
{{Main|Urban contemporary gospel}}
[[Urban contemporary gospel]] emerged in the late 1960s and early 70s with the [[Edwin Hawkins]] Singers highly popular gospel song "[[Oh Happy Day]]" (1969) which is still performed worldwide in the 2000s. Pop gospel musician [[Andraé Crouch]] and the Clark Sisters followed them. And this pattern would repeat itself in subsequent decades, with new artists like [[Yolanda Adams]] and [[Kirk Franklin]] making increasingly more bold forays into the secular world with their musical stylings. The current sphere of Black gospel recording artists is almost exclusively of the urban contemporary bent.

Also of note is the rise of [[Christian hip hop|Christian (or gospel) rap/hip-hop]], which has gained increasing popularity since the days of the [[Gospel Gangstaz]] and [[The Cross Movement]]. Often considered a subgenre of urban contemporary gospel, Christian rap has become dominated in present times by artists from [[Reach Records]], who have seen perhaps the most commercial success of any artists in the gospel genre; [[Lecrae]] (the label's founder and preeminent artist) has charted in the top 10 of on the [[Billboard 200]] three times, with his 2014 album [[Anomaly (Lecrae album)|"Anomaly"]] debuting at No. 1.

== Subgenres ==
{{Gospel music articles}}

=== Black gospel ===
==== Traditional ====
{{Main|Traditional black gospel}}
[[Traditional black gospel|Traditional Black gospel]] music is the most well-known form, often seen in Black churches, non-Black Pentecostal and [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] churches, and in entertainment spaces across the country and world. It originates from the [[Southeastern United States]] ("the South"), where most Black Americans lived prior to the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]]. This music was highly influenced by the hymnody of the spirituals and of Watts and, later, the musical style and vision of Dorsey. Whereas northern Black churches did not at first welcome Dorsey's music (having become accustomed to their own more Eurocentric flavorings), after the Southern migrants' new churches became more popular, so did gospel music, gospel choirs, and the general trend toward exclusive use of this music in Black churches. Dorsey, Whitney Houston, [[Mahalia Jackson]], the [[Mississippi Mass Choir]], and the [[Georgia Mass Choir]] are but a few notable examples.

==== Urban contemporary ====
{{Main|Urban contemporary gospel}}
Developing out of the fusion of traditional Black gospel with the styles of [[Urban contemporary|secular Black music]] popular in the 70s and 80s, [[Urban contemporary gospel|Urban Contemporary gospel]] is the most common form of recorded gospel music today. It relies heavily on rhythms and instrumentation common in the secular music of the contemporary era (often including the use of electronic beats), while still incorporating the themes and heritage of the traditional Black gospel genre. 

==== British ====
British black gospel refers to gospel music of the [[African diaspora]] in the UK. It is also often referred to as "UK gospel".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/music/gospel_1.shtml |title=Gospel music |publisher=BBC |date=July 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830005344/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/religion/religions/christianity/music/gospel_1.shtml |archive-date=Aug 30, 2012 }}</ref> The distinctive sound is heavily influenced by UK street culture with many artists from the African and Caribbean majority black churches in the UK.<ref>{{cite book |title=British Black Gospel: Foundations of this vibrant UK sound |first=Steve Alexander|last=Smith |isbn=9781854248961 |publisher=Monarch Books |year=2009}}</ref> The genre has gained recognition in various awards such as the GEM (Gospel Entertainment Music) Awards,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.christiantoday.com/article/freddie.kofi.wins.best.male.at.gem.awards/4441.htm |title=Freddie Kofi Wins Best Male at GEM Awards |work=Christian Today |date=November 4, 2005 |first=Maria|last=Mackay}}</ref> [[MOBO Awards]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8076949/Mobo-Awards-2010-The-Winners.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8076949/Mobo-Awards-2010-The-Winners.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Mobo Awards 2010: The Winners |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=October 20, 2010 |author=N.A.}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/gospels-lurine-cato-triumphant-mobos |title=Gospel's Lurine Cato is triumphant at the MOBOs |publisher=The Voice Online |date=October 21, 2013}}</ref> [[Urban Music Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.urbanmusicawards.net|title=Urban Music Awards|website=Urbanmusicawards.net}}</ref> and has its own [[Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.recordoftheday.com/news-and-press/uk-s-first-official-christian-gospel-albums-chart-to-launch-next-week |title=UKs first Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart to launch next week |website=Recordoftheday.com |date=March 14, 2013}}</ref>

=== Southern gospel music ===
{{Main|Southern gospel}}
[[Southern gospel]] music comes from the Southeastern United States and is similar in sound to Christian country music, but it sometimes known as "quartet music" for its traditional "four men and a piano" set up. The genre, while remaining predominantly White, began to integrate Black gospel stylings in the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Goff|first=James R.|date=1998|title=The Rise of Southern Gospel Music|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3169850|journal=[[Church History (journal)|Church History]]|volume=67|issue=4|pages=722–744|doi=10.2307/3169850|jstor=3169850 |s2cid=162017997 |issn=0009-6407|url-access=subscription}}</ref> It has evolved over the years into a popular form of music across the United States and overseas, especially among [[baby boomers]] and those living in the South. Like other forms of music the creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of southern gospel varies according to culture and social context. 

=== Christian country music ===
{{Main|Christian country music}}
[[Christian country music]], sometimes referred to as country gospel music, is a subgenre of gospel music with a country flair, is also known as inspirational country. Webb Pierce, [[the Oak Ridge Boys]] and Granpa Jones recorded Christian country music records. Christian country over the years has progressed into a mainstream country sound with inspirational or positive country lyrics. In the mid-1990s, Christian country hit its highest popularity. This popularity was such that mainstream artists like [[Larry Gatlin]], [[Charlie Daniels]] and [[Barbara Mandrell]], just to name a few, began recording music that had this positive Christian country flair. These mainstream artists have now become award winners in this genre.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Larry Gatlin nominated for Christian Country Album of the Year|url=http://www.tollbooth.org/new/news/99list.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104100459/http://www.tollbooth.org/new/news/99list.html|archive-date=November 4, 2009|access-date=September 11, 2008|website=Tollbooth.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Barbara Mandrell inducted into the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame|url=http://www.countrygospelmusic.com/platinumheart.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225093800/http://www.countrygospelmusic.com/platinumheart.htm|archive-date=February 25, 2015}}</ref>

== Comparison to other hymnody ==
Some proponents of "standard" hymns generally dislike gospel music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, believing that it emphasizes emotion over doctrine. For example, Patrick and Sydnor complain that commercial success led to a proliferation of such music, and "deterioration, even in a standard which to begin with was not high, resulted."<ref>{{harvp|Patrick|1962|p=171}}</ref> They went on to say, "there is no doubt that a deterioration in taste follows the use of this type of hymn and tune; it fosters an attachment to the trivial and sensational which dulls and often destroys sense of the dignity and beauty which best befit the song that is used in the service of God."<ref>{{harvp|Patrick|1962|p=172}}</ref>

Gold reviewed the issue in 1958, and collected a number of quotations similar to the complaints of Patrick and Sydnor. However, he also provided this quotation: "Gospel hymnody has the distinction of being America's most typical contribution to Christian song. As such, it is valid in its inspiration and in its employment."<ref>Stevenson, Robert. ''Religion in Life'', Winter, 1950–51{{page needed|date=January 2018}}</ref><ref name="Gold_70">Gold, Charles E. "The Gospel Song: Contemporary Opinion", ''[[The Hymn (journal)|The Hymn]]''. v. 9, no. 3 (July 1958), p. 70.</ref>

Today, with historical distance, there is a greater acceptance of such gospel songs into official denominational hymnals. For example, the [[United Methodist Church]] made this acceptance explicit in ''The Faith We Sing'', a 2000 supplement to the official denominational hymnal. In the preface, the editors say, "Experience has shown that some older treasures were missed when the current hymnals were compiled."<ref>Hickman, Hoyt L., ed. "Introduction", ''The Faith We Sing'' (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 2000).{{page needed|date=January 2018}}</ref>

== See also ==
<!--Please do not add external web site links to this listing without first adding them to this article's talk page for discussion-->
* [[Computational musicology]]
* [[Gospel Music Hall of Fame]]
* [[Electronic dance music]]
* [[List of gospel musicians]]
* [[Phillip Paul Bliss House]]
* [[Soul music]]
* [[Rock music]]
* [[Stellar Awards]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
*{{cite book |last1=Christ-Janer |first1=Albert |first2=Charles W. |last2=Hughes |first3=Carleton Sprague |last3=Smith |year=1980 |title=American Hymns Old and New |location=New York|publisher=Columbia University Press }}
*{{cite book |last=Malone |first=Bill C. |year=1984 |chapter=Music, Religious, of the Protestant South |editor=Samuel S. Hill |title=Encyclopedia of Religion in the South |publisher=Mercer University Press }}
*{{cite book |last=Patrick |first=Millar |others=Revised by James Rawlings Sydnor |year=1962 |title=The Story of the Church's Song |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofchurchs00patr |url-access=registration |location=Richmond, Virginia |publisher=John Knox Press }}
*{{cite book |last=Southern |first=Eileen |year=1997 |title=The Music of Black Americans: a History |edition=3rd |location=New York |publisher=W.&nbsp;W. Norton }}

== Further reading ==
{{Listen|type=music|header=Selection of gospel music collected by the Library of Congress in 1943
|filename=The Golden Jubilee Quartet - Oh Jonah.ogg
|title=Oh Jonah!
|description=Sung by the Golden Jubilee Quartet
|filename2=Cochran Field Singers - My Lord Is Writin'.ogg
|title2=My Lord Is Writin'
|description2=Sung by the Cochran Field Singers
|filename3=Middle Georgia Singers - Death is an Awful Thing.ogg
|title3=Death is an Awful Thing
|description3=Sung by the Middle Georgia Singers
|filename4=Bertha Houston - We are Americans, Praise the Lord.ogg
|title4=We are Americans, Praise the Lord
|description4=Sung by Bertha Houston and her congregation (with a few topical verses on [[World War II]])
|filename5=The Four Brothers - Death Come a-Knockin'.ogg
|title5=Death Come a-Knockin'
|description5=Sung by The Four Brothers
|filename6=The Spiritual Four Quartet - John the Revelator.ogg
|title6=John the Revelator
|description6=Sung by the Spiritual Four Quartet: Edward Bond, Cleve Parker, James Bond, and Elwood Gaines
}}
* Allen, Ray. ''Singing in the Spirit: African-American Sacred Quartets in New York City'', in series, ''Publication[s] of the American Folklore Society: New Series''. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991. xx,[2], 268 p., ill. with b&w photos. {{ISBN|0-8122-1331-9}} pbk.
* Barlow, Sanna Morrison. ''Mountain Singing: the Story of Gospel Recordings in the Philippines''. Hong Kong: Alliance Press, 1952. 352 p.
* Blackwell, Lois. ''The Wings of a Dove: The Story of Gospel Music in America.'' Norfolk: Donning, 1978.{{ISBN?}}
* Boyer, Horace Clarence. ''How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel''. Elliott and Clark, 1995. {{ISBN|0-252-06877-7}}.
* [[Viv Broughton|Broughton, Viv]]. ''Too Close to Heaven: The Illustrated History of Gospel Music''. Midnight Books, 1996. {{ISBN|1-900516-00-4}}.
* Albert E Brumley & Sons. ''The Best of Albert E. Brumley''. Gospel Songs, 1966, paperback Amazing Grace {{ISBN?}}
* Cleall, Charles. ''Sixty Songs From Sankey''. London: Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1960.
* {{cite book|last=Collins|first=Irma H.|year=2013|title=Dictionary of Music Education|location=Maryland|publisher=Scarecrow Press|ref=none}}
* Cusic, Don. ''The Sound of Light: a History of Gospel Music''. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1990. iv, 267 p.&nbsp;{{isbn|0879724986}} pbk.
* Darden, Robert. ''People Get Ready: A New History of Black Gospel Music''. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005, {{ISBN|0-8264-1752-3}}.
* Downey, James C. ''The Gospel Hymn 1875–1930''. University of Southern Mississippi, MA,{{clarify|date=March 2021|reason=MA? Thesis?}} 1963.
* Eskew, Harry. "Gospel Music, I" in ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'' (1980), VII, 549–554.
* Hanson, Kenneth, ''The Hymnody and Hymnals of the Restoration Movement''. Butler University, BD,{{clarify|date=March 2021|reason=BD? Bachelor of Divinity?}} 1951.
* [[Anthony Heilbut|Heilbut, Tony]], ''The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times'', Limelight Editions, 1997, {{ISBN|0-87910-034-6}}.
* McNeil, W. K., ed. ''Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music.'' Routledge, 2005. {{ISBN|0-415-94179-2}}.
* Marovich, Robert M., ''A City Called Heaven: Chicago and the Birth of Gospel Music.'' Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2015. {{ISBN|978-0252080692}}.
* Mungons, Kevin and Douglas Yeo, ''Homer Rodeheaver and the Rise of the Gospel Music Industry.'' Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2021. {{ISBN|978-0252085833}}.
* Stevenson, Arthur L. ''The Story of Southern Hymnology.'' Roanoke, Virginia: Stone Printing and Manufacturing, 1931.
* [[Jerry Zolten|Zolten, Jerry]]. ''Great God A' Mighty!: The Dixie Hummingbirds – Celebrating The Rise of Soul Gospel Music.'' Oxford University Press, 2003. {{ISBN|0-19-515272-7}}.

===Archival sources===
* [http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15799coll9 USC Gospel Music History Archive]
* [https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/ead/nnc-rb/ldpd_9033142 Finding aid to Camille Taylor collection of Black Music Caucus Gospel Choir Competition recordings at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.]
* [https://digitalcommons.colum.edu/cmbr_guides/20/ Guide to the Gospel Sheet Music Collection], Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College Chicago

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Gospel music}}
{{External links|section|date=July 2019}}
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=== Professional organizations ===
* [http://www.gospelmusic.org/ Gospel Music Association] – Acknowledges all forms of gospel/Christian music
* [http://www.gospelviu.net/ Gospel Viu – Gospel Without Borders]
* [http://www.gospelwire.com/ Gospel Wire] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725200229/http://gospelwire.com/ |date=July 25, 2021 }} – Primarily urban contemporary gospel
* [http://pacificgospel.com/ Pacific Gospel Music Association] – Known for Southern gospel
* [http://www.sgma.org/ Southern Gospel Music Association]
* [http://www.fln.sk Festival Lumen – the biggest gospel music festival in central Europe]

=== Media outlets ===
* [http://www.cbn.com/ Christian Broadcasting Network]
* [http://www.daystar.com/ Daystar Television Network]
* [http://www.gospelmusicchannel.com/ Gospel Music Channel]
* [http://www.insp.com/ The Inspirational Network]
* [http://www.tbn.org/ Trinity Broadcasting Network]
* [https://gospelradio.me/ Gospel Radio Stations]

{{Christian music articles}}

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[[Category:Gospel music| ]]
[[Category:African-American music]]
[[Category:Christian music genres]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:African-American cultural history]]