OGMA - Gospel Music Styles
Bluegrass Gospel
Inspired by the music of Appalachia, bluegrass gospel has musicians playing tunes with simple traditional chord progressions, and using only acoustic instruments (The fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, upright bass, and often joined by the resonator guitar, also referred to as a Dobro, and a harmonica). One or more instrument takes its turn playing the melody and improvising around it, while the others perform accompaniment; this is especially typified in tunes called breakdowns. Breakdowns are often characterized by rapid tempos and unusual instrumental dexterity and sometimes by complex chord changes.
Apart from specific instrumentation, a distinguishing characteristic of bluegrass is vocal harmony featuring two, three, or four parts, often with a dissonant or modal sound in the highest voice. Commonly, the ordering and layering of vocal harmony is called the "stack" having a baritone voice at the bottom, the lead in the middle (singing the melody) and a tenor at the top. Mainstream bluegrass artists Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver have produced bluegrass some gospel music, while other groups, such as the Isaacs, play Bluegrass Gospel exclusively.
Country Gospel
This style of music is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life. Like other forms of music the creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of country gospel music varies according to culture and social context. A common theme as with most Christian music is praise, worship or thanks to God and/or Christ.
Country gospel music has been around for generations. It originated as a blend of early mountain music, cowboy music and the music from the plantations of the Deep South. Today, Country gospel music has blended with a new brand of music called Positive Christian Country music. The music tends to deal with life's problems and God's answers to those problems, and it doesn't sound like the religious music of years past. It's becoming a tool for evangelism all over the world and through it many churches have sprung up around the country with country gospel as their main musical format.
There are several country gospel music organizations and the oldest of these organizations is the International Country Gospel Music Association which was founded in 1957. Many of these organizations have yearly conventions which hosts music showcases and awards shows. One of these is the Inspirational Country Music (ICM) Music Awards.
Radio personality Bob Wilson was one of the first radio personalities to see the potential of the genre. His weekly show “Gospel Country Round-up” aired for many years playing southern and Christian country music. Johnny Cash recorded several best-selling gospel albums and always included a Christian song in his concerts. Ernest Jennings Ford, known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American country and gospel singer and radio and television host. Jeff & Sheri Easter continue to provide some solid Christian based country gospel.
Gospel Hymns
Hymns are specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer. The word hymn derives from a Greek word (hymnos), which means "a song of praise". Since the earliest times, Christians have sung "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs", both in private devotions and in corporate worship. Originally modeled on the Psalms and other poetic passages in the Scriptures, hymns are generally directed as praise to God and many refer to Jesus Christ either directly or indirectly.
Thomas Aquinas, in the introduction to his commentary on the Psalms, defined a hymn as: "A hymn is the praise of God with song; a song is the exultation of the mind dwelling on eternal things, bursting forth in the voice." A writer of hymns is known as a hymnodist, and the practice of singing hymns is called hymnody. A collection of hymns is called a hymnal. A hymn should be simple and metrical in form, genuinely emotional, poetic and literary in style, spiritual in quality enhancing unity to a congregation. Martin Luther was the author of many hymns including A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. The first Protestant hymnal was published in Bohemia in 1532 by the Unitas Fratrum.
Isaac Watts (1674–1748), whose father was an Elder of a dissenter congregation, complained at age 16, that when allowed only psalms to sing, the faithful could not even sing about their Lord, Christ Jesus. His father invited him to see what he could do about it; the result was Watts' first hymn, "Behold the glories of the Lamb". Isaac Watts has been called "the father of English hymnody.
Charles Wesley's hymns developed a new focus: expressing one's personal feelings in the relationship with God as well as the simple worship seen in older hymns. Wesley's contribution led to a new style called gospel, and a new explosion of sacred music writing with Fanny Crosby, Philip Bliss, Ira D. Sankey, and others who produced testimonial music for revivals, camp meetings, and evangelistic crusades. The tune style or form is technically designated "gospel songs" as distinct from hymns. As examples of the distinction, "Amazing Grace" is a hymn (no refrain), but "How Great Thou Art" is a gospel song. These hymns can be found in a common book known to many as simply the “Red Book.”
Some Christians have historically excluded instrumental accompaniment and adhere to an unaccompanied a cappella congregational singing of hymns.
Southern Gospel
Its name comes from its origins in the Southeastern United States whose lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life. Sometimes known as "quartet music" for its traditional "four men and a piano" set up, southern gospel has evolved over the years into a popular form of music across the United States and overseas.
Born on December 14, 1864, James D Vaughn, a few years after becoming a student of B. C. Unseld, moved to Lawrenceburg, Tennessee where he opened the James D. Vaughan Publishing Company and put together the Vaughan Quartet. Through the overwhelming desire and continuing dedication of Vaughan, a new form of gospel music began to grow. Sometime later one of his students, V. O. Stamps, formed another group called the Stamps Quartet. By 1927 the Stamps Quartet was captivating audiences everywhere with their matching suits and a new young piano player named Brock Speer. These performances soon caught the attention of a talent scout working with the Victor Talking Machine Company (RCA) and they were offered a contract to record several cuts including their theme song, “Give the World a Smile.”
In November 1949, more than four thousand crowded into a white-frame Texas gymnasium for the Interdenominational Tri-State (Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas) Singing Convention. For two straight days, they kept the rafters ringing with gospel music. Quartets and soloists from all over the South took their turns on the platform with piano or guitar accompaniment. To feed this growing appetite for gospel music, the newly formed Stamps-Baxter Music & Printing Company produced a monthly magazine entitled the Gospel Music News, printed songbooks and song editors created over five hundred new gospel songs annually.
The Stamps-Baxter Company also had four traveling quartets captivating the crowd with close harmony and syncopation resulting in the sale of songbooks and records. As the demand for southern gospel music continued to grow, many groups began to travel more extensively across the United States. Improvements to their accommodations came when J. D. Sumner helped in the design of the first custom bus to be used for quartet travel.
With the creation of the National Quartet Convention (NQC), gospel music continued to grow, even reaching beyond the boundaries of the United States. As time passed, because of the ever-changing styles of music, that portion of gospel music retaining the traditional style of gospel music was renamed and became what we know today as southern gospel music.
Traditional Black Gospel
Becoming popular in the mid-20th century, it was written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding African American Christian life, and provide a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music.
Thomas A. Dorsey (1899–1993), known for such standards as "Peace In The Valley", which was one of the first gospel recordings to sell one million copies, and his most famous "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" was written after losing his wife to childbirth and his newborn son the next day. Dorsey wrote over 1000 songs in his lifetime. He stretched the boundaries in his day to create great gospel music, choirs, and quartets. Talented vocalists went on to sing songs far beyond Dorsey's expectations. The method, dynamics and power behind the songs are different, but God's message is delivered each and every time.
The most popular groups in the 1930s were male quartets or small groups such as The Golden Gate Quartet, who sang, usually unaccompanied, in jubilee style, mixing careful harmonies, melodious singing, playful syncopation and sophisticated arrangements to produce a fresh, experimental style far removed from the more somber hymn-singing.
By the 1940s, traditional black gospel had expanded to members of all denominations prompting black gospel artists to begin tours and become full-time musicians. In this venture Sister Rosetta Tharpe became a pioneer, initially selling millions of records with her ability to drive audiences into hysteria by sliding and bending her pitch as well as accompanying herself on steel guitar. In contrast, Mahalia Jackson used her dusky contralto voice to develop her gospel ballads as well as favoring a more joyful approach to singing the gospel.
In the 1950s, Paul Arnold became a founding member and lead singer of the Dayton Gospelaires, and by the 60s, the group had achieved acclaim for its international performances. Arnold died in 2006 and in 2014 his achievements were memorialized in “Dayton's Walk of Fame” located in Dayton, Ohio.