Traditionally the songs were in a call and response form between a choir and a preacher, although solo singers and later male vocal harmony groups also became popular. Many of the songs were written by the ‘Father of Gospel’ Thomas A Dorsey. Dorsey’s achievements include opening the first Gospel publishing company, founding the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses in America, and becoming the first African/American to be elected to the Nashville Song Writers Hall of Fame. Now that gospel music has added the element entertainment not
seen prior to T.A. Dorsey's promotion, solely religious music
stations had already began to appear nationwide, but principally in
the South in the 1940s. By the 1950s radio began including gospel
music as part of its regular programming along with popular secular
music, and so four main styles or "branches" of gospel music emerged.
Each branch, although directly related, can be easily identified for
obvious reasons.
The Influence of Mahalia Jackson & Ciara Ward
Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972) had been, in the language of today's youth, "all that" in gospel long before she signed a lucrative contract with Columbia Records in the 1950s. Her star continued to rise, landing her on the "Ed Sullivan Show" and providing the opportunity for her to sing just before Dr. Martin Luther King, jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech (Interestingly enough, she sang Dorsey's "Take My Hand, Precious Lord at King's funeral in 1968). Her rich alto voice affected all those who heard it and several of today's singers either wanted to sing like her or with her.
Clara Ward (1924-1973) and the Ward Singers, on the other hand, took the opportunity, in Clara's words "to take God's words to His people wherever they were--even in night clubs." This, of course had been done by Sister Rosetta Tharpe decades earlier when she had performed with Lucky Millender and his band. Ward was one of those rare people who had both flash and substance. Opal L. Nation, in writing copy for a reissue of Ward's recording, says that Surely God is Able was "the first ever million-seller post-war gospel record." (If true, this is astounding. Only a handful of gospel recordings ever reach the status of gold, 500,000 copies sold. In 1968, Oh Happy Day by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, was the first to do so since RIAA began keeping statistics.) Ward had a direct effect on the career of gospel great Marion Williams [Williams sang with the Ward Singers] and influenced both Little Richard and Aretha Franklin, who noted Ward as her idol.
The Influence of James Cleveland
James Cleveland (1931-1991) was considered by many gospel enthusiasts to be "The King of Gospel," receiving four Grammys, the last awarded posthumously for the album Having Church. Cleveland was a charismatic singer who, to use a cliche, held the audience in the palm of his hand. This is ironic since his voice, rough and raspy, could not be considered one of great quality. Nonetheless, he mesmerized his audience and brought a standard of excellence to gospel music in general through his organization in 1968 of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, the largest gospel convention in the world. Legendary singers of the '50s and '60s included Edna Gallmon Cooke and Brother Joe May. Although not quite fitting the category of pioneers, the following contemporary singers are sure to reside in the realm of legendary divas and dons as well: Daryl Coley, Andrae Crouch and the late Thomas Whitfield.
Male vocal harmony groups also had their part to play in the Gospel revolution, the most notable of those being the Soul Stirrers. In their prime, they were well known for their emotional intensity and fresh vocal arrangements. Lead vocalist Sam Cooke also became the first Gospel singer to turn pop star. His number one single ‘You Send Me’ in 1957 saw the start of the Soul era. Progressive Quartets- While still singing in the quartet
tradition, this electrification of a capella was eventually called "progressive quartets" and are separate enough in style to form a
fourth branch. Similar in motivation to country singers, the a
capella quartets turned to electrified instruments after the war in
order to be heard by larger audiences. The addition of electric
guitar, bass, piano and drums became the standard instrumentation for
what was later called "progressive gospel". Groups like the Five
Blind Boys of Alabama, the Dixie Hummingbirds and the Soul Stirrers gained almost instant success once they switched to electrified
instrumentation. The late 1950s and early 1960s is considered the "Golden Era of Gospel" especially for the progressive quartets. For
good reason the Soul Stirrers have been inducted into the Rock n'
Roll Hall of Fame as being an essential influence on the shape of
Rock n' Roll. Many of the groups in the 50s and 60s copied the
rhythmic intensity, the chordal and harmonic style of the group. Sam
Cooke, a later member of the group later became the first black pop
star and first black man to own his own recording company. Ira
Tucker of the Dixie Hummingbirds told me in a 1993 interview that "Mick Jagger said he has over twenty of our albums."
One of the mainstays of the quartets was The Swan Silvertones led by Claude Jeter. Jeter's innovative style of using falsetto became the industry standard. Not to be outdone, The Sensational Nightingales' Rev. Julius Cheeks delved into flamboyance. He left the stage, walked the floor and "worked" the audience, keeping its spirit high. Had he been on the secular side, one suspects he would have been considered a sex symbol.Other popular groups included The Dixie Hummingbirds, The Mighty Clouds of Joy ('60s and '70s) and The Fairfield Four, the latter of which still enjoys immense popularity today as much for its members timeless sense of humor as the vocal prowess they have amazingly retained.
Though most of the gospel quartets were male, The Davis Sisters, Harmonettes and that most enduring of groups, the Caravans, provide examples of excellent, and popular, women groups. The Caravans at one time or another included such luminaries as Albertina Walker, Dorothy Norwood, Cassietta George, Bessie Griffin, Inez Andrews, Shirley Caesar and Delores Washington--a stellar line-up on anybody's program.
The Choirs
In gospel music the mass choirs and choruses replaced the quartets in terms of overall popularity. Interestingly enough, however, the most popular choir in the '90s was founded and directed by a quartet member-Franklin Williams, commonly called Frank (1947-1993). Williams was part of a family quartet (The Southern Gospel Singers, later called The Williams Brothers) before joining the Jackson Southernaires. In 1979, he joined Malaco Records as executive producer and director of gospel promotions. and he organized and was lead singer for, the Mississippi Mass Choir in 1988. The group's first recording, Mississippi Mass Choir Live, was an immediate success with Billboard and Score magazines naming it the number one spiritual album of the year. The choir is still recording and still setting sales records.
