ipl-logo

Gospel Music Essay

596 Words3 Pages

An African American religious experience has always been shown and experienced through in the United States specifically, is called Gospel Music. A deep-rooted African American tradition formed by generations of African slaves. Gospel music was virtually ignored by white Christians and it was not until the twentieth century that denominational churches included gospel as a form of music. The church audience is a unique audience in which American gospel became performance based and was isolated from the American mainstream entertainment. They were songs that should change lives and become part of the entire Christian experience. A form of black gospel music derived from church services and from spirituals sung as a way of life. Origins from …show more content…

Dorsey. Thomas A. Dorsey, first hand created gospel music. He has written over 400 compositions in his lifetime while recording his most known hymn “Take my hand, precious Lord”. He mixed his secular genre of blues and jazz music with incorporated with the sacred text of the bible. However, he did not have an immediate impact with the church, especially ones that are predominately white. Dorsey was continuously rejected by numerous of mainstream churches after his recovery. Later on, he teamed up with fellow gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. To add on, Mahalia Jackson called the “queen of gospel music” with Thomas A. Dorsey combined to form the golden age of gospel music. Mahalia Jackson was born on October 26, 1911, in New Orleans. Mahalia Jackson is viewed by many as the “Queen” of gospel music. Her singing began at the age of four in her church, the Plymouth Rock Baptist Church in New Orleans. Her early style blended the freedom and power of gospel with the stricter style of the Baptist Church. To get more exposure she moved to Chicago at the age 16 and immediately got a lot of work as a soloist at churches and funerals. As she got older she became friends with Thomas A. Dorsey and became becoming more popular. Throughout the 1950’s she becoming heard on radio stations and music halls all across America. These two artists became very influential towards the later generation not to just African

Show More
Related
720 Words | 3 Pages

African Americans that were licensed or ordained had to give up preaching. If an African American continued preaching they could be charged with no more than thirty-nine lashes. Another law stated that if slaves had a meeting without their owners permission could also be charged with a maximum of thirty-nine lashings. A continuation of one of the previous laws stated that making gospel music was illegal. A final law that went in African Americans favor made it so a free African American couldn’t become a permanent slaves

Read More
466 Words | 2 Pages

“It’s a long old road, but I know I,m gonna find the end,” that is one of Bessie Smith famous quotes. Bessie Smith is an American blues singer and is also known for “Empress of the Blues”. Bessie Smith was born April 15, 1894 and died on September 26, 1937. First I’m going to talk about her whole life. Then I’m going to talk about her career and what songs she did.

Read More
948 Words | 4 Pages

These variations created the diversity that sums up the “black church” as there isn’t a single way the slaves worshipped the Lord as break offs of White Christianity were

Read More
1932 Words | 8 Pages

The History of Pioneer Black Musicians Music Influence on that of Michael Jackson Michael Jackson was a great singer in his time and one of Americas’ prolific singers to ever grace the music scene. From the time he graced the music scene, he would go on to become a great singer that inspired other great singers during his period and in the future generation. Music has got a unique element that is so unifying and touching depending on the type of music one could be listening. In the history of the United States, black musicians from way back in the early days of singers such as James Brown, Prince, and Smokey Robinson have had an influence on the music culture. There are many genres today that can be traced from black musicians who popularized

Read More
775 Words | 4 Pages

The black church was the biggest rise for southern black community and African American education. This lead to the organization of black communities for Civil Rights. The rise of black churches consisted of the earliest churches, the role of black churches in educating African Americans in the south after the Civil War, and the role that black churches played in organizing the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. During decades of slavery in the United States, slave groups were a major concern from slave owners. Many members of the white society thought that black religious meetings were

Read More
687 Words | 3 Pages

First, the early years and middle years of Bessie Coleman. “Born on January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas Bessie Coleman live the life of a true adventurer.” (“Fly, Bessie, Fly Author’s Note”). When Bessie was 9 she was in Waxahachie, Texas and Bessie was singing and pretending to be a bird flying in the cotton fields.

Read More
582 Words | 3 Pages

But, there are other trends that are being practiced among the African American church that effects the political

Read More
497 Words | 2 Pages

The collection of documents brought together in this project begins to tell the story of the growth of Protestant religion among African Americans during the nineteenth century, and of the birth of what came to be known as the "Black Church" in the United States. This development continues to have enormous political, spiritual, and economic consequences. But perhaps what is most apparent in these texts is the diversity of ways in which that religious tradition was envisioned, experienced, and implemented. From the white Baptist and Methodist missionaries sent to convert enslaved Africans, to the earliest pioneers of the independent black denominations, to black missionaries in Africa, to the eloquent rhetoric of W.E.B. DuBois, the story of the black church is a tale of variety and struggle

Read More
3179 Words | 13 Pages

African American Gospel Music and Its Influential Power Have you ever listened to a song that moved you to the point where it seemed that all your heartaches and troubles disappeared? Have your spirits ever been lifted by simply listening to a few lyrics of a certain song? If you answered yes to either of these, you may have experienced the same type of feeling that comes over many people when they listen to African American Gospel Music. This genre of music has changed throughout the years but has remained a constant component in the African American Culture. Gospel artist such as Thomas Andrew Dorsey, Mahalia Jackson, and James Cleveland played a crucial part in laying the foundation for the gospel artists of today.

Read More
1272 Words | 6 Pages

Musical hymns have a long past of being something dear to African Americans as during slavery's most prominent years vocal iteration was the only way they could communicate as they were illiterate and could not simply write them down this also served as a form of hope to them. Stevenson uses this at the beginning of the novel when he is first introduced to a death row inmate as stated in the following quote “He began to sing. He had a tremendous baritone voice that was strong and clear. It startled me and the guard, who stopped his pushing. I’m pressing on, the upward way New Heights I’m gaining, everyday Still praying as I’m onward bound Lord, plant my feet on Higher Ground.

Read More
1353 Words | 6 Pages

Being enslaved was not an easy job for African Americans. African Americans survived slavery through their connection with their culture. They then went on to contribute to the economic and social development of the South and America. African Americans survived the institution of slavery and Africanized the American South. They helped free themselves by sticking together as a family, resisting, as well as wanting slavery to change.

Read More
861 Words | 4 Pages

We all know that the power of the Black community in America came from deep in their soul. Their strength and will to fight segregation , and their love can be felt in the civil rights movement. Their ability to express their minds in a non- violent way connects to the soul music that James Brown created. James Brown’s music was a mixture of R&B and gospel. Which in a way connects to what Dr. Martin Luther King was trying to do during the civil rights movement.

Read More
947 Words | 4 Pages

Close your eyes and try to imagine a melding the history of the Irish and Scottish tunes, of the twang of country music, and the reverence of a gospel message. Enter a touch of the blues and the spirit of generations who played music to express themselves with this unique genre of music. Each of these components brought with it instruments steeped with tradition. Country music built the foundation with the guitar and bass guitar, the Scottish and Irish influences added the mandolin. The Africa American 2/4 beat contributes the banjo and the washboard adds the finishing folk music touch.

Read More
1543 Words | 7 Pages

Pros and Cons of Breastfeeding and Bottle Feeding Taylor N. Mann University of Central Arkansas One of the biggest choices new parents make is the decision on whether to breastfeed or bottle feed their baby. This decision is one of the most highly debated topics, and there really is no “correct” choice. What seems most comfortable for the mom and baby is the best choice, and this feeling varies from family to family. Being informed on the pros and cons of both formula feeding and breastfeeding is the best way to approach this important decision.

Read More
875 Words | 4 Pages

Music is not only used to capture peoples hearing but it is used to power peoples minds through the power of an individuals voice. Music served a critical role in the African American’s lives, as it was used to uplift their spirits as well as providing them with hope and strength to fight for civil rights and overcome segregation between white superiority and the unfair treatment of the inferior black. Music was defined as the voice of the people that lived through the oppression of the civil rights movement. During the civil rights movement, there were many different types of music genres sung, dependent on the culture, this included spiritual music; gospel and even folk music, which was performed by musicians, singers and even people of any musical talents. Through this, it brought about the uniting of people to join together and sing songs that helped them go through the oppression of the civil rights movement.

Read More

More about Gospel Music Essay

Related Topics

Open Document