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53-461: Publisher Newkeys Music, Inc. filed the original copyright on December 26, 1967  ( 1967-12-26 ) , which was revised on October 28, 1968  ( 1968-10-28 ) , to reflect new lyrics added by Hall. Nashville studio musician-producer Jerry Kennedy played the dobro prominent on the record. The focus of the song's narrative is Mrs. Johnson, whose teenage daughter attends Harper Valley Junior High. The girl comes home one day with

106-516: 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 . 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 F. Root , Philip Bliss , Charles H. Gabriel , William Howard Doane , and Fanny Crosby . Gospel music publishing houses emerged. The advent of radio in

159-595: A CD 5 titles of the Club Dial "C'est fini miss Molly" and a CD include in Johnny Hallyday: Le Livre . Kennedy was one of the session musicians used by Bob Dylan in recording his classic album Blonde on Blonde , in 1966. A recipient of four Grammy Awards , Kennedy’s Dobro and guitar playing have been featured on the albums of artists as varied as Elvis Presley , Kris Kristofferson and Ringo Starr . Another work done by Kennedy on Dobro

212-573: A Louisiana Hayride star from Minden, Louisiana , developed four instrumental albums for Mercury Records in 1960. The albums, entitled Tom & Jerry , covering all genres of music, also involved Hank Garland , Boots Randolph , Bob Moore , and Harold Bradley . The Jerry Kennedy Orchestra participated in the complete recording sessions for Johnny Hallyday in 1962. Five discs were issued from these sessions: Johnny Sings America's Rockin' Hits ; The 1962 Nashville Sessions, Vol. 2: The French Recordings , reissued on CD as Nashville Session 62 , in 1990;

265-463: A cut for Mercury Records credited to Joe Kenyon, which was a cover of Vangelis ' "Hymne". E & J Gallo Winery used this version in its commercials, and it went to number 33 on Hot Country Songs . Kennedy is the father of songwriter, musician and producer Gordon Kennedy . Gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media . The creation, performance, significance, and even

318-683: 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 " by the Lewis Family was nominated for Gospel Song of the Year .) The Soul Stirrers introduced R.H. Harris, Sam Cooke, and Johnnie Taylor. Sensational Nightingales , Swan Silvertones, the Soul Stirrers, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Five Blind Boys of Mississippi and

371-443: A few, began recording music that had this positive Christian country flair. These mainstream artists have now become award winners in this genre. 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

424-501: A gospel album in 1981 with the same title. In 1984, Riley recorded a sequel song, "Return to Harper Valley", which was also written by Tom T. Hall, but failed to chart. In the sequel, Riley sings as Mrs. Johnson, who is now a grandmother. While attending the local high-school dance, she observes that some townsfolk conquered their vices while others did not. She also notices both students and adults engaging in risky behavior (smoking, drug use, nudity), but instead of becoming angry, she says

477-484: A note for her mother from the local PTA , criticizing Mrs. Johnson for wearing short dresses and spending her nights drinking in the company of men. The note closes with a statement by the PTA that she should do a better job of raising her daughter. During a PTA meeting that afternoon, Mrs. Johnson barges in unannounced and wearing a miniskirt and reveals a long list of the members' private indiscretions: Mrs. Johnson rebukes

530-416: 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." Today, with historical distance, there is a greater acceptance of such gospel songs into official denominational hymnals. For example,

583-456: A prayer (consistent with Riley's real-life conversion to Christianity), and plans to address the PTA the next day, but in a less confrontational manner than before. In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #78 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking. "Harper Valley PTA" was translated by Terje Mosnes  [ no ] into Norwegian as "Fru Johnsen" ( lit.   ' Mrs. Johnsen ' ). A recording by Inger Lise Rypdal

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636-567: A similar scenario when he was a child in Olive Hill, Kentucky , in the mid-1940s; the mother of one of Hall's classmates had drawn the ire of local school board members for her modern ways, and the school was taking out their frustrations on her daughter. The mother gave a verbal tongue-lashing at the school, an iconoclastic move that was unheard of at the time. Riley, who was working as a secretary in Nashville for Jerry Chesnut , got to hear

689-405: A standard which to begin with was not high, resulted." 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." Gold reviewed the issue in 1958, and collected

742-484: A teenager. After working in recording sessions around Shreveport for several years, he was convinced to move to Nashville by Irving Green , the president of Mercury Records. Kennedy arrived in Nashville just as the country music boom of the 1960s was getting under way. Soon after his arrival, he was asked to work as a talent scout for Mercury's country subsidiary, Smash Records , and to begin producing and also playing in recording sessions. Kennedy and Tommy Tomlinson ,

795-564: 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

848-823: Is the most well–known form, often seen in Black churches, non–Black Pentecostal and 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 . 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

901-655: The Gospel Music Workshop of America , a Black gospel outlet. Late 20th–century musicians such as Elvis Presley , Jerry Lee Lewis , and the Blackwood Brothers were also known for their gospel influences and recordings. Urban contemporary gospel emerged in the late 1960s and early 70s with Edwin Hawkis Singers highly popular "Oh Happy Day" which is still performed worldwide in the 2000s. Artists such as James Cleveland, Aretha Franklin,

954-400: The abolition movement provided cross–fertilization. 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

1007-406: The 1920s greatly increased the audience for gospel music, and 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. Virgil O. Stamps and Jesse R. Baxter studied Vaughan's business model and by the late 1920s were running heavy competition for Vaughan. The 1920s also saw

1060-567: 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. 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. The styles emerged from the African-American music and American folk music traditions and have evolved in various ways over

1113-470: The 1960s. 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 , sometimes referred to as country gospel music,

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1166-445: The 70s and 80s, 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. Kirk Franklin is the foremost (and by far the bestselling) individual in this genre, while Andrae Crouch,

1219-550: The Argentinian singer Juan Ramón and the orchestra of Horacio Malvicino , released by RCA Victor in 1968 [1] . Jerry Kennedy Jerry Glenn Kennedy (born 10 August 1940) is an American record producer , songwriter and guitar player . Kennedy was born in Shreveport, Louisiana . As a child, he recalls "beating on broomsticks and other things" as his initial forays into music-making. His first guitar

1272-648: The Clark Sisters , Mary Mary , and Yolanda Adams are also very popular and noteworthy. British black gospel refers to gospel music of the African diaspora in the UK. It is also often referred to as "UK gospel". The distinctive sound is heavily influenced by UK street culture with many artists from the African and Caribbean majority black churches in the UK. The genre has gained recognition in various awards such as

1325-479: The Clark Sisters, and Andraé Crouch 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 (or gospel) rap/hip–hop , which has gained increasing popularity since

1378-716: The Dixie Hummingbirds were popular in afroamerican gospel fans. In 1964, the Gospel Music Association was established, which in turn began the 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. Also in 1969, James Cleveland established

1431-583: The GEM (Gospel Entertainment Music) Awards, MOBO Awards , Urban Music Awards and has its own Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart . 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

1484-628: The PTA board members (each of whom Mrs. Johnson called out in the original) at Kelly's Place and attempts to explain their characters in a positive vein. He eventually finds the PTA members more interesting to be with. Colder's version reached No. 24 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in late 1968, and No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song later inspired an eponymous 1978 motion picture and short-lived 1981 television series , both starring Barbara Eden as

1537-433: The PTA for having the nerve to call her an unfit mother, comparing the town to Peyton Place and labeling the members as hypocrites. In the final lines, the narrator reveals that Mrs. Johnson is her mother. The song makes two references to short hemlines ("you're wearing your dresses way too high"; "wore her miniskirt into the room") in reference to the miniskirt and the minidress , which had been gaining popularity in

1590-411: The Soul Stirrers, Swan Silvertones and the Dixie Hummingbirds were famous gospel groups. Christian country music , sometimes referred to as country gospel music, is a subgenre of gospel music with a country flair. Celtic gospel music infuses gospel music with a Celtic flair, and is popular in countries such as Ireland. British black gospel refers to Gospel music of the African diaspora produced in

1643-610: 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. Developing out of the fusion of traditional Black gospel with the styles of secular Black music popular in

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1696-663: The United Kingdom. According to Yale University music professor Willie Ruff, the singing of psalms in Scottish Gaelic by 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. Another theory notes foundations in the works of Isaac Watts and others. Moreover,

1749-472: The Year" and "Song of the Year" in the pop field. In 2019, the 1968 recording of the song by Riley on Plantation Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Shortly after "Harper Valley PTA" reached its peak in success, singer-comedian Sheb Wooley , using his alter-ego Ben Colder, recorded a parody version called "Harper Valley PTA (Later That Same Day)." In the parody version, Colder meets up with

1802-540: The business. "I had a lot of good songs I couldn't get recorded. Jerry Kennedy of Mercury Records asked me to record them, so I did." After receiving this encouragement from Kennedy, Hall went on to record nine LPs with Mercury Records from 1968 to 1974, including his famous "Harper Valley PTA". Kennedy himself left Mercury in 1984 to start JK Productions, through which he produced recordings by The Statler Brothers , Connie Smith , Mel McDaniel , Reba McEntire and other artists. In 1987, Kennedy and David Briggs released

1855-624: 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" debuting at No. 1. See also: Traditional Black gospel music

1908-457: The definition of gospel music varies 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. Hymns and sacred songs were often performed in

1961-494: The first great gospel recording artist. The first person to introduce ragtime to gospel (and the first to play piano on a gospel recording) was Arizona Dranes . The 1930s saw the rise of Black gospel quartets such as the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi and the Five Blind Boys of Alabama . In addition to these high–profile quartets, there were many Black gospel musicians performing in the 1920s and 30s, usually playing

2014-422: The four years since they were first introduced into mainstream fashion. The expression "This is just a little Peyton Place" is a reference to the television show Peyton Place , based on the earlier novel and film of the same name , where a small town hides scandal and moral hypocrisy behind a tranquil facade. The show, then in the top 20 of Nielsen ratings , was in its fourth season when "Harper Valley P.T.A."

2067-402: The front row." In 1954, Elvis Presley performed on Louisiana Hayride , and Kennedy was in attendance with a friend. He recalls their frustration with the young girls who screamed incessantly, preventing his friend and him from hearing Scotty Moore , Presley's guitar player, clearly during the performance. "[W]e got mad at all of the girls screamin', because we couldn't hear Scotty when Elvis

2120-734: The genre arose during a time when literacy was not a guarantee, utilizing a great deal of repetition (which, unlike more traditional hymns, allowed those who could not read the opportunity to participate). 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, it took decades 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

2173-725: 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. 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. Dorsey was responsible for developing the musical careers of many African–American artists, such as Mahalia Jackson (best known for her rendition of his " Precious Lord, Take My Hand "). Meanwhile, radio continued to develop an audience for gospel music,

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2226-527: The heroine of the story, Mrs. Johnson, who now has a first name: Stella. In the 1970s, Riley became a born-again Christian , and though she briefly distanced herself from the song when she began singing gospel music , she never excluded it from her concerts, and it was always her most requested and popular number. She titled her 1980 autobiography From Harper Valley to the Mountain Top , and released

2279-574: The marketing of gospel records by groups such as the Carter Family . 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

2332-513: The mass revival movement starting with Dwight L. Moody , whose musician was Ira D. Sankey , as well as the Holiness – Pentecostal movement. Prior to the meeting of Moody and Sankey in 1870, there was an American rural/frontier history of 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. The revival movement employed popular singers and song leaders,

2385-483: The most famous of them being Ira D. Sankey. The original "gospel" songs were written and composed by authors such as George F. Root , Philip Bliss , Charles H. Gabriel , William Howard Doane , and Fanny Crosby . 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. Sankey and Bliss's collection can be found in many libraries today. The popularity of revival singers and

2438-460: 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 , Charlie Tillman , and 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. The advent of radio in

2491-556: The song and recorded it for Shelby Singleton 's independent Plantation Records label. It became a massive hit for her. The single's jump from 81 to 7 in its second week on the Billboard Hot 100 in late August 1968 is the decade's highest climb into that chart's Top Ten. Riley's version won her a Grammy for the Best Country Vocal Performance, Female . Her recording was also nominated for "Record of

2544-495: 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, via the gospel choir phenomenon spearheaded by Thomas Dorsey , has become a form of musical devotion worldwide. Southern afroamerican gospel groups used all–male, tenor – lead – baritone – bass quartets. Sensational Nightingales ,

2597-637: Was Jeannie C. Riley 's " Harper Valley PTA ". Kennedy played on or produced nearly all of the country music records of Jerry Lee Lewis . In 1968, Shelby Singleton , who had served something of a mentor to Kennedy, left Smash. Kennedy took the reins, and ran Smash Records until 1970, when Mercury shut down that label and appointed him as the head of its country music division. His time at Mercury produced memorable hits from country music artists such as Roger Miller , Reba McEntire , The Statler Brothers , Johnny Rodriguez , and Tom T. Hall . Hall, speaking in 1974, credited Kennedy with getting him started in

2650-560: Was a Silvertone , which his parents bought for him when he was "eight or nine." He began taking lessons from a local guitar legend, Tillman Franks . Kennedy attended various shows around the Shreveport area as a boy, including the legendary Louisiana Hayride . One show he particularly remembers attending is Hank Williams 's last show at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium saying, "I was a kid sittin' on

2703-423: Was doin' his shakin'. It upset us that we couldn't hear the guitar." Kennedy signed a recording contract with RCA Records at age 11. He subsequently recorded several singles, several of which included contributions by Chet Atkins . Thereafter Kennedy became something of a teen idol at his high school. Though he never became a star as a vocalist, he sang background vocals for several Mercury Records artists as

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2756-460: Was released in 1968. It charted for 16 weeks, peaking at first place, which it held for nine weeks in a row. However, the song faced controversy over its lyrics as they discussed double standards in the Christian milieu, leading to serious debate over the song in the Storting (Norwegian Parliament). A Spanish cover by the name "La Junta Harper de Moral" (Harper's Moral Committee) was recorded by

2809-530: Was released. The final line of the song ("..the day my mama 'socked it to' the Harper Valley PTA") was a reference to "Sock it to me!", a very popular catch-phrase frequently used in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In . According to Shelby Singleton , producer of Riley's record, this line was changed at the last minute, at the suggestion of his "wife at the time". In 2005, Hall noted that he had witnessed

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