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54-444: See also: Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music . Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States . Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as well as (in terms of the varying music styles) to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music . Sometimes known as " quartet music" for its traditional "four men and

108-733: A Grammy Award for 28 consecutive years. He received 31 nominations and won nine Grammy Awards. Blackwood was born on August 4, 1919, in Choctaw County, Mississippi , to sharecropper William Emmett Blackwood and his wife Carrie Prewitt Blackwood. He was the youngest of four children, which included his brother Roy Blackwood (December 24, 1900 – March 21, 1971), sister Lena Blackwood Cain (December 31, 1904 – March 1, 1990) and brother Doyle Blackwood (August 21, 1911 – October 3, 1974). In 1926, he and his brother Doyle had developed an interest in gospel music, singing at church gatherings, camp meetings, schools and any place they saw

162-781: A Worship service . The Ichthus Music Festival started in 1970. Today festivals are held annually around the world, and may draw upwards of 100,000 people. New Zealand's Parachute Music Festival , the largest Christian music festival in the Southern Hemisphere, began in 1989 and is held annually at Mystery Creek Events Centre outside the city of Hamilton. England's Big Church Day Out Festival began in 2009 and has annual attendance of approximately 20,000. Like any musical group or act, many Christian musical artists perform concerts in concert halls , bars & clubs, or outdoor venues, as well as in church-related venues. Sometimes it may be for pure entertainment, other times with

216-519: A Grammy nomination. On May 4, 1939, Blackwood married Miriam (Mim) Grantham. They had two sons, James Jr. and Billy. He died of a stroke on February 3, 2002, at Methodist Healthcare Central Hospital in Memphis. He was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery East , in Memphis. Win Nomination During his long career, James was probably honored with more awards that any other gospel singer. He

270-558: A church. Some metrical psalters include melodies or even harmonisations. The composition of metrical psalters was a large enterprise of the Protestant Reformation, especially in its Calvinist manifestation. Mostly used in reformed churches, and anabaptists. Some examples of psalters are: A Reformation approach, the normative principle of worship , produced a burst of hymn writing and congregational singing. Martin Luther

324-417: A devout love for God or an earthly love for a man or woman. Becoming popular through songbooks, such as those published by R. E. Winsett of Dayton, Tennessee , southern gospel was and is one of the few genres to use recordings, radio, and television technologies from the very beginning for the advancements of promoting the genre. One of the longest-running print magazines for southern gospel music has been

378-536: A heightened or stylized form of speech. In the later Middle Ages some religious chant evolved into song (forming one of the roots of later Western music). Mostly used in Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox churches. Some examples of chants are: A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translation: a book containing a metrical translation of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry, meant to be sung as hymns in

432-660: A piano" set up, southern gospel 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 Southern United States . Like other forms of music, the creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of southern gospel varies according to the cultural and social context. It is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, or as an entertainment product for

486-695: A popular hymn tune thematically, and a wide corpus of other solo organ music began to develop across Europe. Some of the most well-known exponents of such organ compositions include Johann Sebastian Bach , Dieterich Buxtehude , George Frideric Handel , François Couperin , César Franck and Charles-Marie Widor to name a few. Up to the present time, various composers have written instrumental (often organ ) music as acts of worship, including well known organ repertoire by composers like Olivier Messiaen , Louis Vierne , Maurice Duruflé , and Jean Langlais . The church sonata (for orchestra and chamber group) and other sacred instrumental musical forms also developed from

540-770: A second time. In the mid-1950s, the quartet started traveling in a customized bus, another first for the group. James Blackwood, Cecil Blackwood and J. D. Sumner founded the National Quartet Convention in 1957, originally a 3-day event held at Ellis Auditorium in Memphis. In 1964, the Blackwood Brothers chartered the Gospel Music Association. After singing with The Blackwood Brothers Quartet for 47 years, James (together with four other veteran gospel singers, Hovie Lister, Jake Hess, J. D. Sumner and Rosie Rozell) formed

594-570: A significant role in Evangelical Christian worship . A great variety of musical styles has developed traditional praise. Similar developments took place in other language, for example the German Neues Geistliches Lied and Korean Contemporary Christian music. Christian music is supported by a segment of the general music industry which evolved as a parallel structure to the same. Beginning in

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648-637: A soloist, duet, trio, quartet, madrigal, choir , or worship band — or both . It is frequently accompanied by instruments, but some denominations such as some Exclusive Brethren , the Churches of Christ , the Primitive Baptists and the Free Church of Scotland prefer unaccompanied or a cappella singing. Other denominations such as Baptists , Methodists , and Presbyterians sing alongside some form on accompaniments. Some groups, such as

702-403: A sound with an edge to it. The traditional style southern gospel singers employ a more classical singing style. Lyrically, most progressive southern gospel songs are patterned after traditional southern gospel in that they maintain a clear evangelistic and/or testimonial slant. Southern gospel purists view lyrical content and the underlying musical style as the key determining factors for applying

756-579: Is another growing area, especially with the help of the internet. Church drama groups frequently enjoy performing musical dramas which can be downloaded on-line for free use. There are Christian tv shows and movies. One example of a Christian tv show is the drama series called The Chosen , and children's shows such as VeggieTales . There is a whole series of Christian movies by the Kendrick Brothers production company, who have created movies such as Fireproof , Overcomer , and Courageous . In

810-403: Is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes or with a positive message as an entertainment product for the marketplace. Among the most prevalent uses of Christian music are in church worship or other gatherings. Most Christian music involves singing, whether by the whole congregation (assembly), or by a specialized subgroup—such as

864-726: Is notable not only as a reformer, but as the author of hymns including "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"), "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" ("Praise be to You, Jesus Christ"), and many others. Luther and his followers often used their hymns, or chorales, to teach tenets of the faith to worshipers. The first Protestant hymnal was published in Bohemia in 1532 by the Unitas Fratrum. Mostly used by Protestant churches, principally Lutheran, Methodist, and Hussite traditions, but in some areas also by Roman Catholic and Anabaptists. Some examples of famous hymnals are: From

918-430: Is sometimes called "quartet music" by fans because of the originally all-male, tenor-lead-baritone-bass quartet makeup. Early quartets were typically either a cappella or accompanied only by piano or guitar, and in some cases a piano and banjo in areas that were influenced by bluegrass music such as Appalachia . Over time, full bands were added and even later, pre-recorded accompaniments (soundtracks) were introduced. In

972-707: Is the band out of Hillsong college and they took the worship music scene by storm in 2016 with the song " What a Beautiful Name " which won the GMA Dove song of the year in 2017. Other famous artists include Chris Tomlin , Casting Crowns , Amy Grant , and Skillet . Today, Christian music is available through most available media. Christian music is broadcast over the radio, television, or the Internet. Christian Albums and video recordings ( CD , LP , digital download , DVD , etc.) have been increasingly more popular and have continued to increase in sales. Christian Musicals

1026-509: Is the only person in any field of music to have been nominated for a Grammy award for 28 consecutive years. He received 31 total nominations and won nine Grammy Awards. In the 1990s, at the request of Art Greenhaw , a lifelong fan and musical disciple of James Blackwood, Blackwood began a series of recording sessions with Greenhaw's band, The Light Crust Doughboys . The collaboration resulted in four Grammy nominations in four different years for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album of

1080-518: The Baroque period onwards. A chant is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds , often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones . Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures, often including a great deal of repetition of musical subphrases, such as Great Responsories and Offertories of Gregorian chant . Chant may be considered speech, music, or

1134-597: The Bruderhof , sing songs both with religious and non-religious meanings and words. For them, the act of singing is important. One of the earliest forms of worship music in the church was the Gregorian chant . Pope Gregory I , while not the inventor of chant, was acknowledged as the first person to order such music in the church, hinting the name "Gregorian" chant. The chant reform took place around 590–604 CE (reign of Pope Gregory I) (Kamien, pg. 65–67). The Gregorian chant

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1188-618: The Golden State University awarded him an honorary Doctoral Degree of Music. In 1986, Memphis State University awarded him its Distinguished Achievement Award in the field of communications and fine arts. In 1997, the Memphis and Shelby County Optimists Clubs named him Citizen of the Year, presenting him with plaques and citations from 16 government and civic groups. In 1994, the Singing News magazine presented him with

1242-801: The Gospel Music Association voted him the GMA Dove Award Top Male Vocalist for seven consecutive years. In 1974, the Gospel Music Association inducted Blackwood as the third living person to be voted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame . Sang at the Funerals of Gladys Presley and Elvis Presley. The Southern Gospel Music Association inducted Blackwood into the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame in 1997. In 1983,

1296-863: The Marvin Norcross Award . In 1997, Gospel Voice magazine gave him the Living Legend Award. These are among the highest awards in gospel music. In 2001, he was presented with the General Superintendent's Medal of Honor from the Assemblies of God, the highest recognition from that organization. He appeared on all of the major television networks, in shows including Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts (CBS), Dave Garroway (NBC), Johnny Cash Show (ABC), Tennessee Ernie Ford Show (ABC), Tom Snyder Show (NBC), Dinah Shore Show (NBC), Hee Haw (CBS), Barbara Mandrell and

1350-593: The Masters V Quartet , the highlight being a joint concert with The Rivertown Boys in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In 1990, he formed the James Blackwood Quartet with Ken Turner, Brad White and Ray Shelton. Rosie Rozell sang tenor in the initial performances, but Larry Ford quickly became the permanent tenor as Shelton's health deteriorated. This group, like James' preceding groups, also received

1404-431: The Singing News . They started in the early 1970s supplying radio airplay charts and conducting annual fan based awards. They also supply popular topic forums for southern gospel fans to meet and discuss the genre. The move to internet services has brought along companies such as SoGospelNews.com which has become a noted e-zine forum for southern gospel and has remained a supporter for the past twelve years. It too contains

1458-472: The Southeast and Southwest , it has a nationwide and even international audience. The music remains "more country than city, more down-home than pretentious". In 2005, The Radio Book , a broadcast yearbook published by M Street Publications, reported 285 radio stations in the U.S. with a primary format designation as "southern gospel," including 175 AM stations and 110 FM stations. In fact, southern gospel

1512-658: The 1970s and developing out of the Jesus movement , the Christian music industry subsequently developed into a near-billion dollar enterprise. By the 1990s the genre had eclipsed classical, jazz, and new-age music , and artists began gaining acceptance in the general market. There are several programs of schooling that have been created to create new christian artists such as Hillsong College in Norwest, Australia, and Visible Christian College in Memphis, TN U.S.A. Hillsong United

1566-559: The 1990s thanks to the efforts of Bill and Gloria Gaither and their Gaither Homecoming tours and videos, which began as a reunion of many of the best known and loved SGM individuals in 1991. Thanks in part to the Homecoming series, southern gospel music now has fans across the United States and in a number of foreign countries like Ireland and Australia. By the 1990s, the "old-timey" quartet-style music began to develop to include more soloists and duos. Although still mostly popular in

1620-616: The New Testament. During the last century or so several of these groups have revised this stance. The singing of the Eastern Orthodox is also generally unaccompanied, though in the United States organs are sometimes used as a result of Western influence. Some worship music may be unsung, simply instrumental. During the Baroque period in Europe, the chorale prelude (for organ) was widely used, generally composed by using

1674-596: The Quartet's theme song. The Stamps Quartet was heard on the radio throughout Texas and the South. A handful of groups were considered pioneers in southern gospel music for a series of "firsts." The Blackwood Brothers, with James Blackwood and J.D. Sumner became the first group to travel in a bus, which is on display at the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee . Sumner also

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1728-581: The US several Christian music festivals have been organized. They are common in the summertime and draw many different people, specifically those from organized groups such as church youth groups and campus groups. In addition to music festivals like those that are part of the Christian Festival Association , there are also many Christian conferences which focus more on speakers, but usually also have musical performances, especially for

1782-556: The United States for the purpose of getting together regularly and singing songs in this style. Convention songs were employed by training centers like the Stamps-Baxter School Of Music as a way to teach quartet members how to concentrate on singing their own part. Examples of convention songs include "Heavenly Parade", "I'm Living In Canaan Now", " Give the World a Smile ", and "Heaven's Jubilee". Southern gospel

1836-571: The Year, two Dove nominations for Best Gospel Album of the Year in either southern or country gospel categories, and Inspirational TV's nomination for Best Southern Gospel Album of the Year. In the year of Blackwood's, We Called Him Mr. Gospel Music: The James Blackwood Tribute Album (2002) was released and won the Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album at the 2003 Grammy Awards in New York City. His peers in

1890-428: The air, Southern Gospel USA, a weekly half-hour countdown show hosted by Gary Wilson, Classic radio programs such as The Old Gospel Ship and Heaven's Jubilee with Jim Loudermilk. Another online station is "The Gospel Station." Christian music Like other forms of music the creation, performance, significance and even the definition of Christian music varies according to culture and social context. Christian music

1944-431: The all-male quartets that would develop years later. The Statesmen were known for their showmanship and introduction of jazz, ragtime, and even some early rock and roll. Elements into their music and their stage appearance with trendy suits and wide audience appeal and were known for their signature song, "Happy Rhythm" (Rockin and a'Rollin). Traditional southern gospel music underwent a tremendous surge in popularity during

1998-503: The first decades of the twentieth century, southern gospel drew much of its creative energy from the holiness movement churches that arose throughout the south. Early gospel artists such as The Speer Family , The Stamps Quartet, The Blackwood Family, and The Lefevre Trio achieved wide popularity through their recordings and radio performances in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. On October 20, 1927, The Stamps Quartet recorded its early hit "Give The World A Smile" for RCA Victor, which become

2052-415: The intention of witnessing (evangelizing by bearing witness of one's faith), and other times may be part worship as well. James Blackwood James Webre Blackwood (August 4, 1919 – February 3, 2002) was an American gospel singer and one of the founding members of legendary Southern gospel quartet The Blackwood Brothers . He is the only person in any field of music to have been nominated for

2106-718: The latter half of the 20th century to the present day in Western Christendom—especially in the United States and in other countries with evangelical churches—various genres of music originally often related to pop rock , have been created under the label of Contemporary Christian Music ("CCM") for home-listening and concert use. It can be divided into several genres and subgenres, although the dividing lines and relationships between music genres are often subtle, sometimes open to individual interpretation, and occasionally controversial. These genres (sometimes referred to as "style") like other forms of music may be distinguished by

2160-537: The marketplace. The date of southern gospel's establishment, as a distinct genre, is generally considered to be 1910. The year the first professional quartet was formed for the purpose of selling songbooks for the James D. Vaughan Music Publishing Company in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee . Nonetheless, the style of the music itself had existed for at least 35 years prior—although the traditional wisdom that southern gospel

2214-415: The music charts with forums and chat rooms available to the fans. Internet Radio has broadened the southern gospel music fan base by using computer technologies and continual streaming. Some of these media outlets are: Sunlite Radio which features many of the southern gospel programs likewise heard on traditional radio. This list includes The Gospel Greats with Paul Heil, which recently celebrated 30 years on

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2268-550: The musical traditions of white musicians from the American South, the name Southern gospel was used to differentiate it from the black gospel tradition. Convention songs typically have contrasting homophonic and contrapuntal sections. In the homophonic sections, the four parts sing the same words and rhythms. In the contrapuntal sections, each group member has a unique lyric and rhythm. These songs are called "convention songs" because various conventions were organized across

2322-625: The opportunity. During this period, they sang on WTJS in Jackson, Tennessee . Blackwood formed a singing group with his nephew R. W. and his brothers Roy and Doyle. The Blackwood Brothers ' first broadcast was on the radio station WHEF, AM 1500, in Kosciusko, Mississippi , in 1934. The quartet soon began broadcasting on the larger WJDX in Jackson, moving to Shreveport, Louisiana , in 1939, and Shenandoah, Iowa , in 1940. In early World War II,

2376-560: The quartet moved to Memphis, Tennessee , and the radio station WMPS. In 1951, they signed a recording contract with RCA Victor Records. Soon they began traveling to their concert appearances by private plane with R.W. Blackwood and the bass singer Bill Lyles as pilot and co-pilot. On June 12, 1954, the Blackwood Brothers won first place on the CBS radio and TV program Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts Show . On June 30, 1954, in Clanton, Alabama ,

2430-659: The quartet temporarily disbanded as James joined the war effort as a factory welder in California. As the other members joined him in California, they resumed singing and the quartet was based in San Diego, California from 1944 to 1945 as they continued simultaneously working in the war-related industries. After the war, they returned to Iowa in September 1945 resuming their broadcast on KMA Radio in Shenandoah. In 1950,

2484-535: The quartet was preparing for concert at the airport for the Chilton County Peach Festival. During a few practice touch-and-go landings the plane crashed and R. W., Bill Lyles and family friend Johnny Ogburn died in the crash. The quartet re-organized following the plane crash with R. W.'s younger brother, Cecil Blackwood as baritone and J.D. Sumner as bass. In 1956, the re-organized group appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scout Show and won

2538-573: The same feed entitled, " enLighten on SiriusXm". Enlighten plays southern gospel and has several featured programs which air weekly including Paul Heil's Gospel Greats and Bill Gaither 's Homecoming Radio . Over the last decades, a newer version of southern gospel has grown in popularity. This style is called progressive southern gospel and is characterized by a blend of traditional southern gospel, bluegrass, modern country, contemporary Christian and pop music elements. Progressive southern gospel generally features artists who push their voices to produce

2592-447: The southern gospel label to a song. Although there are some exceptions, most southern gospel songs would not be classified as Praise and Worship . Few southern gospel songs are sung "to" God as opposed to "about" God. On the other hand, southern gospel lyrics are typically overt in their Christian message unlike Contemporary Christian music (CCM) which sometimes has had "double entendre" lyrics, which could be interpreted as being about

2646-437: The techniques, the styles, the context and the themes, or geographical origin. Specific subgenres of CCM may include (but are not limited to): Christian country music , Christian pop , Christian rock , Christian metal , Christian hardcore , Christian punk , Christian alternative rock , Christian R&B , Christian electronic dance music and Christian hip hop . In the 1980s and 1990s, contemporary Christian music played

2700-450: Was "invented" in the 1870s by circuit preacher Everett Beverly is spurious. The existence of the genre prior to 1910 is evident in the work of Charles Davis Tillman (1861–1943), who popularized "The Old Time Religion", wrote "Life's Railway to Heaven" and published 22 songbooks. Some of the genre's roots can be found in the publishing work and "normal schools" or singing schools of Aldine S. Kieffer and Ephraim Ruebush . Southern gospel

2754-468: Was instrumental in creating the National Quartet Convention , an annual music festival where many groups, both known and well known perform for a week. The Speer Family was known for bringing blended groups to mainstream popularity where both male and female performers toured together. The best known group of the 1950s and 1960s was the Statesmen Quartet , which set the trend for broad appeal of

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2808-532: Was known for its very monophonic sound. Believing that complexity had a tendency to create cacophony , which ruined the music, Gregory I kept things very simple with the chant. In the West, the majority of Christian denominations use instruments such as an organ, piano, electronic keyboard, guitar, or other accompaniment, and occasionally by a band or orchestra, to accompany the singing. But some churches have historically not used instruments, citing their absence from

2862-514: Was promoted by traveling singing school teachers, quartets, and shape note music publishing companies such as the A. J. Showalter Company (1879) and the Stamps-Baxter Music and Printing Company . Over time, southern gospel came to be an eclectic musical form with groups singing traditional hymns, a capella (jazz-style singing with no instruments) songs, country, bluegrass, spirituals, and "convention songs". Because it grew out of

2916-497: Was the 9th most popular format for AM stations and the 21st most popular for FM. Southern gospel radio promoters routinely service more than a thousand radio stations which play at least some southern gospel music each week. Recent years have also seen the advent of a number of internet-only southern gospel "radio" stations. Two popular satellite stations that feature southern gospel are channel 34 on XM Satellite Radio and Channel 65 (changed from 67). On Sirius Satellite Radio. Both play

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