The Hawkins Family . Click image to watch “ History of Gospel | Present ( pt . 3 )”
grandmother play that song , and it just brings back good memories . Some say that Dorsey would not have succeeded without the voice of Mahalia to bring life and soul to his words . They would perform on the street corners in Chicago and bring the sound to the people in a whole new way .
Jackson became one of the most recognizable and passionate voices in gospel music and is often to referred to as “ the queen of gospel ,” because of her role in its early development , her influence on others , and her superb talent . At one point , she was also heralded as the most important black woman in America .
Because of her work and her civil rights activism , listeners and peers would marvel at her energy and her tone . Her work would soon inspire so many others to take the genre further .
PRESENT For many of us , the evolution of African American gospel music seems wonderfully organic and positive . The growth of the genre and the increased creativity of its artists meant that mainstream success was sure to follow , something we still see today with the blend of Christian messages and contemporary music .
However , some church leaders wanted to put a pause on gospel music . Some weren ’ t on board with this gospel approach and its links to secular music . They felt that it somehow diminished the spirituality and the meaning of the hymn . Gospel ’ s relationship with secular music ran in both directions . Many gospel singers and soloists begin their musical journey singing in the church long before their transition into popular music . People like Little Richard , Aretha Franklin , and Sam Cooke , which is my favorite , all actually helped shape the sound of R & B and Rock and Roll .
After officially launching his career in 1972 , Andre Crouch would follow Thomas A . Dorsey as the next leading composer of gospel songs in the mid 20th century . He was inspired to make gospel music relevant and continued to blend the traditional and the secular .
This sparked disapproval from church leaders . Still , his work was revered by those in the music industry , and he went on to win many awards .
Across his lifetime groups like the Hawkins Family ( Walter , Edwin , and Tremaine ), the Winans family ( Marvin , Ron , Carvin , Cece , and Bebe ), and the Clark Sisters started to emerge . God knows we love the Clark Sisters .
All of these people helped to push this new blend of traditional and secular music to the forefront of the Christian music scene , making it the most popular style of gospel music . Now listen , we can ’ t forget about the mass choir era . Oh , that was my favorite . You had the Mississippi Mass Choir , you had the New Jersey Mass Choir . You had the DFW Mass Choir . Then there was Reverend Milton Brunson , Reverend Timothy Wright , and Reverend James Moore , to name a few . They were all influential in crafting this new dynamic sound in gospel music .
On the heels of Andre Crouch came gospel artists like Commissioned , Hezekiah Walker , John P . Kee , Fred Hammond , Israel Houghton , and Kirk Franklin . They garnered reputations of being a bridge between traditional gospel music and contemporary gospel music .
Brian Courtney Wilson spoke to Fred