For generations, gospel music has been a significant source of strength and resilience for Black Americans, sustaining them through their deepest struggles. Since slavery, spiritual songs and hymns have provided a way of survival, offering hope, faith, and a shared sense of purpose. On this foundation is built a legacy of Black Gospel artists, continuing the tradition of music that uplifts and strengthens our communities in times of difficulty and triumph.

The wealthy history of black gospel music

Black gospel music whose roots return to slavery when enslaved people sang call-and-response songs equivalent to “Roll, Jordan, Roll” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” These early folk songs were as much about spirituality as they were about providing comfort and community in a shared fight for freedom. At the turn of the twentieth century, instruments were introduced to black gospel music, a major advance since enslaved people were often ban on the use of certain instruments.

Black composer and musician Thomas A. Dorseyhe became a highly influential figure in black gospel music from the Twenties and Thirties. He earned the title “Father of Gospel Music” for writing over 1,000 hymns, including classics equivalent to “Peace in the Valley” and “Take My Hand, Precious Lord.”

Eventually, black gospel music began to tackle a more modern sound with artists equivalent to Andrae Crouch and The Clark Sisters, who introduced the subgenre of contemporary urban gospel. Over the centuries, black gospel music has evolved into what it’s today: a various genre that tells the story of a faith that has been passed down from generation to generation.

Notable Black Gospel Music Artists and Their Contributions

Gospel music is what it’s today because of the countless black artists who handcrafted the genre.

Mahalia Jackson

Mahalia Jackson she is one of the matriarchs of gospel music. Born into poverty in New Orleans in 1911, Jackson began singing in churches and funerals before attracting widespread attention together with her 1947 song “Move on Up a Little Higher,” which became a success in 1948. She brought gospel blues to the masses, crooning versions of “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” and “How I Got Over” to crowds world wide. She also raised her voice in support of the civil rights movement, becoming a private friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and acting at the March on Washington. Her contralto voice was enhanced with heavy vibrato. Jackson moved expressively on stage and was known for her ability to evoke strong emotions within the audience, often while becoming almost emotional herself.

CeCe Winans

Talking about CeCe Winans without BeBe Winans seems a bit sacrilegious, but she deserves flowers because she is one of essentially the most famous and successful black gospel singers of all time. CeCe Winans’ solo gospel profession yielded hits equivalent to “Well Alright,” “Pray” and “Goodness of God.” Her first solo album, “Alone in His Presence”, was released in 1995 and went double platinum, topping the gospel charts ten times. Winans followed this up in 1999 with the hugely successful album “Alabaster Box” on her own WellSpring Gospel label. Winans’ wealthy tone and incredible vocal control have remained consistent through the ages. In late October 2024, he’ll release More Than This, a widely praised contemporary gospel album that combines old and latest classics.

Kirk Franklin

Congregation favorite Kirk Franklin has been a mainstay within the church and charts because the early Nineteen Nineties. His first band was “The Family”, which included his friends and neighbors, and in 1993 he released “Kirk Franklin & The Family”. The album went platinum and remained on the gospel music charts for several years after its release. Franklin created many hits that expanded his appeal to a wider audience, including “Stomp” and “I Smile”. Fans comprehend it’s not Kirk Franklin making that joyful sound. His true talent lies less in his own vocal abilities and more in his divine talent for bringing out the wealthy, united voices of his choirs.

Kierra Sheard

Kierra Sheard made her gospel singing debut on the age of 9 on her mother’s album “Finally Karen” (referring to Karen Clark-Sheard of the Clark Sisters). So while the younger Sheard can have had a bonus early on, she has a voice all her own, which she uses on songs like “You Don’t Know,” “Why Me?” and “Something has to break.” Sheard, a mezzo-soprano, serves up delicious R&B grooves and riffs. In addition to music, Sheard also boasts acting, playing a mother on Lifetime’s “The Clark Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel.”

Whitney Houston in “The Preacher’s Wife”

The 1996 comedy-drama The Preacher’s Wife was a light-hearted story a few church and a wedding on the brink, and an angel sent to save lots of them. Whitney Houston gave it her all within the film after which blessed us again for the soundtrack. Her performance of “I Believe in You and Me” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. “Joy” was an original work by then-new gospel artist Kirk Franklin and the Georgia Mass Choir. At the time, Houston was a longtime artist, and “The Preacher’s Wife” is one of them best selling gospel albums of all time, and Houston gained recognition for her raw and real vocals.

The influence of Black Gospel artists on popular music

Black gospel artists span a range of genres. You can hear it almost each time you alter the radio station (or shuffle it on Spotify).

Cross-species collaboration that crossed boundaries

Nicki Minaj’s verse on a gospel song doesn’t sound likely, but Minaj appeared on “I’m Getting Ready” with Tasha Cobbs Leonard in 2017. Some criticized Leonard’s collaboration with Minaj, but Leonard stood his ground: saying“This is not a task given to me by a man. This is the task God has given me.”

People may act like controversial collaborations are something latest, but Salt-N-Pepa’s Kirk Franklin and Cheryl “Salt” James had some people in church dizzy in 1997 once they released “Stomp”.

The roots of gospel R&B, soul and hip-hop

The reach of gospel music extends beyond the church doors and into almost every other genre.

Gospel’s influence on R&B is sort of profound, considering many artists equivalent to Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin got their start singing in church. Similarly, gospel music was in some ways the predecessor of soul music, with the 2 types of music often sharing common lyrical structures, rhythms, and melodies (from Heaven). Hip-hop can be not resistant to gospel influences. Kirk Franklin was an enormous hip-hop OG within the ’90s, and artists like Lecrae and Tedashii carry that spirit today.

Honors and recognition for gospel legends

Some of essentially the most successful artists of all time are black gospel artists. Kirk Franklin is nineteen Grammys to his name, and CeCe Winans currently holds the record together with her for essentially the most Grammy Awards awarded to a gospel artist 15 trophies. The Dove Award is taken into account the equivalent of a Grammy in gospel music, and black artists equivalent to Lecrae, Jonathan McReynolds and Ricky Dillard are only a couple of contemporaries who’ve received awards for his or her work within the genre.

The continuing influence of Black Gospel artists

From church pews to concert halls, Black Gospel artists proceed to encourage and uplift through their timeless contributions to music. Their legacy, rooted in faith and resilience, will proceed to shape the soundtrack of our lives for generations to come back.

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