AA Gospel Music Flashcards
Doubleness/Double Consciousness; Signifing
AA’s have their own culture, and a US (mainstream) culture (can’t be unified; one one hand, they are dehumanized and disenfranchised, but then they champion equality); decolonizing the English lang
Civil War Contraband
Don’t Worry About It
Research into AA Spirituals
Slave Songs of the US (1867); 1st study of AA musicmaking; melody and text collected by William Allen, Charles Ware, Lucy Garrison
Fisk Jubilee Singers; Influence of perception of AA culture
represented truth of AA culture (they’re not clowns, they’re real, civilized people)
Fisk Jubilee Singers; Arranged concert spiritual
Syncopation, voices trained, classical echoes
20th Century Black Gospel Music
Don’t Worry About It
Thomas A Dorsey
Huge Gospel pioneer; did blues/pop early in career till ‘32, then devoted all time to gospel (Had gospel publishing house, founded Nat’l Conv of Gospel Choirs and Choruses w/ Sally Martin)
Mahalia Jackson
The “Queen” of Spiritual Singers; influenced by Bessie Smith; Fav of civil rights leaders (inspired “I Have A Dream”); Intense, growling singing
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Worked w/ many jazz artists; Great guitar player (influence many R&R artists)
Gospel Quartets; Blind Boys of Alabama, Take Six
Primarily male, suit and tie, rhythmically intricate arrangements; Blind Boys actually blind, founded in ‘49, influenced by blues and R&R and crossed over into pop;
Take Six more modern group (members all Seventh-Day Adventists); worked with a lot of artists
Modern Gospel; Traditional Orientation
Inspire religious exp(?); Maintains a religious ambience, highly charged emotionally; full choir, call and response, and hand clapping
Modern Gospel; Contemporary Orientation
Smoothly polished pop music; focus on multiracial solo singer; think crossover music (Kirk Franklin)
