A brief history of Gospel music Part II

1960s to present day

The financial success of secular black music in the 1960s and 70s ushered in a new kind of Gospel artist: more performance-aware yet equally spiritually and socially engaged. They included the ‘Godfather of Soul’ James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Reverend Al Green, Sam Cooke, Shirley Cesaer and The Staple Singers. It was common for these artists to chose one side of Gospel’s divide as religious and secular music industry did not mix. It also confirmed the acceptance of Gospel artists as solo performers.

In the 70s and 80s artists like the Mighty Clouds of Joy, Andrae Crouch, Commissioned and Candi Staton brought the popular sounds of disco, funk and other mainstream genres into the growing spectrum of Gospel. This era also brought to prominence some of Gospel’s biggest musical families including The Clark Sisters, The Hawkins and The Winans.

The 90s brought an R’n'B crossover explosion when Gospel artists such as Sounds of Blackness, Helen Baylor and Bebe and Cece Winans scored big international chart and club hits. This was also a good time to be ‘Gospel’ and British, as record companies took note of the US success and tried to emulate it with homegrown artists like Paul Johnson, The Escofferys, Nu Colours, Mica Paris, Ruby Turner, Patrick Jean-Paul Denis, Lavine Hudson and Bryan Powell. This favourable mood also bolstered recognition for the existing traditional Gospel groups like the London Community Gospel Choir and the Inspirational Choir.

The current genres of Gospel owe as much to its rich heritage as they do to the upbeat performance of urban or ‘street music’. Kirk Franklin, Tye Tribbett, Tonex and J Moss have adopted a Holy Hip Hop attitude in bringing the ‘good news’ to a younger generation. However, the popularity of more traditional artists like Smokie Norful, Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams remains strong.

Today’s UK Gospel sound celebrates the full spectrum of Gospel music, with funk bands like Four Kornerz, praise and worship with the traditional ‘church’ sound of Noel Robinson and Nu Image and the African influence of Muyiwa and Riversongz, and the urban styling of groups like Raymond and Co and Siani, and solo performers like Priscilla Jones and Roger Samuels. It also includes other subgenres like house, reggae and grime that dominate youth culture.