Gospel & The Blues

Believe it or not, the blues, also known as"the devil's music", and gospel music about the good news of Jesus Christ have a surprising amount in common. The term gospel in itself is not in reference to a style but is used to refer to an account or a message. In the Christian church, the gospel is defined as the good news that Jesus lives. At its roots, gospel music is the telling of Biblical stories, characters, and messages about God through songs. The term gospel was first applied to music in the late 1800s as it was different from the church hymns of the 1500s and the spirituals brought over by the African slaves. When gospel music first originated, the intent was to be easier to sing than the church hymns that were often translated from another language. They were written with a simpler melody and lyrics that were easier for the congregation to sing. Later on, towards the 1920s gospel music was further developed into what is known as the "gospel blues" by Thomas Dorsey. This term is used for describing the gospel singing merged with the stylistic elements of the blues. It is similar to the original gospel style, but the melodies were not sung as straight forward and it contained melismas like what was found in the blues. In the video below, Eric Reed does an excellent job demonstrating the stylistic differences between hymns, gospel music, gospel blues, and gospel with a jazz style. He takes the hymn "Leaning On the Everlasting Arms" and plays it in each of the different styles while explaining the connections and the differences between the variations. It is really a helpful video! For the remainder of this post, the term gospel will be in reference to this gospel blues style of music.

It would be impossible to talk about gospel music without discussing the "father of gospel music", Thomas A. Dorsey. In 1919 Thomas Dorsey began his career as a blues artist when he moved up north to Chicago. Upon moving north, Thomas Dorsey realized that his playing style did not match the newer uptempo style of the north. He quickly began composing blues music on his own after encountering more competition for jobs. In 1920 he copyrighted his first song "If You Don't Believe I'm Leaving, You Can Count the Days I'm Gone" becoming one of the first blues musicians to copyright their songs. During his blues career, Thomas Dorsey also had the opportunity to be the piano accompanist and director of Ma Rainey who is credited with being the "Mother of the Blues". During his experience working with Ma Rainey, Thomas Dorsey grew in popularity. 

After several years of performing blues music, Thomas Dorsey suffered from incapacitating depression in 1926. This period of depression lasted until 1928 when Dorsey had a spiritual conversion. Dorsey had grown up in the church as his father was a baptist preach and his mother was a church organist, but he was indifferent towards religion up until this point in his life. After his conversion, Dorsey still continued to play the blues for financial reasons. This lasted until 1932 when Dorsey's wife died in childbirth and his son died 24 hours later. At this point in his life, Dorsey was filled with grief and was prompted to write "Precious Lord Take My Hand" which is one of his most famous gospel songs (listed below). This was the turning point in his career from blues music to gospel music. 

During his career as a gospel musician, Dorsey was also a choir director and organizer in Chicago which is now considered the home of gospel music. He was known for taking traditional church music such as spirituals or hymns, pepping them up, putting a rhythm to it, and calling it gospel music. Initially, the use of gospel music in the church was very controversial and many churches were not ready to adopt this new form of worship. This was due to the secular influence the blues had on gospel music and some believed that the sound of blues was not fitting for the church. Some of the blues music was associated with lyrics that had to do with topics such as the devil, cheating, or sex, so making religious music of a similar style did not seem fitting. Many church members also did not agree with the musicians performing in a bar on the weekend and then coming to the church and playing gospel music on Sundays. Eventually, churches that supported gospel music began to bring in a crowd, so more churches began to accept the syle of gospel music.

Many blues musicians such as Denise LaSalle, Charley Patton, Muddy Waters, Memphis Minnie, and Frid McDowell performed gospel music in addition to the blues. Naturally, the two genres resemble each other. To start, they both have very similar setups in rhythm and style. The sound of the blues brought more of an emotional experience to church gospel music. Gospel music also exhibits a call and response style of music which goes back to the traditional music of Africa. The blues music is typically formatted around the "12-Bar Blues" in which a rhyme scheme of AAB is applied over a span of 12 bars. One difference with gospel music is that it is usually structured around 16 bars or two 8-bar segments. I found an excellent video that describes how to play a 16-bar congregational gospel song. In this video, they do mention that tritones that are found in the blues may also be incorporated into the chord progressions of gospel music. You may also notice that rather than structuring the song around a rhyme scheme, congregational gospel music is structured with a call and response style between the leader and the congregation. 

Since the official beginning of gospel music in the 1800s, this style of music has continued to develop. Thomas Dorsey began to incorporate the sound of the blues into gospel music, but Eric Reed mentions that the gospel sound of Thomas Dorsey is not as prevalent in black churches of today. He describes that black churches of today will leave room for improvisation. The songs may not be played exactly like what is on the page, but they may vary since the songs come from within. Despite the variations that take place, the origins of gospel music are rooted in the blues. 

References

“DR Thomas Dorsey Father of Gospel Music.” 19 Sept. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=atlG3O3UwA0.

“Gospel and the Blues.” Mississippi Blues Trail, msbluestrail.org/blues-trail-markers/gospel-and-the-blues#.

“Ma Rainey.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Jan. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Rainey.

McGovern, Charles F. The Blues and Gospel Music. www2.lawrence.edu/library/americasmusic/bluesessay.pdf.

McGuinness, Paul. “A Change Is Gonna Come: How Gospel Influenced Rhythm'n'Blues.” UDiscover Music, 26 Aug. 2020, www.udiscovermusic.com/in-depth-features/gospel-influenced-rhythm-n-blues/.

“The Roots of Gospel Music, Part One.” Performance by Eric Reed, 27 Aug. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4Gf3vGd5_I.

“Thomas A. Dorsey.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Jan. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_A._Dorsey.

“Thomas Dorsey, a Premire Gospel Composer.” African American Registry, 22 Mar. 2020, aaregistry.org/story/thomas-dorsey-a-premire-gospel-composer/.