Gospel Music
A brief historical geography
by Ron Scoville
The gospel music roots were planted in America in 1740. Evangelist George Whitefield began a revival on the shores of New England that taught personal salvation born of a deep personal salvation. John and Charles Wesley, English friends of George Whitefield, followed up this fundamentalist movement. These two, and other composers who followed, wrote the hymns which formed the foundation of gospel music in America. The first camp meeting was in Logan County, Kentucky, in 1800. Both saints and sinners attended these social gatherings and the music they loved was shared by all. Gospel music spread through out the south and followed the American frontier westward. V. O. Stamps and J. R. Baxter began the Stamps-Baxter Music Company in 1926. Several teacher-composers worked for this firm and the associated V. O. Stamps School of Music. The Stamps Quartet and several other quartets were formed and trained in the school. The quartet is still the centerpiece of gospel music.
Links:
Wade in the Water (African American Sacred Music)
Bibliography:
Baxter, Mrs. J. P., and Violet Polk. Gospel Song Writers Biography. Dallas, Texas: Stamps-Baxter Music and Printing Company, 1971.
Blackwell, Lois S. The Wings of the Dove. Norfolk, Virginia: Dunning,1978.
Ives, Burl. Song in America. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce,1962.
Okum, Milton. Something to Shout About! New York: The MacMillan Company, 1968.
Racine, Kree-Jack. Above All. Memphis: Jarodoce Publications,1967.