1.
Gospel music
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Gospel music is a music genre in Christian music. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of music varies according to culture. Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, Gospel music usually has dominant vocals with Christian lyrics. Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century, with roots in the oral tradition. Hymns and sacred songs were repeated in a call and response fashion, most of the churches relied on hand clapping and foot stomping as rhythmic accompaniment. Most of the singing was done a cappella, the first published use of the term Gospel Song probably appeared in 1874. The original gospel songs were written and composed by such as George F. Root, Philip Bliss, Charles H. Gabriel, William Howard Doane. The advent of radio in the 1920s greatly increased the audience for gospel music, following World War II, gospel music moved into major auditoriums, and gospel music concerts became quite elaborate. Gospel blues is a form of gospel music. Southern gospel used all male, tenor-lead-baritone-bass quartet make-up, progressive Southern gospel is an American music genre that has grown out of Southern gospel over the past couple of decades. Christian country music, sometimes referred to as gospel music, is a subgenre of gospel music with a country flair. It peaked in popularity in the mid-1990s, bluegrass gospel music is rooted in American mountain music. Celtic gospel music infuses gospel music with a Celtic flair, and is popular in countries such as Ireland. British black gospel refers to Gospel music of the African diaspora, some proponents of standard hymns generally dislike gospel music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, with distance, there is a greater acceptance of such gospel songs into official denominational hymnals. Gospel music in general is characterized by dominant vocals referencing lyrics of a Christian nature, subgenres include contemporary gospel, urban contemporary gospel, Southern gospel, and modern gospel music. Several forms of gospel music utilize choirs, use piano or Hammond organ, tambourines, drums, bass guitar and, increasingly, electric guitar. In comparison with hymns, which are generally of a statelier measure, several attempts have been made to describe the style of late 19th and early 20th century gospel songs in general
2.
Christian music industry
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The Christian music industry is a small part of the larger music industry, that focuses on traditional Gospel music, Southern gospel, contemporary Christian music, and alternative Christian music. It is sometimes called the music industry, although this designation is not a limitation on the musical styles represented. Christian artists generally use secular styles, pairing them with lyrics that display faith, generally speaking, the industry is influenced by mainstream culture. Musical trends, for instance, follow those of the secular scene, the Christian music industry carries the distinction of being the only music subculture whose content is labeled by its lyrical dimension rather than its music. Still, music within the industry is sold by its musical style rather than lyrical content, Christian musics critics point to the divergent interests of commercialization and ministry, which have, according to some, polar opposite goals. Aspects of Christian music have long struggled to gain general acceptance, what some see as secularization and a lacking of direct theology, others see as artistic ministry. This opens up questions of the definition of Christian music that have lingered over the industry since its inception, the Christian music industry experienced tremendous growth in the 1990s. Christian music sales grew to exceed those for classical, jazz, even so, the Christian music industry has experienced the same issues as the general market in recent years. The contemporary Christian music industry has roots in the late 1960s and early 1970s Jesus Movement, the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music points out three reasons that the Christian music industry developed as a parallel structure to the general music industry. First, the Jesus movement produced a number of bands in a very short period. This was in due to a lack of appreciation for the ideology expressed by such artists. Finally, Jesus music artists tended toward mistrust of secular corporations, petra, for instance, struggled to find an audience for their hard rock sound, partially due to limited distribution to Christian bookstores. Even so, the 1970s saw established corporations become involved in the Christian music market, Word Records, founded in 1951, was bought in 1976 by ABC. Other music industry giants also got involved, CBS started a short-lived Christian label, Priority Records, while the Jesus movement had ended by the 1980s, the Christian music industry was maturing and transforming into a multi-million dollar enterprise. The early 1980s saw an increase Christian booksellers taking product, as a percentage of gross sales, Christian music rose from 9% in 1976 to 23% in 1985. By her 1982 release Amy Grant had saturated the Christian marketplace, Sandi Patti and Michael W. Smith also gained influence within Christian music, each playing significant roles in the development of the industry. Harder forms of Christian music, such as metal, also began to gain acceptance. This is largely credited to Stryper, who had begun making inroads into the market by 1985
3.
Nashville, Tennessee
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Nashville is the capital of the U. S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in the central part of the state. The city is a center for the music, healthcare, publishing, banking and transportation industries and it is known as a center of the country music industry, earning it the nickname Music City, U. S. A. Since 1963, Nashville has had a consolidated city-county government which includes six municipalities in a two-tier system. Nashville is governed by a mayor, vice-mayor, and 40-member Metropolitan Council, thirty-five of the members are elected from single-member districts, five are elected at-large. Reflecting the citys position in government, Nashville is home to the Tennessee Supreme Courts courthouse for Middle Tennessee. According to 2015 estimates from the U. S. Census Bureau, the balance population, which excludes semi-independent municipalities within Nashville, was 654,610. The 2015 population of the entire 13-county Nashville metropolitan area was 1,830,345, the 2015 population of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Columbia combined statistical area, a larger trade area, was 1,951,644. The town of Nashville was founded by James Robertson, John Donelson, and it was named for Francis Nash, the American Revolutionary War hero. Nashville quickly grew because of its location, accessibility as a port on the Cumberland River, a tributary of the Ohio River. By 1800, the city had 345 residents, including 136 African American slaves and 14 free blacks, in 1806, Nashville was incorporated as a city and became the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. In 1843, the city was named the permanent capital of the state of Tennessee, by 1860, when the first rumblings of secession began to be heard across the South, antebellum Nashville was a prosperous city. The citys significance as a port made it a desirable prize as a means of controlling important river. In February 1862, Nashville became the first state capital to fall to Union troops, the state was occupied by Union troops for the duration of the war. Within a few years after the Civil War, the Nashville chapter of the Ku Klux Klan was founded by Confederate veteran John W. Morton, meanwhile, the city had reclaimed its important shipping and trading position and developed a solid manufacturing base. The post–Civil War years of the late 19th century brought new prosperity to Nashville and these healthy economic times left the city with a legacy of grand classical-style buildings, which can still be seen around the downtown area. Circa 1950 the state approved a new city charter that provided for the election of city council members from single-member districts. This change was supported because at-large voting diluted the minority populations political power in the city and they could seldom gain a majority of the population to support a candidate of their choice
4.
Tennessee
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Tennessee is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th largest and the 17th most populous of the 50 United States, Tennessee is bordered by Kentucky and Virginia to the north, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, and Arkansas and Missouri to the west. The Appalachian Mountains dominate the eastern part of the state, Tennessees capital and second largest city is Nashville, which has a population of 654,610. Memphis is the states largest city, with a population of 655,770, the state of Tennessee is rooted in the Watauga Association, a 1772 frontier pact generally regarded as the first constitutional government west of the Appalachians. What is now Tennessee was initially part of North Carolina, Tennessee was admitted to the Union as the 16th state on June 1,1796. Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and join the Confederacy at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, occupied by Union forces from 1862, it was the first state to be readmitted to the Union at the end of the war. Tennessee furnished more soldiers for the Confederate Army than any other state besides Virginia and this sharply reduced competition in politics in the state until after passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-20th century. This city was established to house the Manhattan Projects uranium enrichment facilities, helping to build the worlds first atomic bomb, Tennessees major industries include agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. Poultry, soybeans, and cattle are the primary agricultural products, and major manufacturing exports include chemicals, transportation equipment. In the early 18th century, British traders encountered a Cherokee town named Tanasi in present-day Monroe County, the town was located on a river of the same name, and appears on maps as early as 1725. The meaning and origin of the word are uncertain, some accounts suggest it is a Cherokee modification of an earlier Yuchi word. It has been said to mean meeting place, winding river, according to ethnographer James Mooney, the name can not be analyzed and its meaning is lost. The modern spelling, Tennessee, is attributed to James Glen, the governor of South Carolina, the spelling was popularized by the publication of Henry Timberlakes Draught of the Cherokee Country in 1765. In 1788, North Carolina created Tennessee County, the county to be established in what is now Middle Tennessee. When a constitutional convention met in 1796 to organize a new out of the Southwest Territory. Other sources differ on the origin of the nickname, according to the Columbia Encyclopedia. Tennessee ties Missouri as the state bordering the most other states, the state is trisected by the Tennessee River. The highest point in the state is Clingmans Dome at 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome, which lies on Tennessees eastern border, is the highest point on the Appalachian Trail, and is the third highest peak in the United States east of the Mississippi River
5.
GMA Dove Award
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A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards took place in Atlanta, Georgia during 2011 and 2012, the ceremonies feature live musical performances and are broadcast on TBN. The awards were established in 1969, and represent a variety of styles, including rock, pop, hip hop, country. The Dove Awards were originally conceptualized by Gospel singer and songwriter Bill Gaither, the idea of the award being represented by a dove is credited to Gaither and design for the award itself is credited to gospel singer Les Beasley. The first GMA Dove Awards were held at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, in 1971, the awards moved to Nashville. There were no awards held in 1979, due to a decision by the Gospel Music Association to move the awards from autumn to spring, every ceremony since has been held in the spring. The first televised ceremony was the 15th GMA Dove Awards of 1984, the awards were held in Nashville until 2011 before being presented at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia in 2012. They returned to Nashville in 2013, and have held at the Allen Arena on the campus of Lipscomb University since. The General Field includes seven awards which are not restricted by genre, Song of the Year is awarded to the songwriter, prior to the definition, the only qualified music was that sold in Christian Booksellers Association affiliated stores. The new standards resulted in complaints by fans and artists after thirteen entries were disqualified as being too secular in the 1999 Dove Awards. The rules were rescinded afterwards, and many groups disqualified by the rulings in 1999 were winners in 2000, Christian pop culture Gospel Music Association of Canada Covenant Awards Official website GMA website Past winners
6.
Contemporary Christian music
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Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith. Today, the term is used to refer to pop, rock. Top-selling CCM artists will also appear on the Billboard 200, in the iTunes Store, the genre is represented as part of the Christian and gospel genre. The growing popularity in the styles of Rock n Roll music in the 1950s was initially dismissed by the church because it was believed to encourage sinfulness. Yet as evangelical churches adapted to appeal to people, the musical styles used in worship changed as well by adopting the sounds of this popular style. The genre became known as contemporary Christian music as a result of the Jesus movement revival in the latter 1960s and early 1970s, about that time, many young people from the sixties counterculture professed to believe in Jesus. Convinced of the bareness of a lifestyle based on drugs, free sex, however, there were people who felt that Jesus was another trip. It was during the 1970s Jesus movement that Christian music started to become an industry within itself, Jesus Music started by playing instruments and singing songs about love and peace, which then translated into love of God. Paul Wohlegemuth, who wrote the book Rethinking Church Music, said 1970s will see a marked acceptance of rock-influenced music in all levels of church music. The rock style will become familiar to all people, its rhythmic excesses will become refined. Larry Norman is often remembered as the father of Christian rock and he is remembered as the artist who first combined rock n roll with Christian lyrics in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Unlike traditional or southern gospel music, this new Jesus music was birthed out of rock, pioneers of this movement also included Keith Green, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Barry McGuire, Andraé Crouch and the Disciples, Evie, Benny Hester, and The Imperials, among others. The small Jesus music culture had expanded into an industry by the 1980s. Many CCM artists such as Benny Hester, Amy Grant, DC Talk, Michael W. Smith, Stryper, the genre emerged and became prevalent in the 1970s and 1980s. Beginning in July 1978, CCM Magazine began covering Contemporary Christian Music artists and it has certain themes and messages behind the songs and their lyrics including Praise and worship, faith, encouragement, and prayer. These songs also focus on themes of devotion, inspiration, redemption, reconciliation, many people listen to contemporary Christian music for comfort through tough times. The lyrics and messages conveyed in CCM songs are aimed to evangelize, one of the earliest goals of CCM was to spread the news of Jesus to non-Christians. In addition, contemporary Christian music also strengthens the faith of believers, Contemporary Christian music has influences from folk, gospel, pop and rock music
7.
Estes Park, Colorado
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The Town of Estes Park /ˈɛstɪs/ is a statutory town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. A popular summer resort and the location of the headquarters for Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park had a population of 5,858 at the 2010 census. The town overlooks Lake Estes and Olympus Dam, before Europeans came to the Estes Park valley, the Arapaho Indians lived there in the summertime and called the valley the Circle. When three elderly Arapahoes visited Estes Park in 1914, they pointed out sites they remembered from their younger days, toll, recorder, and David Robert Hawkins, a Princeton student. In the 1850s, the Arapaho had spent summers camped around Marys Lake, where their rock fireplaces, tipi sites and they also recalled building eagle traps atop Longs Peak to get the war feathers coveted by all tribes. They remembered their routes to and from the valley in detail, naming trails and they pointed out the site of their buffalo trap, and described the use of dogs to pack meat out of the valley. Their recollections included a battle with Apaches in the 1850s, and fights with Utes who came to the area to hunt bighorn sheep, whites probably came into the Estes Park valley before the 1850s as trappers, but did not stay long. The town is named after Missouri native Joel Estes, who founded the community in 1859, Estes moved his family there in 1863. One of Estes early visitors was William Byers, an editor who wrote of his ascent of Longs Peak in 1864. Griff Evans and his came to Estes Park in 1867 to act as caretakers for the former Estes ranch. Recognizing the potential for tourism, he began building cabins to accommodate travelers, soon it was known as the first dude ranch in Estes Park, with guides for hunting, fishing, and mountaineering. Lord Dunravens land grab didnt work, but he controlled 6,000 acres before he changed tactics and opened the areas first resort, the Estes Park Hotel, in 1873, Englishwoman Isabella Bird, the daughter of an Anglican minister, came to the United States. Landing at San Francisco, she came overland to Colorado, where she borrowed a horse and set out to explore the Rocky Mountains with a guide, the notorious James Nugent, aka Rocky Mountain Jim. She wrote a memoir of their travels, including the ascent of Longs Peak. On June 19th 1874 Rocky Mountain Jim and neighbor Griff Evans had an argument, having had bitter history with each other, Nugent and Evans hated each other and were deep personal rivals when it came to tour guiding tourists. The argument escalated until Evans blasted Jim in the head with his rifle shotgun, Evans then traveled to Fort Collins to file an assault charge against Nugent, but he was arrested and tried for first degree murder when Jim Nugent died on September 9th 1874 of the bullet wound. Evans was put on trial, but the case was dismissed due to the lack of witnesses to the shooting. On August 9th 1875, the Loveland court-house acquitted Evans of any charges in the case, William Henry Jackson photographed Estes Park in 1873
8.
Colorado
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Colorado is a state in the United States encompassing most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is part of the Western United States, the Southwestern United States, Colorado is the 8th most extensive and the 21st most populous of the 50 United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Colorado was 5,540,545 on July 1,2016, the state was named for the Colorado River, which Spanish travelers named the Río Colorado for the ruddy silt the river carried from the mountains. The Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28,1861, Colorado is nicknamed the Centennial State because it became a state in the same year as the centennial of the United States Declaration of Independence. Colorado is noted for its landscape of mountains, forests, high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers. Denver is the capital and the most populous city of Colorado, residents of the state are properly known as Coloradans, although the term Coloradoan has been used archaically and lives on in the title of Fort Collins newspaper, the Coloradoan. Colorado, Wyoming and Utah are the states which have boundaries defined solely by lines of latitude and longitude. The summit of Mount Elbert at 14,440 feet elevation in Lake County is the highest point in Colorado, Colorado is the only U. S. state that lies entirely above 1,000 meters elevation. The point where the Arikaree River flows out of Yuma County, Colorado and this point, which holds the distinction of being the highest low elevation point of any state, is higher than the high elevation points of 18 states and the District of Columbia. A little less than one half of the area of Colorado is flat, East of the Rocky Mountains are the Colorado Eastern Plains of the High Plains, the section of the Great Plains within Nebraska at elevations ranging from roughly 3,350 to 7,500 feet. The Colorado plains were mostly prairies, but they have many patches of forests, buttes. Eastern Colorado is presently covered in farmland and rangeland, along with small farming villages. Precipitation is fair, averaging from 15 to 25 inches annually, corn, wheat, hay, soybeans, and oats are all typical crops, and most of the villages and towns in this region boast both a water tower and a grain elevator. Irrigation water is available from the South Platte, the Arkansas River, and a few other streams, however, heavy use of ground water from wells for irrigation has caused underground water reserves to decline. As well as agriculture, eastern Colorado hosts considerable livestock, such as cattle ranches. Roughly 70% of Colorados population resides along the edge of the Rocky Mountains in the Front Range Urban Corridor between Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Pueblo, Colorado. This region is protected from prevailing storms that blow in from the Pacific Ocean region by the high Rockies in the middle of Colorado. The Front Range includes Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Loveland, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Greeley and other townships, on the other side of the Rockies, the significant population centers in Western Colorado are the cities of Grand Junction, Durango, and Montrose
9.
Gospel Music Hall of Fame
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This is an incomplete list of those inducted into the GMAs Gospel Music Hall of Fame, listed alphabetically with the year of induction. Many of these were honored posthumously for their contribution in gospel music and these artists include, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Sandi Patty, Larnelle Harris, Steven Curtis Chapman, dc Talk, Jars of Clay. Others associated with Grahams ministries are also inductees, George Beverly Shea, Cliff Barrows, Ralph Carmichael, southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame
10.
Elvis Presley
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Elvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is referred to as the King of Rock and Roll. Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and relocated to Memphis and his music career began there in 1954, when he recorded a song with producer Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley was a popularizer of rockabilly. RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, Presleys first RCA single, Heartbreak Hotel, was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. He was regarded as the figure of rock and roll after a series of successful network television appearances. In November 1956, Presley made his debut in Love Me Tender. In 1958, he was drafted into military service, in 1973, Presley featured in the first globally broadcast concert via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii. Several years of drug abuse severely damaged his health. Presley is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century and he won three Grammys, also receiving the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. Presley was born on January 8,1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Gladys Love and Vernon Elvis Presley, Jesse Garon Presley, his identical twin brother, was delivered stillborn 35 minutes before his own birth. Thus, as a child, Presley became close to both parents and formed an especially close bond with his mother. The family attended an Assembly of God, where he found his musical inspiration. Although he was in conflict with the Pentecostal church in his later years, rev. Rex Humbard officiated at his funeral, as Presley had been an admirer of Humbards ministry. Presleys ancestry was primarily a Western European mix, including Scots-Irish, Scottish, German, gladyss great-great-grandmother, Morning Dove White, was possibly a Cherokee Native American. Gladys was regarded by relatives and friends as the dominant member of the small family, Vernon moved from one odd job to the next, evincing little ambition. The family often relied on help from neighbors and government food assistance, the Presleys survived the F5 tornado in the 1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak. In 1938, they lost their home after Vernon was found guilty of kiting a check written by the landowner, Orville S. Bean and he was jailed for eight months, and Gladys and Elvis moved in with relatives
11.
Mahalia Jackson
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Mahalia Jackson was an American gospel singer. Possessing a powerful voice, she was referred to as The Queen of Gospel. She became one of the most influential singers in the world and was heralded internationally as a singer. She was described by entertainer Harry Belafonte as the single most powerful woman in the United States. She recorded about 30 albums during her career, and her 45 rpm records included a dozen golds—million-sellers, I sing Gods music because it makes me feel free, Jackson once said about her choice of gospel, adding, It gives me hope. With the blues, when you finish, you still have the blues and she was born on October 26,1911, as Mahala Jackson and nicknamed Halie. Jackson grew up in the Black Pearl section of the Carrollton neighborhood of uptown New Orleans, the three-room dwelling on Pitt Street housed thirteen people and a dog. This included Little Mahala, her brother Roosevelt Hunter, whom they called Peter, and her mother Charity Clark, several aunts and cousins lived in the house as well. Aunt Mahala was given the nickname Duke after proving herself the boss of the family. The extended family consisted of her mothers siblings, Isabell, Mahala, Boston, Porterfield, Hannah, Alice, Rhoda, Bessie, their children, grandchildren, and patriarch Rev. Paul Clark, a former slave. Jacksons father, John A. Jackson Sr. was a stevedore and he fathered five other children besides Mahalia, Wilmon and then Yvonne, Edna, Pearl and Johnny Jr. Her fathers sister, Jeanette Jackson-Burnett, and her husband, Josie, were vaudeville entertainers, at birth, Jackson suffered from genu varum, or bowed legs. The doctors wanted to perform surgery by breaking her legs, Jacksons mother would rub her legs down with greasy dishwater. The condition never stopped young Jackson from performing her dance steps for the woman for whom her mother. Jackson was four years old when her mother Charity died, leaving her family to decide who would raise Halie, Aunt Duke assumed this responsibility, and the children were forced to work from sun-up to sun-down. Aunt Duke would always inspect the house using the white glove method, if the house was not cleaned properly, Jackson was beaten. If one of the other relatives could not do their chores or clean at their job, Jackson loved to sing and church is where she loved to sing the most. Her Aunt Bell told her one day she would sing in front of royalty
12.
Keith Green
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Keith Gordon Green was an American contemporary Christian music pianist, singer and songwriter originally from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. Beyond his music, Green is best known for his devotion to Christian evangelism. Green is also known for numerous popular modern hymns, including O Lord, Youre Beautiful and There Is a Redeemer, written by his wife, Melody. Green took to music at an age, beginning with the ukulele at the age of three, the guitar at five, and the piano at seven years of age. His talents were noted by a newspaper by the time he was only eight years old. The show was Greens first appearance in theater, which was held in Chatsworth, California. According to the LA Times, Green had already done a number of television commercials and. made a TV pilot. At 10 years of age, Green went on to play the role of Kurt von Trapp in a community theatre production of The Sound of Music at the Valley Music Theater in Woodland Hills. In February 1965, having written forty original songs already, Green and his father, Harvey, the first song released on disc was A Go-Go Getter in May 1965, which he had earlier composed and published before signing with Decca. Upon publication of song, Green, at 11 years of age. Green was a guest on the game show Ive Got a Secret on May 3,1965. His secret was I just signed a contract as a rock-n-roll singer. The segment included a performance of Well Do a Lot of Things Together. Green had a Jewish heritage and was raised in Christian Science and he grew up reading the New Testament and called the mixture of being Jewish and learning about Jesus an odd combination that left him open minded but deeply unsatisfied. He began doing drugs and became interested in mysticism and free love. After experiencing what Green described as a bad trip, he abandoned drug use and became interested in philosophy, when Green was 19 he met a fellow seeker/musician named Melody. They were inseparable and got married a year later – now he had a partner as his spiritual and musical quest continued, Green later stated, however, that in the midst of his skepticism, he had, been lost in a fantasy, till love broke through. And he renounced Christian Science and became a Jewish believer in Jesus the Messiah, a week later, Greens wife Melody, whom he had married in 1973 and was also Jewish, became a Jewish believer in Jesus
13.
Larry Norman
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Larry David Norman was an American musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Christian rock music, Larry Norman was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, the oldest son of Joe Hendrex Joe Billy Norman, and his wife, Margaret Evelyn Marge Stout. Joe Norman had served as a sergeant in the US Army Air Corps during World War II, after Normans birth, the family joined the Southern Baptist church. In 1950 the family moved to San Francisco, where attended a Black American Pentecostal church and then a Baptist church. In 1959, Norman performed on the television show The Original Amateur Hour. In 1960, Normans father began teaching in San José, California, Norman graduated from Campbell High School in 1965 and won an academic scholarship to major in English at San Jose State College. After one semester, Norman flunked out of college and lost scholarship, although Norman was able to play a variety of musical instruments, he never learned to read or write musical notation. While still in school, Norman formed a group called The Back Country Seven. After graduating, Norman continued performing and opened at local concerts for The Doors, in 1966 Norman opened a concert for People. At the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California and he later became the bands principal songwriter, sharing lead vocals with his Back Country Seven bandmate Gene M. Mason. The bands cover of The Zombies I Love You became a hit single, selling one million copies. Before Capitol released the bands first album in the summer of 1967, according to rock historian Walter Rasmussen, Pete Townshend once said that The Whos 1969 album Tommy was inspired by the rock opera Epic by People. However, Townshend has since denied the connection and he had a powerful spiritual encounter that threw him into a frenzy of indecision about his life for the first time in his life, he received what he understood to be the Holy Spirit. In July 1968, following a job offer to write musicals for Capitol Records, Norman moved to Los Angeles, where he spent time sharing the gospel on the streets. As he described in 2006, I walked up and down Hollywood Boulevard several times a day. witnessing to businessmen and hippies, I spent all of my Capitol Records royalties starting a halfway house and buying clothes and food for new converts. He was initially associated with the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, and its Salt Company coffee shop outreach ministry, in 1968 Norman wrote several songs for the rock musicals Alison and Birthday for Shakespeare, both of which were performed in Los Angeles. In 1969, Capitol Records released Normans first solo album, Upon This Rock, Norman was denounced by various television evangelists, and Capitol deemed the album a commercial flop and dropped Norman from the label. However, his gained a large following in the emerging countercultural movements
14.
The Blackwood Brothers
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For the Scottish publisher and printer, see Blackwood. The Blackwood Brothers are an American southern gospel quartet and they are nine-time Grammy Award-winning pioneers of the Christian music industry. The Blackwood Brothers Quartet were formed in 1934 in the midst of the Great Depression when preacher Roy Blackwood moved his family home to Choctaw County. His brothers, Doyle Blackwood and 15-year-old James Blackwood, already had experience singing with Vardaman Ray. After adding Roys 13-year-old son, R. W. Blackwood, to sing baritone, by 1940, they were affiliated with Stamps-Baxter to sell songbooks and were appearing on 50, 000-watt radio station KMA in Shenandoah, Iowa. Doyle left in 1942 and was replaced by Don Smith, after Doyle left, The Quartet relocated to Memphis, Tennessee in 1950. The move proved to be successful for the group as they began to appear on television station WMCT in coming years. After the move, Roy left and was replaced with Calvin Newton, who was replaced with Cat Freeman, in 1951, Alden Toney and Don Smith left and were replaced with Dan Huskey and Bill Lyles. In 1952, Dan Huskey left and was replaced by Bill Shaw, the excitement was short lived, however when a plane crash took the lives of R. W. Blackwood, Bill Lyles, and Johnny Ogburn, a local friend of the Blackwood Brothers. The survivors, James Blackwood, Bill Shaw, and Jackie Marshall soldiered on, R. W. s little brother Cecil Blackwood took over as baritone and J. D. Sumner replaced Bill Lyles at the bass position, according to Ken Berryhill, their producer, it was at about this point in their career that they first crossed paths with the young Elvis Presley, with whom they became friends. But they had to him from joining them. The Blackwood Brothers were, in fact, Presleys favorite gospel group led them to form an enduring friendship. The group is also the founders of the National Quartet Convention, with Sumner also contributed to the group as a songwriter, the Blackwood Brothers were also setting new standards in the studio. Their RCA Victor recordings from time period are now prized collectors items. The lineup with Bill Shaw, James, Cecil, and J. D. Sumner is considered the classic version of the Blackwood Brothers Quartet, a replica of the bus can be seen at the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The Blackwood Brothers formed a partnership with the Statesmen Quartet to tour as a team in the 1950s and this dominance lasted for about a decade until the rise of gospel television shows in the late 1960s began to give competing groups wider exposure. The Stateswood team also started independent record label Skylite Records, at one time, the Skyline roster included The Blackwood Brothers, J. D
15.
The Imperials
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The Imperials are an American Christian music group that has been active for over 50 years. Originating as a gospel quartet, the innovative group would become pioneers of contemporary Christian music in the 1960s. There have been many changes for the band in membership and musical styles over the years and they would go on to win four Grammys, and be inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. The band had its genesis when long-time Statesmen Quartet member Jake Hess retired from that group on December 7,1963, Hess wanted to start a new group recognized as king of the Southern gospel field and thought the Imperials would be a good moniker. After signing with Benson Records in 1964, the recorded their first of many albums on the Heart Warming Records label. The following year, the organization moved from Atlanta to Nashville. After 2 years with the group, tenor Nielsen was first to go, murrays past included stints with the Stamps Trio, Inspirationals, and Orrell Quartet. About this time, Slaughter also departed with Joe Moscheo of the Harmoneers replacing him at the keyboard, health issues also forced Hess to retire and McSpadden chose to leave as well. In 1966, Hess turned the reins of the group over to Morales, Moscheo, with new members, Roger Wiles and ex-Stamps Quartet member Terry Blackwood, a new name, along came a new, more contemporary sound on the 1967 album New Dimensions. It also brought them their first of many awards, Male Quartet of the Year in 1969 from the Gospel Music Association, Elvis Presley had long harbored a love for gospel and Jake Hess in particular. The group recorded with Elvis in sessions from May 1966 to June 1971 and this included his last two Grammy Award-producing albums, How Great Thou Art and He Touched Me. At the same time the Imperials appeared with Jimmy Dean, live, in 1972, because of scheduling conflicts, they decided to stop performing with Elvis. The following year the group performing in concert with Jimmy Dean. The Imperials surprised gospel music fans in February 1972 by hiring Sherman Andrus, a member of Andrae Crouch. This made them the first interracial Christian group America had ever seen, the lineup of the group stayed stable with Andrus and Terry Blackwood sharing lead vocals through 1975 when Joe Moscheo left just after recording of Follow the Man with the Music. The following year, the pair left to form contemporary Christian music act Andrus. In Early 1976, the group hired baritone David Will, who would stay on for 23 years with the group, and soulful belter Russ Taff as their new lead vocalist. The Taff-led outfit is heard on the albums Sail On, Imperials Live, Heed the Call, One More Song for You, Christmas With the Imperials and it was during this era that the group found their biggest success, both with awards and on the charts
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The Jordanaires
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The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. They are known for providing vocals for Elvis Presley, in live appearances. The group has worked in the recording studio, on stage. In 1948, Matt and Jack left to become full-time preachers and were replaced by Bob Hubbard, also a minister, and bass singer Culley Holt, after three years Money was replaced as pianist by Gordon Stoker. At that time, they formed the new group as the Melodizing Matthews, in Springfield, Missouri and this starting lineup lasted until 1949, at that time, Bob Hubbard was drafted and was replaced by Hoyt Hawkins. Later that year, Monty and Bill Matthews left, Hawkins switched to baritone, and new lead Neal Matthews was recruited. Don Bruce came in as a new first tenor, however, the group narrowed to a quartet, with Stoker taking over as first tenor. They became members of the Grand Ole Opry in 1949 and they recorded for Capitol Records in the early 1950s, and began providing vocal accompaniment behind solo singers in Nashville, Tennessee. The lineup changed again in 1954, with Culley Holt leaving, the quartet became well known in the southern gospel realm, and what made them stand out from other quartets of that time was how they would bring spirituals to a predominantly white audience. While continuing to turn out albums of their own, the group become better known for the signature background harmonies they have provided on dozens of secular records. Jarrett remained until 1958, at time, he was replaced by Ray Walker. October 31954 a teenage Elvis Presley made the drive from Memphis to Nashville to make his one, debuting his high-energy brand of rockabilly with Blue Moon of Kentucky it was his first live performance on national radio broadcast. He had just recorded his first record at Sun studios, Thats All Right just a few weeks prior, an afternoon in 1955, the Jordanaires played a show in Memphis with Eddy Arnold to publicize their new syndicated TV series, Eddy Arnold Time. He was on Sun Records at that time, on January 10,1956, Presley recorded his first session for RCA with guitarist Scotty Moore, bassist Bill Black, and drummer D. J. Fontana. I Got a Woman, Heartbreak Hotel, and Money Honey were recorded, Presley asked his new label RCA Victor if the Jordanaires could appear on the recordings. The next day Gordon Stoker was called by Chet Atkins to do a session with a new singer named Elvis. RCA had also just signed the Speer Family, Atkins asked Stoker to sing with Ben and Brock Speer so he could use them. The recording session for Im Counting on You and I Was the One was the first session Presley did with vocal background, by April 1956, Heartbreak Hotel was No.1
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GMA Canada
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The Gospel Music Association of Canada or GMA Canada is a not for profit association, founded in 1974, whose purpose is to promote Christian music in Canada. GMA Canada assists Christian artists, songwriters, producers, promoters and others working in Christian music to promote their work with media, retailers, distributors, the organization runs educational programs and presents the annual Covenant Awards. The business of the association is conducted by a board of advisors drawn from its membership, the current board consists of Gregory J. Strom, Gordie Cochran, Jon Buller, Melayne Shenkel, Mat Crisp and Clarence Giesbrecht. GMA Canada is loosely associated with the Gospel Music Association in the United States, GMA Canada is the presenter of the annual Covenant Awards, Canada’s national awards for the Canadian gospel music industry. The 2012 awards were presented November 7 as part of GMA Canada Week in Burlington, Awards were handed out in 50 categories, including the GMA Canada Lifetime Achievement Award and the newly created Scotts Parable Canadian Gospel Music Song Hall Of Fame. The Huron Carol Written in 1643 by Jesuit Missionary Jean de Brébeuf The Huron Carol was admitted to GMA Canada Song Hall of Fame in 2012 as part of its inaugural year. Brébeuf wrote the lyrics in the language of the Huron/Wendat people under the original name of Jesous Ahatonhia. The melody came from the traditional French folk song Une Jeune Pucelle, the English lyrics were written in 1926 by Jesse Edgar Middleton. They became public domain in 2011, the song has been recorded by many Canadian artists including Lianna Klassen, Cheryl Bear, Bruce Cockburn, Crash Test Dummies and Tom Jackson. Come, Now Is the Time to Worship Written by Brian Doerksen in 1998, come, Now Is The Time To Worship became his most recognized song, being sung in churches around the world. It has been recorded by The Oak Ridge Boys, Phillips, Craig and Dean, VeggieTales and my Jesus I Love Thee The hymn My Jesus I Love Thee was written as a poem by William Ralph Featherston in 1864 when he was 16 years old. Featherston was from Montreal, Quebec and was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Montreal, Music was added to the poem after Feathertons death in 1876 by Adoniram Gordon. The song has been recorded by hundreds of artists including The Wiebes, Paul Baloche, Amy Grant, Avalon, Capstone, 27th Annual Covenant Hits 28th Annual Covenant Hits GMA Canada presents 30th Anniversary Collection Music of Canada Covenant Awards Official website
