7:30pm Friday GOSPEL – Docuseries
From the blues to hip hop, African Americans have been the driving force of sonic innovation for over a century. Musical styles come and go, but there's one sound that has been a constant source of strength, courage, and wisdom on any given Sunday. GOSPEL, the latest history series from Henry Louis Gates, Jr., digs deep into the origin story of Black spirituality through sermon and song.
Episode subjects include: The Gospel Train (the sonic influences of blues and jazz), The Golden Age of Gospel (from the Lord’s music to the mainstream), Take the Message Everywhere (gospel goes mainstream, taking the good news everywhere), and Gospel's Second Century (gospel and preaching achieve platinum-selling success).
The Gospel Train - GOSPEL’s hour 1 takes the gospel train north to Chicago, where southern migrants Thomas A. Dorsey, Mahalia Jackson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe blended the melodic sounds and instrumentation of blues and jazz with lyrics about God’s goodness. Like the blues, gospel would become a commodity, but one built by Black-owned publishing companies like Martin and Morris and sustained by Black audiences.
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