Monday, May 12, 2025
No Result
View All Result
The Chimney Rock Chronicle
FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS
  • Home
    • About Us
    • Pickup Locations
  • Columns
    • All
    • Book Notes
    • Faith
    • From the Potting Shed
    • Fulks Run Follies
    • Local Legends
    • Personal Development
    • Reflections from the Past and Present
    • The Wandering Wilkins
    The Chimney Rock Chronicle.

    Another Story from Our North Carolina Friends

    Ken West.

    Learning to Dwell in the Secret Place – Part 2

    George Bowers.

    Stocking Trout and Jesus’ Return 

    Ken West.

    Learning to Dwell

    George Bowers.

    Who Are We Pleasing?

    Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

    Gospel Vault

    Gospel Vault: April 1990 A Look Back

    Ken West.

    My will or God’s will?

    George Bowers.

    Dealing With Smoky Nostalgia

    Connecting Compromise to Our Clear Purpose

    Women in Leadership and Athletics:  Personal Reflections on How We’ve Come a Long Way!

    Ken West.

    Understanding the Will of God

    Gospel Vault

    Gospel Vault

    Lincoln’s Diagnosis and Remedy 

    Sarah’s Recipes

    • Entertainment
      Gospel Vault

      Gospel Vault

      Off Broadway Players Announce 2025 Season

      Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

      Off Broadway Players Announce 2025 Season

      Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

      Gospel Vault

      Gospel Vault

    • History

      Justice in the Good Old Days

      When This You See

      When This You See

      Highlights From the Plains District Memorial Museum

      Connecting With Others, Bite by Bite

      Brocks Gap Heritage Day April 26

      Reflections from the Past and Present

      When This You See

      When This You See

      Museum Celebrates Black History Month

      Part of Our Story

      When This You See

      When This You See

    • Lifestyle
      • All
      • Health
      • Inspirational
      • Travel

      The Wandering Wilkins

      The Power of Perspective

      Sarah’s Recipes

      Sarah’s Recipes

      The Chimney Rock Chronicle.

      Azaleas for Mother’s Day

  • Events
  • Our Sponsors
  • Advertising
  • Home
    • About Us
    • Pickup Locations
  • Columns
    • All
    • Book Notes
    • Faith
    • From the Potting Shed
    • Fulks Run Follies
    • Local Legends
    • Personal Development
    • Reflections from the Past and Present
    • The Wandering Wilkins
    The Chimney Rock Chronicle.

    Another Story from Our North Carolina Friends

    Ken West.

    Learning to Dwell in the Secret Place – Part 2

    George Bowers.

    Stocking Trout and Jesus’ Return 

    Ken West.

    Learning to Dwell

    George Bowers.

    Who Are We Pleasing?

    Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

    Gospel Vault

    Gospel Vault: April 1990 A Look Back

    Ken West.

    My will or God’s will?

    George Bowers.

    Dealing With Smoky Nostalgia

    Connecting Compromise to Our Clear Purpose

    Women in Leadership and Athletics:  Personal Reflections on How We’ve Come a Long Way!

    Ken West.

    Understanding the Will of God

    Gospel Vault

    Gospel Vault

    Lincoln’s Diagnosis and Remedy 

    Sarah’s Recipes

    • Entertainment
      Gospel Vault

      Gospel Vault

      Off Broadway Players Announce 2025 Season

      Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

      Off Broadway Players Announce 2025 Season

      Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

      Gospel Vault

      Gospel Vault

    • History

      Justice in the Good Old Days

      When This You See

      When This You See

      Highlights From the Plains District Memorial Museum

      Connecting With Others, Bite by Bite

      Brocks Gap Heritage Day April 26

      Reflections from the Past and Present

      When This You See

      When This You See

      Museum Celebrates Black History Month

      Part of Our Story

      When This You See

      When This You See

    • Lifestyle
      • All
      • Health
      • Inspirational
      • Travel

      The Wandering Wilkins

      The Power of Perspective

      Sarah’s Recipes

      Sarah’s Recipes

      The Chimney Rock Chronicle.

      Azaleas for Mother’s Day

  • Events
  • Our Sponsors
  • Advertising
No Result
View All Result
The Chimney Rock Chronicle
Subscribe
Thank you to our Sponsors! Thank you to our Sponsors! Thank you to our Sponsors!
Home Columns

Gospel Vault

What is "southern gospel" music?

Chris Runion by Chris Runion
December 8, 2021
in Entertainment, Faith, Lifestyle

By Chris Runion

 

As someone who has spent countless hours studying the genre, it’s an important question not just in terms of the past, but looking ahead to the future. Sure, I love the older music, but ultimately I want this style to be around for many years to come.

 

You may be surprised to learn that the term ‘southern gospel’ is barely 50 years old. It is derived, of course, from ‘gospel’ music. So this month, let’s see what exactly happened in the 1970s and 1980s that brought about a brand new definition of gospel music.

 

During the first part of the 20th century, gospel groups had basically two ways to make a name for themselves. The first method was usually for quartets: become affiliated with a music publishing company. These businesses sought to spread the shape-note method of singing, and would hire quartets to travel the country to promote their songbooks. The second method was mainly for family groups: harness the power of radio to become well-known in local markets, with the hopes of expanding to a national audience.

 

By the 1960s, gospel music had grown to include a variety of distinct musical styles and groups. In 1964, the Gospel Music Association (GMA) was launched to help promote the genre. Legendary names like James Blackwood, J.D. Sumner, and Vestal Goodman were part of the original board. (The GMA is the group that holds the Dove Awards each year, still to this day).

 

Then came the 1970s, and here is where things get interesting. In many churches, there always seems to be a battle between traditional and contemporary styles. And, not surprisingly, this is what happened in the gospel music industry during this decade of change. It was inevitable that the sounds of secular music would begin to influence gospel music, and so during the seventies a number of groups came onto the music scene that had a ‘progressive’ style. Some more than others, of course, while a handful of groups held fast to their traditional styles. As expected, some audiences were receptive to the new styles, while others were more conservative in their musical tastes.

 

The late seventies saw the emergence of what we call ‘Contemporary Christian Music’ (CCM) today. But – here’s the key – such a label did not exist. All music was still ‘gospel’. Sure, there were some labels like ‘traditional’, ‘progressive’, ‘country’, and ‘black/soul’, but everything fell under the same umbrella – gospel music. Singing News, the leading publication in the industry, reflected this. By the late seventies, the newspaper had grown to include as many as four different charts to accommodate the varying styles.

 

It was around this time that the GMA began to promote the more progressive/contemporary gospel music, as they seemed to find it more appealing to larger markets. Sure, this was met with criticism from the start, but a breaking point was reached around 1984, when that year’s Dove Awards program (which was televised) all but ignored ‘traditional’ or ‘southern’ gospel. At the forefront were names that have become legends in CCM – Amy Grant, Petra, the Imperials, Sandi Patty. As for traditional gospel, ‘big name’ groups like the Cathedrals, the Florida Boys, Hinsons, Hemphills, Inspirations, and the Speers were nowhere to be found.

 

Many of the original founders of the GMA felt betrayed. Here was an organization that was founded by leading members of the traditional gospel industry. But now, ‘traditional’ or ‘southern’ gospel seemed like an unwanted child for the GMA.

 

This is where we see the emergence of ‘southern gospel’ as a separate industry – the big ‘split’ of gospel music styles. CCM had grown exponentially, and so had southern gospel by the mid-1980s. There was enough material for gospel radio stations to pick a style and run with it, and both markets flourished during the 1980s and well into the 1990s. Southern gospel came to be defined by groups like the Cathedrals, Dixie Melody Boys, Gold City, Hemphills, Hinsons, Kingsmen, McKameys, Talleys, and many more. The music had country overtones, with occasional orchestrations, but was distinctively different from CCM.

 

In the mid-1990s, the SGMA – Southern Gospel Music Association – was founded. This organization was completely independent from the larger GMA, with its own Hall of Fame (located at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN from 1999 until 2020). Southern gospel rode into the 21st century in style with a number of groups that kept the genre alive and well…

 

…and here is where things get interesting. By the mid-to-late 2000s, a new style of southern gospel was emerging – ‘progressive southern gospel’. The style has been described by some critics as mimicking the CCM of the 1980s and moving away from a ‘distinctive’ southern gospel sound. Supporters of the new style see it as a way to broaden the scope of southern gospel music to reach a younger and/or larger market.

 

Once again, in a scene very similar to the seventies, there are a variety of styles under the ‘umbrella’ of southern gospel music. Some artists have retained a traditional sound, others have continued to develop a progressive style. This will play a key role in defining southern gospel in the years to come – will there be yet another split in the industry? Or, is there the potential for unification?

 

You’ll notice as I conclude that I have somewhat failed to clearly define southern gospel music, and, in all honesty, that’s the reality. It is very difficult to define. It has a clear-cut message – the Gospel – but also a unique sound that it has developed over the years, setting it apart from other forms of gospel music. It will be interesting to see how the industry grows/evolves in the years to come…

Tags: southern gospel
Chris Runion

Chris Runion

Chris Runion, a 2020 graduate of EMU, is an on-air personality at WBTX in Broadway, heard weekdays 8:00am to 10:00am on 1470 AM and 102.1 FM. He may be reached via email – crunion@wbtxradio.com.

Next Post
Woman’s Club

Woman's Club

Popular Articles

  • The Chimney Rock Chronicle.

    Another Story from Our North Carolina Friends

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Stocking Trout and Jesus’ Return 

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • A Little-Known Piece of Fulks Run History Uncovered

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Hair Nook

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Helping Farmers and Feeding People

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Hunting Turkeys, Finding God

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Remembering Mother Edith Hoover Runion

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Paramount Plant Co. Enters Second Season

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Power of Perspective

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Pay Jobs and Paychecks

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact
  • Pick Up Locations

© 2024 The Chimney Rock Chronicle - Website & E-Commerce by Bare Web Design, Broadway Va.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Columns
  • History
  • Sports
    • Thank you to our 2025 Sponsors!
    • Advertising

© 2024 The Chimney Rock Chronicle - Website & E-Commerce by Bare Web Design, Broadway Va.