They frequently traveled, preached, and performed together giving sermons in rural churches, many with no electricity having to power the voice of God, their guitars, with a portable generator.Īlso, in addition to sides by the Sunset Travelers formed on the streets of Memphis in 1950 featuring O.V. Smith inspired Reverend Jackson to “sit down on the guitar,” playing it above his head and with his teeth at times. Both those amazing pioneers of the blues and rock and roll saw Smith perform in tent revivals across the South. Smiths’ spectacle of playing and preaching was so influential in fact, that young players like Guitar Slim and Ernie K-Doe emulated it. Reverend Jackson was a protégé of Smiths. Smith’s style of preaching, singing, and guitar playing is widely influential and incredibly moving. Others spreading the Lords word with the guitar at the time were Arkansas born Sister Rosetta Tharpe and New Orleans own Elder Utah Smith. Born in McComb, Mississippi Jackson preached his brand of guitar evangelism, a genre born in the late 1920’s. Two of the sides on this uplifting compilation come from the Reverend Charlie Jackson. In this instant you will not worry about anything. You will indeed believe that love and music really is the answer. You will brush away pain, sorrow and doubt in this moment. By the grace of the other worshipers you will be hugged and feel the joy of being with your fellow man. You will be told by a stranger that, yes, everything will be alright. You will hear multiple instrumentalists on piano, Hammond B3, organ and drums.
Believe me, you will be moved to tears by a choir of voices like you may never hear at any professional concert.
So many of our great singers started in the Church before turning to secular music, learning to play and sing beautifully in the only venue that mattered to so many the house of God.įor those of you who may not have had experienced the absolute harmony and joy of a full gospel Church, you may walk out with your faith and or belief in a God somewhere- regardless of how you walked in. Again, Black Americans give us a uniquely American style of religious song, with its roots in the tradition of Folk music and early blues and jazz. Bo Diddley and many others learned music here. He assembled the first gospel choir at Ebenezer Baptist Church on South Indiana Ave in 1931 which still stands to this day. Dorsey is widely known as the Father of gospel music, as he composed and performed many of our most celebrated gospel songs including, “(There’ll be) Peace in the Valley (for me).” Arriving in Chicago in 1919, in the midst of the great migration of Southern Blacks, Dorsey coined the phrase “gospel songs” in the early 1920’s. Seeing is believing, and so is hearing, “Glory is Coming!”īrothers and Sisters no matter what your faith or belief is, Dog House and Bone Records in France has issued another rare LP pressing of original 45rpm records from the vast archives of Bayourod.Ĭhicago again plays a prominent role in musical history, as the foundation of organized gospel music is born here under the tutelage of Thomas Andrew Dorsey. Not only because he had seen the literal light, but because of it, he was able to see everything else. Lewis once said that he believed in a God as he believed that the Sun had risen.