Progressive?
One debate that occasionally flares up on gospel music message boards concerns the future of the genre…can it survive among ALL the different genres of not only music in general, but Christian music in particular?
It seems to me that people misunderstand the facts in the discussion before they even begin it with someone…all too often it is assumed that “gospel” is a distinct form of music that can be readily identified in the same manner as rocck ‘n’ roll, classical, jazz, or blues. It is not. Gospel music is defined not by its’ musical structure, but by its’ lyrical content. It can be expressed in almost any musical form that exists(and IS nowadays). I realize there are subgenres of gospel music that can be regarded as having unique structure and form(e.g., gospel quartet music), but generally speaking, what makes music “gospel” as opposed to “non-gospel” is the content of the lyrics, not the nature of its’ form.
In the genre known as “southern gospel”, traditionally expressed in quartet form, even there there are a number of forms in which that music is expressed. These days, along with the quartet form that has existed for decades, there are country sounding subgenres and naturally artists that are also influenced by the pop and bluegrass music around them, and they are bidding for a foothold in the southern gospel marketplace. This is perfectly understandable and reasonable, and should not be discouraged for its’ own sake. There’s room for everything under the “southern” umbrella.
More recently, a pop-influenced subgenre has reeared its’ head in the southern field, known to its’ adherents as “progressive”, an adjective that troubles me. Why does it trouble me?
First of all, the term infers that it’s music is somehow “farther ahead” of its’ competitors…how is this so? In the gospel field, there is NOTHING new or revolutionary musically about any of it…ALL of it is based on already existing forms. Is it “progressive” because it is based on more advanced forms? For one thing, much of the so-called “progressive” music is not, anyway…and even if it were, “progressive” according to whom? The term “progressive” is a relative term anyway…based on the ears of the beholder, and cannot be correctly used as a label for a genre of music created for a general, non-musically sophisticated audience.
A term such as “progressive” is a comparative term anyway, and, as was the case in the rock music field in the 1970s, is used to infer a sort of superiority to its’ alternatives in a genre. Gospel music doesn’t need a caste system to differentiate its’ various substyles.
All of the above is not to say that the so-called “progressive” sounds are not accomplished, or in any way “bad”…it’s just that in my humble estimation, the term is a very inaccurate one to use when applied to gospel music in this day and age.
So what, then, of the future of traditional southern style gospel music? Like any other genre of music that has lasted for decades, it will always be with us. And it needn’t be “watered down” by trying to change it into something that it’s fans won’t accept or recognize.
To be continued…
Posted on Apr 18, 2006 - 07:56 PM | [2]
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inquirer1 Says: 
April 21st, 2006 at 12:58 pm e
John,
I agree with you in part.
I disagree on the “gospel music has no distictive sound” part.
Defining the music solely by it’s lyrical content… that’s CCM. Real gospel, be it “Southern” or “Black” SOUNDS like gospel music. Sure, there are things we borrow from country or pop or whatever, but it’s a two-way street. How often have you heard a soul or r&b;or country song being described as a “gospel flavored” number? I hear it all the time.
Gospel music is the root of Soul, of Rockabilly. Ray Charles’ “What I’d Say” was gospel music with secular lyrics. So was Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me.”
Carl Perkins stated that Rockabilly was “Black blues with a White Gospel rhythm” and he cited Albert Brumley’s “I’ll Fly Away” as the rhythm he meant.
Think about it.