After a “fashion”

Frequent readers to message boards are very familiar with the phenomenon of a topic wandering far from the point of the original post to begin the discussion.

While reading a popular gospel music blog, I had that same experience once more.

The original topic was the legal wrangling between a current gospel group and one of its' former members, but it didn't take long for the discussion to switch from the story to one of the most annoying side issues I encounter when reading gospel music discussions.

Namely, how gospel singers should dress for personal appearances.

It started when someone posted that the group in question appeared unkempt, with "...shirttails hanging out.." and "Salvation Army" styled apparel in an attempt to look "trendy".

I can't tell you how tired I am of this endless debate.

Once it starts, the adherents of the respective sides immediately take the most extreme positions on either side.

"Does it really make any difference if they wear matching suits?", one side asks. "As long as they sing well, who cares...after all, Jesus didn't wear Armani suits with ties.", they continue mindlessly. "People ought to care about how they present themselves in public", says the other side reflexively. "It shows class and professionalism to dress alike..that sort of thing is increasingly missing from too many singers today." Puh-leez.

I'm not trying to make fun of either side of this debate. There ARE good points raised by both sides. But do these points need to be raised every time there is a comment about the appearance of a gospel singer?

Some arguments cannot be resolved through endless discussion, particularly those where empirical evidence cannot be used by either side to settle the issue in question. Even Scripture cannot be used to settle questions of opinion(such as this)...because, let's face it, people can use Scripture to justify almost any opinion.

And I'm not going to solve that debate in this post, either.

All I can tell you is what I think.

Sure, one's singing ability doesn't depend on apparel whatsoever. Anyone who's ever sung a good tune in the shower can testify that you don't necessarily have to wear ANYTHING to sing a song well.

But realistically, when appearing in public, you've got to wear something! So what should the guidelines be?

Without meaning to sound as though I'm "copping out", much depends on the venue and the intent and context of one's singing appearance.

Many younger people who are accustomed to seeing their favorite artists dress relatively casually don't understand how or why the tradition of matching suits developed among gospel quartets.

That tradition began when quartets started to travel to different venues to sing(and sell their song books).

The idea behind matching suits developed naturally from the singers' intent to glorify God as best they could by looking their best when singing songs that tesified to His reality and His saving grace.

OK, John, why the matching suits, then? Wouldn't any nice suit do?

No, because(as evidenced by the hyper-awareness of what singers wear)if one member of the quartet had apparel that stood out from the rest, his appearance could distract the audience from listening as intently as possible to the message of the songs they were singing. Therefore, individuality was discouraged for those attempting to communicate through a song.

If all the singers dressed alike, reasoned those early pioneers, nothing would stand out except the songs...and the message.

OK, John, you say. I'll give you that. But do you really think people don't listen that closely now that a lot of singers dress differently on stage than they did back then?

No, I can't say they do. But when you sing to people you've never met, why take the chance that they might not?

It's possible that people who advocate uniform dress among group members are choosing to "err on the side of caution", if you will. And really, what's so wrong with that? Some who disagree with that position act as though a person's individual rights are violated when they're asked to essentially wear a uniform to perform their job, which is EXACTLY what professional gospel singing is.

I hate to remind you all of this, but the tradition of wearing a uniform for one's job is a long standing tradition that has been ably defended over the years.

So if you're singing pop music, or rap, or some other genre, perhaps those standards would be different.

But take it easy on the people who've sung gospel music for years, and done it well and honorably wearing suits(not necessarily Armanis)and ties...they mean well, and they have good reasons for doing so.

And maybe someday, if you feel differently, they may come around and agree with you.

But do me one favor. PLEASE stop arguing endlessly over the same things on gospel music discussion forums!:-)

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