Close Harmony

by Goff, James R., Jr.

• ISBN13: 9780807826812
• ISBN10: 0807826812
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr

Summary

Comprehensive and richly illustrated, "Close Harmony traces the development of the music known as southern gospel from its antebellum origins to its twentieth-century emergence as a vibrant musical industry driven by the world of radio, television, recordings, and concert promotions. Marked by smooth, tight harmonies and a lyrical focus on the message of Christian salvation, southern gospel--particularly the white gospel quartet tradition--had its roots in nineteenth-century shape-note singing. The spread of white gospel music is intricately connected to the people who based their livelihoods on it, and Close Harmony is filled with the stories of artists and groups such as Frank Stamps, the Chuck Wagon Gang, the Blackwood Brothers, the Rangers, the Swanee River Boys, the Statesmen, and the Oak Ridge Boys. The book also explores changing relations between black and white artists and shows how, following the civil rights movement, white gospel was influenced by black gospel, bluegrass, rock,metal, and, later, rap. With Christian music sales topping the $600 million mark at the close of the twentieth century, "Close Harmony explores the history of an important and influential segment of the thriving gospel industry.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Introduction	1	(12)
Part I. The Roots of a Musical Genre
Alexandria, Indiana, April 3, 1996	13	(1)
Gospel Music in the Nineteenth Century	14	(21)
Springdale, Arkansas, August 2, 1996	33	(2)
Shape Notes and a Musical Tradition	35	(27)
Part II. The Birth of an Industry
Springdale, Arkansas, August 3, 1996	61	(1)
James David Vaughan, Pioneer	62	(19)
Dallas, Texas, July 28, 1996	80	(1)
Stamps-Baxter: A Texas Gospel Music Empire	81	(30)
Part III. The Emergence of Professional Quartets
Bedford, Texas, July 29, 1996	109	(2)
Early Quartets: On the Road the First Time	111	(46)
Springdale, Arkansas, August 2, 1996	156	(1)
The Boom Years: Gospel Music Promoters and the All-Night Sings	157	(44)
Nashville, Tennessee, September 28, 1992, and Durham, North Carolina, August 12, 1996	199	(2)
The Golden Age Challenge: Unconventional Groups and Songwriters	201	(22)
Part IV. The World of Southern Gospel
Live Oak, Florida, June 15, 1996	221	(2)
Quartets and the National Expansion of Gospel Music	223	(41)
Belfast, North Carolina, December 24, 1960, and Louisville, Kentucky, September 25, 1998	262	(2)
The Emergence of Southern Gospel	264	(19)
Conclusion	283	(6)
Notes	289	(90)
Index	379