The Sound of Light

by Cusic, Don; Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation

• ISBN13: 9780634029387
• ISBN10: 063402938X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-06-01
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Corp

Summary

The Sound of Light is a sweeping overview of the history of gospel music. Powerful and incisive, it traces contemporary Christianity and Christian music to the 16th century and the Protestant Reformation after examining music in the Bible and early church music. From the psalms of the early Puritans through the hymns of human composure of Isaac Watts and the social activism of the Wesleys, gospel music was established in 18th century America. With the camp meeting songs of the Kentucky Revival, the spirituals that came from the slave culture, and the hymns from the great revival after the Civil War, gospel music advanced through the 19th century. The 20th century brought recording technology and electronic media to the table. Gospel music has developed with Christian revivals and the history of American gospel music is the history of Christianity in America. Gospel music reflects the American spirit of freedom and the free market as a Christian culture emerges in the 20th century, providing a spiritual as well as economic foundation. The Sound of Light presents gospel music as part of the history of contemporary Christianity. It is a work broad in scope that defines a music essential to understanding American culture as well as American music in the 20th century. Don Cusic is the author of ten books, including the biography Eddy Arnold: I'll Hold You in My Heart and an encyclopedia of cowboys, Cowboys and the Wild West: An A-Z Guide from the Chisholm Trail to the Silver Screen. He joined the faculty at Middle Tennessee State University in 1982, teaching courses in the music business. He earned a Masters and Doctorate in Literature from MTSU. Since August of 1994, Cusic has been Professor of Music Business at Belmont University.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
PART 1
Music in the Bible	1	(6)
The Sixteenth Century: Roots of Contemporary Christianity	7	(10)
John Calvin and the Institutes	17	(6)
A Mighty Fortress: Martin Luther as Songwriter	23	(10)
First Seeds: Gospel Music in America	33	(10)
Isaac Watts	43	(10)
The Wesleys	53	(12)
The Secular Influence	65	(12)
Give Me That Old Time Religion	77	(14)
Black Gospel and the Fisk Jubilee Singers	91	(12)
The Great Revival	103	(16)
The Pentecostal and Holiness Movements	119	(6)
Billy Sunday and Homer Rodeheaver	125	(10)
PART 2
The Rise of Radio and Records	135	(8)
The Roots of Black Gospel	143	(10)
The Beginnings of Southern Gospel	153	(10)
Black Gospel During the 1930s	163	(8)
Southern Gospel Music During the Depression	171	(6)
PART 3
Gospel in the Mainstream After World War II: George Bevery Shea and Billy Graham	177	(10)
Southern Gospel After World War II	187	(18)
Black Gospel After World War II	205	(12)
The 1950s and Elvis Presley	217	(12)
Black Gospel and Civil Rights: Fanny Lou Hamer	229	(8)
The 1960s: Peace, Love, and Music	237	(6)
Gospel Music in the 1960s	243	(8)
Southern Gospel in the 1960s and 1970s	251	(18)
The Catholics	269	(10)
PART 4
Contemporary Christian Music: The Early Years	279	(14)
Contemporary Christian Music: Part Two	293	(8)
Black Gospel and James Cleveland	301	(6)
Televangelists and Jimmy Swaggart	307	(20)
Contemporary Christian Music & The Reagan Revolution	327	(10)
CCM Comes Age to Age	337	(8)
Contempoary Christian Music & 1984	345	(8)
The Christian Culture in 1985	353	(12)
Marketing the Movement: The Recording Labels	365	(12)
Christian and Gospel Music in the 1990s	377	(10)
Conclusion	387	(10)
Notes	397	(10)
Appendix A: Dove Awards	407	(36)
Appendix B: Gospel Grammy Awards	443	(12)
Bibliography	455	(21)
Index	476