Despite what many people think, there are actually several genres of gospel music. Each style is a music all its own with the same undertone behind it. Although the musical concept of the gospel is the same, each style will affect everybody differently. What are the six styles of gospel music that can move the soul?
Country Gospel
This kind of gospel is well-known as Christian gospel country, a cross between Appalachian folk music and a country with traditional spirituals. There’s been a lot of changes with country gospel in the last few years, going more mainstream country with lyrics of positivity or inspiring.
Gospel Blues
Gospel music with a blues base behind it is known as gospel blues. This style of music is a mix of evangelistic lyrics and blues guitar. There are many well-known gospel blues artists, including the founder of gospel blues himself, Thomas A. Dorsey. However, following behind him include Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Blind Willie Johnson, Sleepy John Estes, James Bukka White and many others. In the late 1950s and 1960s, some musicians were heavily devoted to religion, with some becoming clergies.
Southern Gospel
Southern gospel is a variation of social context and culture – much like every other musical genre. Southern gospel originates from none other than the southeast U.S. region, where lyrics were written to express a communal or personal faith in the Bible. It provides the Christian community with an alternative to mainstream music.
There have been many changes to the southern gospel music, becoming quite popular throughout the world. Baby boomers and people who live in the southern U.S. are particularly fond of this type of music. Artists create this music for a variety of reasons, from ceremonial factors to pleasure and market entertainment.
Spirituals
This gospel musical style is referred to as Negro spirituals, as they are religious folk songs that black American slaves created (a mix of Christian themes with African musical traditions). Since the music consists of a call-and-response, it was often sung in both the fields and church. Spirituals are regarded as ethnic and tailored to U.S. Africans’ religious experience. As such, the music is tied much to the music from African and European religions.
Traditional Gospel
This gospel musical style is commonly called black gospel Thomas A. Dorsey classified. Much of the music consists of a large church choir with at least one soloist. The musical style led to the birth of other gospel musical genres.
Urban Gospel
In the 1980s, urban gospel (contemporary gospel) was born, looked upon as an improvement to traditional gospel with a mix of blues, hip-hop, jazz and modern-day R&B. The majority of this musical style is recorded in radio format and closely relates to urban music.
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