Post by benshelpmeet on Sept 21, 2004 12:53:01 GMT -5
Steve Turner's overview of the history of Southern gospel:
"White quartet singing had developed in the 1920s ... they began to develop showmanship and gimmicks during the 1940s. ... Hovie Lister, a dashing young man with long, dark wavy hair and an Errol Flynn mustache, LOVED TO SHAKE IT ALL UP FOR THE LORD. He joined with Crumpler and Jake Hess to form the Statesmen Quartet, which was to become one of the first supergroups of white gospel, catapulting the music to commercial acceptability and SETTING THE STYLE FOR EMERGENT ROCK 'N' ROLLERS BRED ON HOLY MUSIC.
"Although much was made of the evils of dancing, show business, jukeboxes and television, THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL QUARTETS WAS LARGELY DUE TO THEIR PRESENTING MUCH OF THE SAME GLOSS AND EXCITEMENT in an acceptable context. The songs were about loving your neighbor, being holy and not giving in to 'modern religion,' but THE PERFORMANCES DREW FROM POP, BLUES, COUNTRY, RAGTIME AND JAZZ. ...
"Don Butler, now director of archives for the Nashville-based Gospel Music Association, was the Statesmen Quartet's manager during the 1950s. 'They were sensational,' he remembers. 'Hovie Lister had no peer in showmanship. He created a tremendous rapport with the audience. HE COULD TURN THEIR EMOTIONS ON AND OFF JUST LIKE THAT. They also had highly polished harmonies and arrangements. HOVIE WOULD JUMP ONTO A PIANO AND SHAKE HIS LONG BLACK HAIR INTO HIS FACE WHILE THE REST OF THE GROUP DANCED ON STAGE. They were the first quartet to use four individual microphones. Before that everyone had gathered around one mike'" (emphasis added) (Steve Turner, Hungry for Heaven, pp. 29-31).
Bill Gaither, in his history of Southern gospel, admits that Hovie Lister's "approach was loud, fast, swingy, and pop" and that "he would do whatever it took to get the loudest applause, the biggest laugh" (Bill Gaither, Homecoming, p. 133). In fact, some conservative Christian radio stations broke Statesmen records on the air to protest their jazzy music.
The Statesmen's bass singer, Jim "Big Chief" Wetherington, moved his legs in ways strangely reminiscent of how Elvis moved to rock & roll. Jake Hess, another member of the original Statesmen, noted: "He went about as far as you could go in gospel music. The women would jump up, just like they do for pop shows" (Peter Guralnick, Last Train for Memphis, p. 48). Rock historian Peter Guralnick observes that "preachers frequently objected to the lewd movements."
Some of the Statesmen Quartet's music was brought over from the swinging black gospel. "So many of their early hits began to stray away some from the southern, singing convention stylethe music that was coming out of Stamps-Baxterand basically were coming out of the black tradition" (Taylor, Happy Rhythms, p. 32).
Describing the popular Southern gospel quartets of the 1940s and 1950s, Wally Varner of the Melody Masters testifies: "I guess the Melody Masters were one of the wildest organizations, for the lack of a better word, that I've ever worked with. I used to turn flips and things like that. ... In those days GOSPEL MUSIC WASN'T AS SPIRITUAL, IT WAS MORE ENTERTAINING. We had a rambunctious type of program, but we also had some beautiful singing that we would settle down to" (Taylor, Happy Rhythms, p. 22). Another popular group, The Delmore Brothers, "mixed sacred lyrics, blues and boogie with spectacular commercial results" (David Seay, Stairway to Heaven, p. 49).
Southern gospel in the 1970s was still entertainment oriented and highly competitive. "All-night sings occasionally resembled singing contests, as groups often appeared more interested in 'putting it to' one another onstage than entertaining and ministering to the audience" (Ibid., p. 111).
"White quartet singing had developed in the 1920s ... they began to develop showmanship and gimmicks during the 1940s. ... Hovie Lister, a dashing young man with long, dark wavy hair and an Errol Flynn mustache, LOVED TO SHAKE IT ALL UP FOR THE LORD. He joined with Crumpler and Jake Hess to form the Statesmen Quartet, which was to become one of the first supergroups of white gospel, catapulting the music to commercial acceptability and SETTING THE STYLE FOR EMERGENT ROCK 'N' ROLLERS BRED ON HOLY MUSIC.
"Although much was made of the evils of dancing, show business, jukeboxes and television, THE SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL QUARTETS WAS LARGELY DUE TO THEIR PRESENTING MUCH OF THE SAME GLOSS AND EXCITEMENT in an acceptable context. The songs were about loving your neighbor, being holy and not giving in to 'modern religion,' but THE PERFORMANCES DREW FROM POP, BLUES, COUNTRY, RAGTIME AND JAZZ. ...
"Don Butler, now director of archives for the Nashville-based Gospel Music Association, was the Statesmen Quartet's manager during the 1950s. 'They were sensational,' he remembers. 'Hovie Lister had no peer in showmanship. He created a tremendous rapport with the audience. HE COULD TURN THEIR EMOTIONS ON AND OFF JUST LIKE THAT. They also had highly polished harmonies and arrangements. HOVIE WOULD JUMP ONTO A PIANO AND SHAKE HIS LONG BLACK HAIR INTO HIS FACE WHILE THE REST OF THE GROUP DANCED ON STAGE. They were the first quartet to use four individual microphones. Before that everyone had gathered around one mike'" (emphasis added) (Steve Turner, Hungry for Heaven, pp. 29-31).
Bill Gaither, in his history of Southern gospel, admits that Hovie Lister's "approach was loud, fast, swingy, and pop" and that "he would do whatever it took to get the loudest applause, the biggest laugh" (Bill Gaither, Homecoming, p. 133). In fact, some conservative Christian radio stations broke Statesmen records on the air to protest their jazzy music.
The Statesmen's bass singer, Jim "Big Chief" Wetherington, moved his legs in ways strangely reminiscent of how Elvis moved to rock & roll. Jake Hess, another member of the original Statesmen, noted: "He went about as far as you could go in gospel music. The women would jump up, just like they do for pop shows" (Peter Guralnick, Last Train for Memphis, p. 48). Rock historian Peter Guralnick observes that "preachers frequently objected to the lewd movements."
Some of the Statesmen Quartet's music was brought over from the swinging black gospel. "So many of their early hits began to stray away some from the southern, singing convention stylethe music that was coming out of Stamps-Baxterand basically were coming out of the black tradition" (Taylor, Happy Rhythms, p. 32).
Describing the popular Southern gospel quartets of the 1940s and 1950s, Wally Varner of the Melody Masters testifies: "I guess the Melody Masters were one of the wildest organizations, for the lack of a better word, that I've ever worked with. I used to turn flips and things like that. ... In those days GOSPEL MUSIC WASN'T AS SPIRITUAL, IT WAS MORE ENTERTAINING. We had a rambunctious type of program, but we also had some beautiful singing that we would settle down to" (Taylor, Happy Rhythms, p. 22). Another popular group, The Delmore Brothers, "mixed sacred lyrics, blues and boogie with spectacular commercial results" (David Seay, Stairway to Heaven, p. 49).
Southern gospel in the 1970s was still entertainment oriented and highly competitive. "All-night sings occasionally resembled singing contests, as groups often appeared more interested in 'putting it to' one another onstage than entertaining and ministering to the audience" (Ibid., p. 111).
