Question: What is Southern Gospel?
Answer: Southern Gospel music today ranges from the traditional four-part harmony quartet to a blend of country and bluegrass. Going back to it's roots, in the late 19th Century, we find that it was the beginning of religious songs being brought outside of the church, sung to more popular music. By the early part of the 20th century two distinct forms of "gospel" music had formed - Southern and Urban - separated, for the most part, by racial lines. It wasn't until the 1960's, when the civil rights movement challenged those lines, that they started to blur in the audience, but after three generations of music, the differences in style had grown to be enough to keep them apart on stage.
Some of the more popular Southern Gospel artists of today are:
- Gaither Vocal Band
- Hope's Call
- Jay Stone Singers
- Jeff & Sheri Easter
- Karen Peck & New River
- Oak Ridge Boys
- Rod Burton
- The Booth Brothers
- The Hoppers
- The Isaacs
- The Martins
- Tribute Quartet
Southern Gospel Award Winners
- Dove Awards Southern Gospel Album of the Year and Song of the Year History
- 2011 Readers' Choice Awards Best Southern Gospel Group
Recommended Southern Gospel Albums
- The Boys Are Back - Oak Ridge Boys - (Compare Prices)
- Cathedral Classics - The Cathedrals - (Compare Prices)
- Everything Good - The Gaither Vocal Band - (Compare Prices)
- Lovin' God & Lovin' Each Other - The Gaither Vocal Band - (Compare Prices)
Southern Gospel Starter Songs
- "Big Mighty God" - The Mike LeFevre Quartet (Purchase/Download)
- "Champion Of Love" - Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (Purchase/Download)
- "Crimson Stain" - Jay Stone Singers (Purchase/Download)
- "Knowing What I Know About Heaven" - Guy Penrod (Purchase/Download)
- "Love Came Calling" - Triumphant Quartet (Purchase/Download)
- "Testimony" - Mark Trammell Quartet (Purchase/Download)
