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Article: The gospel controversy; are the new songs too jazzy and too worldly?
- Article from:
- Ebony
- Article date:
- March 1, 1992
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 Johnson Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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GOSPEL music. The words alone conjure the sounds Of Sunday morning worship: a sonorous organ, rhythmic handclaps and soul-stirring shouts. The phrase speaks of a message of inspiration and salvation set to a rising and falling melody. From Mahalia Jackson's lullaby-like hymns to James Cleveland's roof-raising refrains, gospel music, like the church, anchors Black America.
But traditional gospel artists who write and sing the music that has sustained Blacks for generations are making way for a new wave of studio-savvy, contemporary gospel singers, who use high-tech wizardry and sensual, spiritually ambiguous lyrics to catch the ear of the "New Jack" generation. ...