Friday, January 25, 2008

A little background...


Gospel music did not just come thundering out of the sky courtesy of the Good Lord above. It actually came from a far more interesting place. The Reverend Thomas A. Dorsey, decided to take the blues he so dearly loved and couple it with the message of truth and hope that the hymns already produced. He was the first to be dubbed "King of Gospel." Other artists picked up the torch along the way such as "the quartet singers" including The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, The Dixie Hummingbirds, The Soul Stirrers, The Pilgrim Jubilees, and The Swan Silvertones. The difference with these groups is that they traveled outside of their comfort zone to sing this uplifting, hopeful music that The Blind Boys of Alabama singer Jimmy Carter calls, "The Good News of God" and to spread the message of hope to the depressed areas of that time. At first they knew nothing of each other and later would begin meeting along the way, eventually creating caravans that would travel what would become...The Gospel Highway.

See you next week
Peace and Many Blessings,

Duane

Friday, January 18, 2008

Welcome!!!



Hi! Welcome to the first post on The Gospel Highway.
The Gospel highway was a metaphor for the traveling gospel quartets and caravans from the 1930's to the 1960's. It was a highway full of small churches and high school auditoriums where the African American gospel artists could play and spread hope to the hopeless communities in which they played. These artists traveled through horrible conditions set forth by The Jim Crow Laws; separate but equal under the state. Yet they still carried the message of hope. They are the true heroes of that time.

So everyone hop in and lets take a ride down this highway together.

*Please feel free to add your own stories or information to this blog.

**Please for the sake of integrity make sure your stories are true and your information accurate.

duane


"The truth can't walk on it's own two legs, it has to be carried from one person to another."

Aristotle