The blues has been a purveyor of rock and pop music since its inception. Born in the late 1940s, but established as a new genre in the 1950s, rock music owes its birth to the blues. There’s no secure date for when the blues originated. What is well documented is the blues’ outgrowth from the deep American South.
Following the African diaspora, the griot (storyteller) identity was retained throughout the brutal conditions of slavery in the Cotton Belt. Allowed to perform songs openly on Sunday afternoons for slave owners, slaves from the different parts of the African diaspora would share their sonic culture. Minus the drum, the body became the preferred instrument for percussion. The Western-style guitar has its origins in the African instruments such as the ngoni, the kora, and the blik kitaar. The melodic and percussion elements that the guitar provided would replace the body as a sounding instrument. The easy transportation of the guitar made it a dominant instrument in the post-slavery, antebellum South.
Along with the voice, an early “bluesman” needed only these two instruments to perform for whatever audience was available. Borrowing heavily from the Christian Southern learning slaves were forced to practice, some merged Christian doctrine with their memory of African religious/spiritual roots. In addition, signifiers of Christianity functioned as a double-entendre for African religious/spiritual culture. African deities would be transposed onto saints. This coding allowed slaves to retain a level of cultural connection in the oppressive America.
Eventually, these double entendres gave way to the full adaptation, conversion, and practice of Christianity. The fever for which freed slaves held faith and belief came from their acquired freedom. This paved the way for what would become the Black Church.
Sermonizing, as noted by theomusicologist Jon Michael Spencer, has its roots in the field hollars. The griot storytelling ethic runs in parallel to the field holler vocal style. Together as narrative (griot) and voice (field holler), sermonizing grew in intensity and expressive power.
Early blues musicians would use stories from the bible to articulate their freedom from slavery and to communicate the new levels of economic oppression that they encountered. Many of these early blues musicians were either slaves or came from the culture. The only means of work that they knew was physical labor. Coupling these themes together, freedom from physical slavery, but slavery through poor economic conditions, the blues narrative came from the slave narrative and sought to sing its way to a new level of freedom. Taking the stories and promises these early blues musicians had learned from the Christian bible, these became the backbone of their works. To popular audiences, hearing songs performed that had Christian overtones was welcomed. White audiences assumed that these performances stated that the black blues musician was assimilating into mainstream American culture. The music themes were easy to relate to for White audiences. Coming from the otherwise fearful black musician, hearing songs from the bible made these black musicians less of a cultural threat – yet discrimination remained a staple.
What’s In A Name
Scholars studying the blues have coined the phrase “Gospel blues” to catalogue the body of work coming from this era. Holding onto the point that these early blues songs use biblical stories and narratives, qualifying these with the gospel, led to the title being adopted. I argue that these songs fall under the larger umbrella of Christian music. Gospel blues is one component of the canon of Christian music. Therefore, the body of works known as gospel blues can also be defined as Christian blues, where the emphasis is not on gospel narratives specifically. Coupling these together, gospel and Christian, to help codify a term, the result is a Christian gospel blues style. This larger qualification allows for a broader range of works to support this genre. Limiting the term to only gospel, some works may fall outside of this definition. However, when examining the large corpus of works recognized as gospel blues, it quickly becomes obvious that the term Christian gospel blues would be more apt, allowing for the composite history of this genre to be aligned.
Sounding The Gospel
There are plenty of artists to select from in discussing the power of Christian gospel blues. A few that stand out based on their relationship to religious music and the crossover into popular music, specifically the origins of rock and roll, are: Rev. Blind Gary Davis, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Blind Willie Johnson, with an honorable mention going to Blind Lemon Jefferson.
The style that these artists incorporate extends from traditional blues style (voice and guitar) to electronic, arranged music. The core elements of the style remain the same: an emphasis on sermonizing and bible-centered lyrics. The lyrical style builds on the history of the griot and field holler. What makes this genre musically attractive is the placement of the lyrics in relation to the rhythm. The rhythm is a consistent pulse, with a beat emphasis on the second and fourth beats. The lyrics do not follow this structure. Rather, the lyrics float, glide, and hang over the beat as an independent musical element. This creates a divide between the pulsating rhythm and the lofty lyrics. When there’s a need for emphasis on a word or phrase, it will be placed on a beat. This subconsciously brings attention to the word or phrase. The masters in this genre know how to shift between these placements of the lyrics, while not adjusting the power of the rhythm. This level of performance influenced early rock music, which has become more reductive and beat-oriented in more contemporary rock styles.
The use of the malissma, and extended vocal line on a single word is widely employed. In addition, the use of extra musical elements is incorporated. These are vocal gestures of multiple styles, fitting the song and improvised by the artist. These sonic fingerprints help frame an artist’s style, making a cover of a tune by an artist distinct. The malissma and extra musical gestures also have a place in the black church as seen in sermonizing (Jon Michael Spencer, 1987/1991).
Reverend Blind Gary Davis
In his style, Reverand Blind Gary Davis bridges a traditional bluesman style (voice and guitar) with a style that points toward the coming age of Do Wop and even swing. Reverand Blind Gary Davis uses his guitar style as an extension of his voice. The guitar is not only the sounding foundation (rhythm, harmony, structure/form) but also a secondary voice. This style is visible in many secular blues musicians. Keeping his selected works on gospel themes of salvation and redemption, Reverand Blind Gary Davis’ style can be seen as a lifeline to other pop and rock musical styles in the 1950s and 1960s.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
“Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an American singer and guitarist. She attained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and electric guitar that was extremely important to the origins of rock and roll” (YouTube, Sister Rosetta Tharpe Online).
The style of Sister Rosetta Tharpe is a prominent force for what becomes the standard for rock music. Her electric guitar style upgrades the acoustic guitar-voice binary of the early blues. Like Reverand Blind Gary Davis, Sister Rosetta Tharpe involves her guitar as a second voice. Her guitar solos are as fresh as any in the coming years. Using a single pick style, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was able to get a heavy, articulated, percussive guitar style, which has its ancestry in the African kora. Like the others listed, Sister Rosetta Tharpe comes through the griot discourse. Her short repeated phrases can be seen in the works of James Brown and other Soul and R&B artists.
Blind Willie Johnson
His later rough, near-inaudible vocal style is what he is best known for. The first selection here, “Trouble Will Soon Be Over,” is a live example where his words are more discernible. The early subtitles help clarify the words that are difficult to understand by mere listening. Firmly rooted in the classic blues style, guitar and voice, Blind Willie Johnson’s style illustrates the independence of the voice with the musical foundations. These “foundations” are more accessible when the emphasis is not on profanity.
Despite these challenges, he became a prominent figure in the gospel blues genre during the 1920s and 1930s. His music, characterized by its emotional depth and spiritual themes, has influenced countless artists across various genres. A consistent guitar style independent of his growling vocals, Blind Willie Johnson paved the way for the harsh vocals of heavy metal and alternative pop music.
Blind Lemon Jefferson
A classic of the blues style, Blind Lemon Jefferson follows in the same musical footsteps as the others listed. He is not known for his gospel works, but more for his griot traveling blues style. His works in Christian gospel blues are equal to those of others. In this style, Blind Lemon Jefferson does not change his approach. The guitar style with the slide technique, the freedom of lyrics over the beat, and his storytelling approach are not compromised in this style. His inner solos are famous. Taking advantage of the breaks in the lyrics to allow the guitar to have short improvisational bursts without losing a beat. This technique would later be exploited by blues and rock guitarists.
The Lineage Continues
From these early Christian gospel blues roots, the genre of Gospel was properly developed. Binding together sermonizing with the modern sounds of early funk and R&B (rock and blues), Gospel would replace these historic roots. Incorporating electronic instruments (guitar, bass, keyboard), the sound evolved to reach a more contemporary audience. The core retention of scripture-centered lyrics and testimony began to capture the power of evangelism and discipleship through music. The black church became a central location for this progression. The music did not limit its contact to church audiences. Popular music audiences began to be exposed to these works. The dynamic musical techniques and the freedom of the vocals sparked an interest in this genre. Replacing the bible-centered lyrics with secular narratives, a commercialized form was born. This later becomes known as early rock music.
The composite elements of Christian gospel blues music continue to be heard in today’s Christian gospel blues style. The genre has crossed racial and cultural divides. This move makes the genre very accessible without limiting the stylistic preference.
All coming from what was an otherwise oppressive history, Christian gospel blues teaches biblical stories, their relationship to man, and the value of sonic evangelism.
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