Discover the History of Gospel Music on WITF TV
-
Khamelia Henderson
Dig into the history of Black spirituality through sermon and song with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. This four-hour long documentary series highlights the transformative influence that Black church choirs have had over the progression of Black music from blues to hip hop.
Watch Gospel Monday, February 12 and Tuesday, February 13 at 9pm on WITF TV or the PBS or WITF App. Livestream it for free or stream it on demand with WITF Passport.
Episode 1 unearths the history of gospel’s blues and jazz roots. The gospel train begins in Chicago following Mahalia Jackson, Thomas A. Dorsey, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe who all migrated from the south and blended the sounds and instrumentation of blues and jazz with lyrics exalting God’s greatness. Although gospel, like jazz and blues have been commodified, the genre was built by Black-owned publishing companies and sustained by Black audiences.
Episode 2 explores ‘The Golden Age of Gospel’, which highlights gospel music’s deep connection to the struggle for civil rights. Black artists like Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, and Mahalia Jackson caused Black sacred music to explode in popularity even on the segregated highways of the 1940s. Discover the rich history of one of American’s longest-running and most influential musical genres.
Watch Gospel Monday, February 12 and Tuesday, February 13 at 9pm on WITF TV or the PBS or WITF App. Livestream it for free or stream it on demand with WITF Passport
Sometimes, your mornings are just too busy to catch the news beyond a headline or two. Don’t worry. The Morning Agenda has got your back. Each weekday morning, host Tim Lambert will keep you informed, amused, enlightened and up-to-date on what’s happening in central Pennsylvania and the rest of this great commonwealth.
