An Illustrated History of Gospel

by Steve Turner

From early spirituals to urban gospel, this definitive guide to gospel music expounds in great detail upon the most highly praised but least well known of the influences to contemporary rock, soul, and rap   Far beyond its immediate image of robed choirs, gospel—through its solo singers and quartets, its impresarios and recording companies—has helped to give voice to the history of black people in America as well as shaping more obviously secular musical forms such as blues and rock and roll. In this compelling and lively study, the story of gospel is told against the backdrop of over a century and a half of social and economic changes taking place in America. Its history is traced from its earliest expressions on the plantations of the south to initial influences in churches, its movement into the mainstream of popular music, and on to its major period of popularity and influence in the middle decades of the 20th century. Also featuring original interviews conducted by the author with many legendary figures of gospel and illustrated with gorgeous full-color photographs throughout, this authoritative guide to gospel music covers slavery and spirituals; the 1920s and Thomas Dorsey; the Golden age from 1945 to the 1960s and Mahalia Jackson; the 80s and Aretha Franklin; as well as the urban gospel of today—including dance, hip hop, R&B, and more.

Genres: Music

208 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2010

About the author

Steve Turner is an English music journalist, biographer and poet, who grew up in Northamptonshire, England. His first published article was in the Beatles Monthly in 1969. His career as a journalist began as features editor of Beat Instrumental where he interviewed many of the prominent rock musicians of the 1970s. He subsequently freelanced for music papers including NME, Melody Maker and Rolling Stone.

During the 1980s he wrote extensively for British newspapers and magazines on a range of subjects as well as producing his study of the relationship between rock music and religion, Hungry For Heaven, and co-authoring U2: Rattle & Hum, the book of the film. In the 1990s he began devoting himself to full-length books, the first being a best selling biography of British music star Cliff Richard, Cliff Richard: The Biography, in 1993, which stayed in the Sunday Times bestseller list for six weeks. At the same time he has written a number of poetry books for both adults and children. The first of his books for children, The Day I Fell Down The Toilet, has now sold over 120,000 copies, and total sales for his children's poetry collection now exceeds 200,000.

His published poetry books for adults are Tonight We Will Fake Love, Nice and Nasty, Up To Date, The King of Twist and Poems. His published poetry collections for children are The Day I Fell Down The Toilet, Dad, You're Not Funny, The Moon Has Got His Pants On, I Was Only Asking and Don't Take Your Elephant To School.

He now combines his book writing and journalism with poetry readings, lecture tours of America and Europe and consultancies. He lives in London.
Hungry for Heaven: Rock and Roll and the Search for Redemption(1988)
Van Morrison: Too Late to Stop Now (1993) Van Morrison
Cliff Richard: The Biography (1993) Cliff Richard
A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song (1994; updated in 1999 and 2005)
Jack Kerouac: Angelheaded Hipster (1996)
Trouble Man: The Life and Death of Marvin Gaye (1998)
Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts (2001)
The Man Called Cash: The Life, Love and Faith of an American Legend (2004) Johnny Cash
Amazing Grace: John Newton, Slavery and the World's Most Enduring Song (2005)
The Gospel According to the Beatles (2006)
An Illustrated History of Gospel(2010)
The Band That Played On (2011)

Reviews

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing history of gospel music. Read about gospel music legends and industry leaders. Wonderful book for music lovers & those that love the music of God.