We're pleased to present to public radio a 3-Part Special, Gospel Greats - a production of KPVU in Prairie View Texas, The Luce Group and the African-American Public Radio Consortium.

Gospel Greats is hosted by pianist Cyrus Chestnut, a respected jazz pianist hailing from Baltimore, and graduate of the Berklee College of Music. 

Gospel music has been a tool to keep the spiritual faith of African-Americans close and accessible.  Gospel music rose to levels comparable to popular music in African-American culture because it was a source of healing, power, courage and inspiration in the face of the most horrific of human experiences.  As history has recorded, the Civil Rights Movement gained its momentum in the black church.  Whereas stoic silence marked the nonviolent movement led by India's independence hero Mahatma Ghandi, the soulful singing of spiritual songs was one of the hallmarks of the Civil Rights Movement in America. 

My late Grandmother (a Gospel singer and ordained minister) used to tell me that because she was "anointed", the Holy Ghost never failed to come when she sang, and that she could "...walk on a bed of devils, and never be touched".  Years later in vocal training with Bernice Reagan (ethnomusicologist and founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock), she decoded this for me even further: The lead singer in early authentic Gospel music had to be an embodiment of the song's message. The call and response technique was about awakening something in the responders and the congregation. The lead singer was required to possess the personal heft, life experiences and faith to carry the message.  Gospel music was about affecting consciousness.

Today's Modern Gospel has evolved into a distinct art-form as musical legends incorporated the popular music of their day (i.e. blues, soul, jazz and hip-hop) into Gospel performances, making the message accessible to each new generation.  In some cases, Gospel hits lived for months at the top of Pop Charts and Gospel Charts simultaneously. 

            James Cleveland                                   Mahalia Jackson                                       Andre Crouch

Gospel Greats shares the stories and music of some of the artists who have had the greatest impact on the evolution of the art-form.  The span of the show is broad, covering composers (like Thomas Dorsey, the Father of Gospel Music), soloists (like Mahalia Jackson), quintets and quartets (like The Caravans, The Clark Sisters and The Williams Brothers) and those who have orchestrated great choirs to blend in new urban sounds (like James Cleveland, Edwin Hawkins, Andre Crouch and Kirk Franklin).

      Alumnae of The Caravans

                Shirley Caesar                                         Albertina Walker                                             Inez Andrews

The Host of Gospel Greats, bandleader and jazz recording artist Cyrus Chestnut has always spoken candidly about the importance of his early experiences as a musician in the church accompanying the choir, the pastor and testimonials from the congregation.  He credits learning to improvise and training his ear to accompany singers performing in complex quarter tones ("playing in the cracks") to this experience.   Cyrus says, "Anything that I play could have elements of a hymn, or a Gospel tinge."  We were really fortunate to have someone with this crossover sensitivity be a part of the Gospel Greats project.

Peabody Award-winner Jim Luce is the writer and Producer of Gospel Greats.  The concept was the brainchild of KPVU's General Manager Cheryl Granger Brooks, with support from Program Director Jeff Kelley (Executive and Associate Producers for this project). Our Technical Producer is Duke Markos.  Specials thanks also to Frankie Wilson (host of the syndicated program "Inside Gospel") and Cyrus Chestnut for vetting our content and assuring its authenticity.

     The Williams Brothers                            The Clark Sisters                                    Bebe & Cece Winans

Gospel Greats is a broadcast of the African-American Public Radio Consortium, utilizing the tools, production styles and editorial values of public radio to illuminate the African-American experience in the nation, and the world.

        The Edwin Hawkins Singers                         Kirk Franklin                                Donny McClurkin

Hour 1: Thomas Dorsey, James Cleveland, Edwin Hawkins, Mahalia Jackson.

Hour 2: The Caravans (including Albertina Walker, Shirley Caesar, Inez Anderson), 

             Bebe & Cece Winans, The Clark Sisters, Hezekiah Walker, Donny McClurkin

Hour 3: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Andre Crouch, Kirk Franklin, The Williams Brothers

         Each Hour is Produced to be Aired Either Separately, or Consecutively

      Available November 1, 2013

     ENJOY!

 Loretta Rucker

 Executive Director

 Stations can download this program from Content Depot on the Public Radio Satellite System.  Or contact us for MP3 Files, and we'll send you a link.