Comprehensive and richly illustrated, Close Harmony traces the
development of the music known as southern gospel from its antebellum
origins to its twentieth-century emergence as a vibrant musical industry
driven by the world of radio, television, recordings, and concert
promotions.
Marked by smooth, tight harmonies and a lyrical focus on the message of
Christian salvation, southern gospel--particularly the white gospel
quartet tradition--had its roots in nineteenth-century shape-note
singing. The spread of white gospel music is intricately connected to
the people who based their livelihoods on it, and Close Harmony is
filled with the stories of artists and groups such as Frank Stamps, the
Chuck Wagon Gang, the Blackwood Brothers, the Rangers, the Swanee River
Boys, the Statesmen, and the Oak Ridge Boys. The book also explores
changing relations between black and white artists and shows how,
following the civil rights movement, white gospel was influenced by
black gospel, bluegrass, rock, metal, and, later, rap.
With Christian music sales topping the $600 million mark at the close of
the twentieth century, Close Harmony explores the history of an
important and influential segment of the thriving gospel industry.