Chapter 12: Gospel, Blues and R&B
Chapter 12 examines the development of gospel, rhythm and blues, and doo-wop during the 1940s and 1950s as African American musicians expanded earlier traditions into new musical styles. Independent record labels, radio, and new recording technology introduced these genres to wider audiences, while artists such as Thomas A. Dorsey, Mahalia Jackson, Muddy Waters, Ray Charles, Louis Jordan, and Chuck Berry helped establish musical ideas that later became part of rock and roll.
Important Terms
Civil Rights Movement – A movement that sought equal rights and an end to racial segregation and discrimination in the United States.
Race Records – Historical recording industry term for music marketed primarily to African American audiences.
Rhythm and Blues (R&B) – A style of music that combined blues, gospel, jazz, and boogie-woogie and became the industry's replacement term for race records in 1949.
Gospel Music – African American sacred music built around expressive singing, instrumental accompaniment, and congregational participation.
Spirituals – Religious songs created by African Americans during slavery that expressed faith, hope, and freedom.
Call-and-Response – A musical exchange in which a leader sings or plays a phrase and another singer or group answers.
Verse-Chorus Form – A song structure alternating verses with a repeated chorus.
Melisma – Singing one syllable across several notes.
Blue Notes – Notes intentionally sung or played slightly below standard pitch to create expressive tension.
Chicago Blues – An electric blues style that developed in Chicago after the Great Migration.
Electric Guitar – A guitar that uses magnetic pickups to convert string vibrations into electrical signals.
Magnetic Pickup – A device that converts string vibrations into electrical signals for amplification.
Amplifier – An electronic device that increases an instrument's signal and projects it through speakers.
Feedback – A sustained sound created when an amplified signal repeatedly loops between a speaker and a microphone or guitar pickup.
Distortion – A gritty sound created by overdriving an amplifier beyond its clean volume range.
Overdrive – Amplifier saturation that produces mild distortion.
Reverb – An audio effect that simulates reflected sound to create a sense of space.
Texas Blues – A blues style emphasizing clean guitar tones, melodic phrasing, and extended improvisation.
Vibrato – A slight, controlled variation in pitch used to add expression.
Street Corner Groups – Informal vocal harmony groups that practiced and performed in neighborhoods after World War II.
Doo-Wop – A vocal style built around close harmonies, lead singers, and nonsense syllables.
Vocables – Meaningless syllables such as "doo-wop" or "sh-boom" used for rhythmic and harmonic support.
Blow Harmony – A vocal technique combining breathy sounds with harmony singing to imitate instruments.
Jump Blues – An upbeat style combining swing and blues that became an important predecessor to rock and roll.
Walking Bass – A bass line that plays one note on each beat while outlining the harmony.
Shuffle Rhythm – A rhythmic pattern based on a long-short subdivision of the beat.
Backbeat – Strong accents on beats two and four.
Crossover Record – A song that becomes successful on multiple music charts and reaches different audiences.
Cover Version – A new recording of a song previously recorded by another artist.
Artists Discussed
Charles Albert Tindley – Early gospel composer whose hymns helped bridge nineteenth-century hymnody and modern gospel.
Thomas A. Dorsey (Georgia Tom) – Known as the "Father of Gospel Music."
Mahalia Jackson – Known as the "Queen of Gospel"; leading interpreter of Dorsey's music.
Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield) – Chicago blues guitarist who helped establish electric blues.
Howlin' Wolf (Chester Arthur Burnett) – Chicago blues singer known for his powerful voice.
Freddie King (Fred Christian) – Blues guitarist who blended Texas and Chicago blues.
Albert King – One of the "Three Kings of the Blues." (Mentioned by section heading.)
B.B. King (Riley B. King) – Blues guitarist known for expressive vibrato and his guitar "Lucille."
Buddy Guy – Chicago blues guitarist known for expressive phrasing.
Big Mama Thornton (Willie Mae Thornton) – Blues singer who first recorded "Hound Dog."
Jerry Leiber – Co-writer of "Hound Dog."
Mike Stoller – Co-writer of "Hound Dog."
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Rosetta Nubin) – Gospel singer and guitarist whose electric playing influenced rock and roll.
Chuck Berry – Rock and roll pioneer who blended rhythm and blues with country music.
Little Richard – Rock and roll pioneer influenced by Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
The Ravens – Early postwar vocal harmony group.
The Orioles – Vocal harmony group that helped define early doo-wop.
The Chords – Doo-wop group that recorded "Sh-Boom."
The Platters – Doo-wop group influenced by earlier harmony groups.
Louis Jordan – Jump blues musician whose work helped bridge swing and early rock and roll.
Ray Charles (Ray Charles Robinson) – Musician who combined gospel and rhythm and blues to help create soul music.
Atlantic Records – Label that released Ray Charles's early recordings.
Chess Records – Chicago label central to blues and early rock and roll.
The Flamingos – Doo-wop group that recorded for Chess.
Songs Referenced
"We'll Understand It Better By and By" – Charles Albert Tindley
"Stand By Me" – Charles Albert Tindley
"It's Tight Like That" – Thomas A. Dorsey (as Georgia Tom) and Tampa Red
"Terrible Operation Blues" – Thomas A. Dorsey (as Georgia Tom) and Tampa Red
"Precious Lord, Take My Hand" – Thomas A. Dorsey
"Move On Up a Little Higher" – Mahalia Jackson
"How I Got Over" – Mahalia Jackson
"Take My Hand, Precious Lord" – Mahalia Jackson (recording of Dorsey's song)
"I Found the Answer" – Mahalia Jackson
"I've Been 'Buked and I've Been Scorned" – Traditional spiritual
"I Be's Troubled" – Muddy Waters
"Country Blues" – Muddy Waters
"Louisiana Blues" – Muddy Waters
"I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" – Muddy Waters
"Mannish Boy" – Muddy Waters
"Moanin' at Midnight" – Howlin' Wolf
"Evil" – Howlin' Wolf
"Back Door Man" – Howlin' Wolf
"Spoonful" – Howlin' Wolf
"Have You Ever Loved a Woman" – Freddie King
"Hide Away" – Freddie King
"Three O'Clock Blues" – B.B. King
"The Thrill Is Gone" – B.B. King
"First Time I Met the Blues" – Buddy Guy
"Trying to Get Back on My Feet" – Sonny Boy Williamson II (featuring Buddy Guy)
"Ships on the Ocean" – Junior Wells (featuring Buddy Guy)
"Ten Years Ago" – Buddy Guy
"High Heel Sneakers" – Tommy Tucker (performed by Buddy Guy)
"Damn Right, I've Got the Blues" – Buddy Guy
"Hound Dog" – Big Mama Thornton
"Ball and Chain" – Big Mama Thornton
"Strange Things Happening Every Day" – Sister Rosetta Tharpe
"This Train" – Sister Rosetta Tharpe
"Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)" – The Chords
"Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby?" – Louis Jordan
"Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" – Louis Jordan and the Tympany Five
"I Got a Woman" – Ray Charles
"I Got a Savior" – Traditional gospel song
"Talkin' 'Bout You" – Ray Charles
"Talkin' 'Bout Jesus" – Traditional gospel song
"This Little Girl of Mine" – Ray Charles
"This Little Light of Mine" – Traditional gospel song
"Ray's Blues" – Ray Charles
"What'd I Say" – Ray Charles
"Maybellene" – Chuck Berry
"Ida Red" – Traditional (popularized by Bob Wills)
"No Particular Place to Go" – Chuck Berry
"School Days" – Chuck Berry
"Sweet Little Sixteen" – Chuck Berry
"Roll Over Beethoven" – Chuck Berry
"Johnny B. Goode" – Chuck Berry