Gospel Shout
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Gospel shout is the fast, ecstatic up-tempo end of the tradition, a descendant of the ring shout built for holy dancing: hard-driving tempos, pounding drums and tambourine, walking bass, wailing organ and clipped, exclamatory vocals that repeat a phrase into a frenzy. Rhythm dominates melody, and the song functions to move a congregation physically, cycling a hook or chant through mounting intensity. The mood is jubilant, wild and release-seeking. Signature techniques include the accelerating groove, the one-line repeated shout and the percussion-and-organ break that carries dancers to exhaustion.
History
The shout descends from the West African ring shout preserved among enslaved African Americans and carried into the sanctified church's holy dance. On record it surfaces in the driving sides of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the hard-shouting quartets, and preacher-performers like Rev. Charlie Jackson, and it powered the up-tempo climaxes of golden-age programs. The Mighty Clouds of Joy pushed it toward funk on "Mighty High" (1975), and the Rance Allen Group brought sanctified shout energy into the soul era. The shout tradition flows directly into the contemporary praise break and remains the physical, dancing heart of Black gospel worship.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Strange Things Happening Every Day(1944) — Sister Rosetta TharpeSpotifyYouTube
- God's Got It — Rev. Charlie JacksonSpotifyYouTube
- Ain't No Need of Crying — Rance Allen GroupSpotifyYouTube
- Mighty High(1975) — The Mighty Clouds of JoySpotifyYouTube
- Victory(2006) — Tye TribbettSpotifyYouTube
- This Train(1939) — Sister Rosetta TharpeSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Anthony Heilbut, The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times (1997)
- Jerma A. Jackson, Singing in My Soul: Black Gospel Music in a Secular Age (2004)
- Mellonee V. Burnim and Portia K. Maultsby, African American Music: An Introduction (2014)