Bluegrass Gospel Music - A Rich Combination Of Genres
Traditional gospel music was developed in the southeastern part of the United States in the early twentieth century. The music came from slaves working in the fields and during large camp meetings, rather just in churches. At the same time, Mountain gospel music was being developed in the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky, West Virginia and northern Tennessee. It was originally known as "hillbilly music" but had its roots in religion and daily life. As bluegrass music started to be recognized as its own music genre in the 1940s, southern gospel was one type of music from which it borrowed. Today's bluegrass gospel music has its roots in both traditional gospel and mountain music, and combines a southern vocal style with string band accompaniment.
In the 1940s, Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys became popular playing their combination of country, blues, Celtic melodies, fiddle tunes and gospel music. They played throughout the south with beautiful soulful singing accompanied by acoustic banjos, fiddles, guitars, mandolins and bass. Their style was soon followed by The Osborne Brothers, The Stanley Brothers and Flatt and Scruggs. All first became popular on the radio followed by television in the 1960s. Today, bluegrass gospel singers still popular include Carl Story, Merle Travis, Betty J. Robinson and the Nashville Grass, and Don Reno and Bill Harrell.
A great bluegrass gospel album that has a collection of songs by different artists is "White Dove: The Bluegrass Gospel Collection." With artists such as Ron Block, the Weary Hearts, Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent and the Whitstein Brothers, the songs cover the death of a loved one, being thankful for what you have, and journeys through despair. The main theme of course is how true faith can provide you with spiritual strength to get through anything. Songs include "In the Palm of Your Hand" by the Cox Family, "Harbor of Love" by the Johnson Mountain Boys and "Lead Me On" by Claire Lynch.
If you are ever in the Washington, D.C. area, there is a great Sunday morning public radio show called "Stained Glass Bluegrass." For four hours, Red Shipley plays contemporary and traditional bluegrass songs that are inspiring as instruments of faith as well as the music itself.
With a rich history of faith stemming from the cotton fields of the south and rugged mountain life in the Appalachian hills, Bluegrass Gospel music has taken the best from both genres and made it a unique form of music that will last for generations to come.