Gospel music has seen a resurgence of popularity in the United States in the past few years. However, there are a lot of artists from the beginning of Gospel music that are not as well known. There are artists like the Dixie Hummingbirds and the Blind Boys of Alabama that have sung quartet style Gospel music for many decades. [You might be most familiar with the Dixie Humminbirds for their background vocals on Paul Simon's hit "Loves Me Like A Rock" that came out in 1973.] There's also some solo artists that started out in the format of ensambles. One of the most familiar groups was the Caravans, a female group that started in the 50's. However, a lot of the singers from that group are still active today, including Albertina Walker, Dorothy Norwood, and Shirley Ceasar. A little known fact is that the legendary singer/songwriter James Cleveland was also an instrumental part of this group as their musician.
A great resource to find out about both the pioneers as well as the current stars of gospel is Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia
by Bil Carpenter, an industry insider. Go ahead and check it out.
And have a blessed day!
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