Discovering the International Impact of Black Gospel Music

Two years ago, while I was still studying music at Berea College (KY), I was required to do a senior independent study for my degree. I chose to begin doing prep work for a gospel piano curriculum. After brainstorming with a close professor, I came to the conclusion that the best way to lay a foundation for this project was to study the history of black gospel music, interview various gospel musicians(and scholars around the country), and discover what kind of resources were already available for those desiring to learn this genre of music.

The primary question I began to focus on throughout my project was: how can people that have not grown up in the aural tradition and culture of black gospel music become part of it? What I began to discover through this project was so incredible that it overwhelmed me. I was able to interview some of the most knowledgeable people in the area of this genre.

One interview was with Dr. Horace Boyer, one of the fathers of scholarly research on black gospel music. Dr. Boyer was the first scholar to ever write anything on the history of this genre. When I explained my project to him, he told me it was worthwhile and that he would like to know what I discovered. After that phone conversation I was in a mixture of awe and elation, realizing that I was becoming a part of history, to search out something that is still in the process of being codified.

It was the result of this project that caused me to begin questioning the role of gospel music in the world today. Throughout my interviews, as well as discussions with various international friends, I began to discover that gospel music has been making an impact on a worldwide scale. I happened to discuss this topic with one friend that had grown up in Japan, only to discover that gospel music has enjoyed popularity in this Asian country for more than ten years. This led me to propose a summer project: studying abroad in Japan and researching the influence of gospel music in their culture.

During this project, I had to find ways to make contacts with people in Japan that have been working with gospel music and discover what hardly any American knew about this phenomenon. When I asked one of the top staff research assistants at Berea College to find sources that document this phenomenon, her in-depth research resulted in practically no findings.

In reply to my request she asked me if I had any credible sources for this phenomenon that was taking place. After spending six weeks in Japan, working with seven different Japanese gospel choirs and interviewing many people across the country, I can now tell her that there are over two thousand gospel choirs in Japan. The Japanese people themselves are singing black gospel music and loving it. The most mind-boggling concept of this is the fact that hardly anyone here in the U.S. knows of this phenomenon.

The discovery of Asians singing gospel music opened my eyes to a whole new context for this music genre that is rooted and founded in the African-American culture. After my research in Japan, I began to search for other places that might have similar phenomenon. I began to find countries, such as Germany, with one thousand gospel choirs or more. It has affected Norway, Italy, even Africa as this American-based music genre has found itself traveling and taking root all around the world.