Dorothy Brush "Random Thoughts" Published Oct. 8, 2003

Gospel music hold a special place in America

For several years I have been adding information to a file on gospel music for use in a future column. I was about to write that column when my public television station presented an evening on "The Gospel Music of Elvis Presley." It revealed an Elvis I had not heard about.

Although I, along with thousands of Americans, watched his first ballyhooed introduction to the world on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1954, I never became a fan. I learned from this recent show that in preparing for that early appearance Elvis stood firm against Sullivan's protest and insisted on including "Peace in the Valley" as one of his numbers. He was honoring his mother's wishes that gospel music remain an important part of his life.

Back-up singers who worked with the star told how after his regular shows they would join him in his hotel suite. Standing around the piano they would harmonize on gospel songs till the wee hours of the morning. Elvis' early days in Memphis were greatly influenced by both southern and black gospel music. He received three Grammy awards in his lifetime and all were given for his gospel albums.

One friend recalled a concert where one row was filled with young college women holding up signs "Elvis is King!" The late singer stopped in the middle of a song and pointed to those fans saying, "God is King!" There was another king associated with the birth of gospel music.
For centuries a tale has been told and retold about King David. It is said that his harp hung above his bed at night so night winds might sing through the strings as David composed the poetry that became the Psalms of the Old Testament. In Hebrew, "tehillim" is the word for psalms or "praise songs." From these roots came gospel music.

In 1995, Chet Hagan's book Gospel Legends was published. He explained the Pilgrims brought gospel music with them to America. On the day the Mayflower sailed from Holland one of the 17 passengers wrote, "We refreshed ourselves, after tears, with singing of the psalms, making joyful melody in our hearts as well as with the voice, there being many of our congregation very expert in music; and indeed it was the sweetest melody that ever my ears heard."

Hagan goes on to explain the confusion that has persisted about these early Pilgrims being somber and dour. They have been confused with the Puritans who arrived later and they did exclude the joy of music from their lives. They must be given credit for a little book they published in 1640. It was an answer for so many early immigrants who could not read.

Titled The Bay Psalm Book it printed the text of the Psalms without music. The pastor read each Psalm line by line and the congregation then repeated his words. This came to be known as "lining out" and the practice was carried on by early preachers who followed the westward movement. However they added music to the words. Eventually throughout the vast early rural areas "lining out" was replaced by the "shaped note" method. For the many who could not read music the round notes were replaced by shaped notes which indicated the seven-syllable scale.

In the foreword to his book Hagan wrote," And one indisputable fact stands out: There is no older, no more resilient, no more demonstrative music in America than gospel music!" Those of us living on the Cumberland Plateau can say "Amen!" to those words.

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Dorothy Copus Brush is a Fairfield Glade resident and Crossville Chronicle staffwriter whose column is published each Wednesday.