Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, and as an entertainment product for the marketplace. Gospel music is characterized by dominant vocals and strong use of harmony with Christian lyrics. Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century.
The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in 1943 as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was changed to the Oak Ridge Boys in the early 1960s, and they remained a gospel group until the mid-1970s, when they changed their image and concentrated on country music.
Jake Hess was an American Grammy Award-winning southern gospel singer.
Reverend James Edward Cleveland was an American gospel singer, musician, and composer. Known as the King of Gospel, Cleveland was a driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound by incorporating traditional black gospel, soul, pop, and jazz in arrangements for mass choirs. Throughout his career, Cleveland appeared on hundreds of recordings and earned four Grammy Awards. He was the first gospel musician to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1984. For his trailblazing accomplishments, he is regarded by many as one of the greatest gospel singers who ever lived. His best known recordings include "Lord, Help Me to Hold Out", "Peace Be Still", "I Don't Feel No Ways Tired", “Where Is Your Faith", "The Love of God", "God Has Smiled on Me", and "Jesus Is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me."
Ernest Winston Angley was an American Christian evangelist, author, and television station owner who was based in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio from the 1950s until his death in 2021.
George Wilson Younce was an American bass singer, known for performing with Southern gospel quartets, especially The Cathedrals.
Tramaine Aunzola Richardson, known professionally as Tramaine Hawkins, is an American award–winning Gospel singer whose career spans over five decades. Since beginning her career in 1966, Hawkins has won two Grammy Awards, two Doves, and 19 Stellar Awards.
Bobby Howard Byrd was an American rhythm and blues, soul and funk singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, bandleader and talent dedicated, who played an integral and important part in the development of soul and funk music in association with James Brown.
Alpha Rex Emmanuel Humbard was an American television evangelist whose Cathedral of Tomorrow show was aired on over 600 stations at the peak of its popularity.
Cecil Dale Womack was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was one of the musical Womack brothers, and had success both as a songwriter and recording artist, notably with his wife Linda as Womack & Womack. In later years he took the name Zekkariyas.
Guy Penrod is a gospel music singer. He is known for his work as the lead singer of the Gaither Vocal Band, a position he held from 1994 to 2008.
The Cathedral Quartet, also known as the Cathedrals, was an American southern gospel quartet who performed from 1964 to December 1999. The group's final lineup consisted of Glen Payne (lead), George Younce (bass), Ernie Haase (tenor), Scott Fowler, and Roger Bennett.
Mattie Moss Clark was an American gospel choir director and the mother of The Clark Sisters, a gospel vocal group. She was the longest-serving International Minister of Music for the Church of God in Christ (COGIC). "Her arrangements, perhaps influenced by her classical training, replaced the unison or two-part textures of earlier gospel music with three-part settings of the music for soprano, alto, and tenor voice ranges—a technique that remained common in gospel choir music for decades afterward."
Glen Payne served for fifty-five years as a Southern gospel music singer. He is known for being the lead singer of The Cathedral Quartet.
Bill Dykes is an American gospel music singer.
Albertina Walker was an American gospel singer, songwriter, actress, and humanitarian.
Raymond Eugene Premru was an American trombonist, composer, and teacher who spent most of his career in London, England.
The Archdiocese of Cebu is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and one of the ecclesiastical provinces of the Catholic Church in the country. It is composed of the entire civil province of Cebu. It is the Mother Church of the Philippines. The jurisdiction, Cebu, is considered as the fount of Christianity in the Far East.
Joannes Theodorus Wamelink, was a prominent musician and composer in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Rance Allen Group was a gospel music group formed in Monroe, Michigan, and based in Toledo, Ohio, named after its lead vocalist, Bishop Rance Allen.
