Music performed a cappella, less commonly spelled a capella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term a cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato musical styles. In the 19th century, a renewed interest in Renaissance polyphony, coupled with an ignorance of the fact that vocal parts were often doubled by instrumentalists, led to the term coming to mean unaccompanied vocal music. The term is also used, rarely, as a synonym for alla breve.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and electric guitar. She was the first great recording star of gospel music, and was among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm and blues and rock and roll audiences, later being referred to as "the original soul sister" and "the Godmother of rock and roll". She influenced early rock-and-roll musicians including Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and also later guitarists, such as Eric Clapton.
Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as Dove Awards, a Soul Train Award and nominations for the NAACP Image Award.
The Persuasions were an American a cappella group that formed in Brooklyn, New York in 1962, singing under corner streetlights and in subway corridors. Their style combined gospel, soul, early rock, and jazz into melodic five-part harmonies. Since being discovered by Frank Zappa, the Persuasions have released 23 studio albums to date.
Moshav, formerly known as Moshav Band, is an Israeli-American Jewish rock band originating from Moshav Mevo Modi'im. Founded in 1996 by Yehuda Solomon and Duvid Swirsky, the group moved to Los Angeles in 2008 and have released ten studio albums. With a sound incorporating elements of alternative rock, folk, funk, and reggae, they were credited, alongside Soulfarm and Blue Fringe, with advancing Jewish rock in the early 2000s.
The Ambassadors of Harmony (AOH) is a 120+ member men's barbershop chorus, based in St. Charles, Missouri. The chorus won International Championship gold medals in 2004, 2009, and 2012 – each time singing two arrangements by David Wright, under the direction of Dr. Jim Henry – and then again in 2016 and 2023, under the co-direction of Jonny Moroni and Dr. Henry. Their 2009 victory broke a nearly three-decade winning streak by the Vocal Majority.
Jerome Eugene Lawson was an American singer, producer, musical arranger and performer, best known as the original lead singer of the Persuasions.
"Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child", also "Motherless Child", is a traditional spiritual. It dates back to the era of slavery in the United States.
Traditional black gospel is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding African American Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music. It is a form of Christian music and a subgenre of black gospel music.
Terry Wayne Fator is an American ventriloquist, impressionist, stand-up comedian, and singer. Born in Dallas, Texas, he developed an interest in ventriloquism from a young age, developing both this and a talent for singing. After initially performing with two bands, Fator eventually conducted solo performances, combining ventriloquism and singing with comedy. He gained national recognition for his talent when he won the second season of America's Got Talent, which helped to boost his career.
Mitchell's Christian Singers were an American gospel music group who recorded prolifically between 1934 and 1940.
The Virginians is a barbershop chorus located in Richmond, Virginia. Mike Wallen is currently its musical director, and has been serving in this capacity since 1998. It recently celebrated its 70th anniversary and is one of the oldest continuous singing groups in the Greater Richmond Area. Originally chartered in 1952 as the Tobaccoland Chorus, the chapter was renamed to the Virginians in 1990.
The SoCal VoCals are the first of nine a cappella groups from the University of Southern California. Founded in 1996, the group's signature achievement is being the only a cappella group to win five titles in ICCA, which it accomplished in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2018. In 2020, The A Cappella Archive ranked The SoCal VoCals at #1 out of all ICCA-competing groups.
Susan Magdalane Boyle is a Scottish singer. She rose to fame in 2009 after appearing as a contestant on the third series of Britain's Got Talent, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables. As of 2021, Boyle has sold 25 million records. Her debut album, I Dreamed a Dream (2009), is one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century, having sold over 10 million copies worldwide, and it was the best-selling album internationally in 2009. In 2011, Boyle made UK music history by becoming the first female artist to achieve three successive albums debut at No.1 in less than two years.
The Harmonizing Four was an American black gospel quartet organized in 1927 and reaching peak popularity during the decades immediately following World War II.
Benzion Hakohen "Benny" Friedman is an American Hasidic Jewish singer and a non-pulpit rabbi. Professionally trained in voice, he rose to prominence on the Orthodox pop scene with his first album in 2009. Singing mainly in Hebrew, Friedman tours extensively and also appears in music videos. He views his music as a shlichus (outreach) tool, with the goal of drawing Jews closer to Judaism.
One Voice Children's Choir is an American children's choir in Utah.
Antwaun Stanley is an American R&B singer and songwriter based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
James Earl Henry, most commonly referred to as "Jim Henry", is a vocal music professor, barbershop bass singer, and co-director of the Ambassadors of Harmony (AOH). He is a multiple international award-winning quartet member, whose quartets have appeared nationally on the NBC, PBS, and Fox television networks. Henry is the current director of choral studies at the University of Missouri–St. Louis and a contributing author of widely used musical reference works.
The Zion Harmonizers is an American gospel music group founded in 1938 and based in New Orleans, Louisiana.
