You're welcome, Frank.

I appreciate your mention of those wonderful gospel singers. The only reason that I didn't mention them and other gospel and spiritual singers is because the focus of this thread is characteristics of Black church services and not the particular singers, groups, or choirs.

That said, I'm very glad that you've added your memories of specific singers, and your general comments about Black churches. Your comments greatly enrich this thread.

With regard to singing with music books, during the Black Baptist church services that I've attended, there's at least one congregational hymn or song whose words are found in a hymnal. The congregation usually is asked to stand to sing this song {in the old days, the page number would be written with removable numbers on a board that was hung on the right hand side of the front wall facing the congregation.

The handclapping that I am referring to occurs as applaise after the end of a musical selection and not as a form of accompaniment of that music. My memory is that applauding wasn't done in the churches that I went to and my belief is that this is seldom done. But I see from some online videos that Black congregations do indeed applaud at the end of the choir's singing.

Which goes to show that somethings are the same and somethings are different in Black church services within the USA and in Black church services throughout the world.