I am with WYSIWYG on the subject of the Blues and Spirituals not being mutually exclusive. Breathing is spiritual, so is everything else. Trails and tribulations occur in every life whether you are Job or a blind sharecropper.
The blues is NOT about sorrow.9/10ths of the time It is about grinning in the face of your troubles or even not necessarily about your troubles at all.The old country Bluesmen frequently sang of their troubles as if in conversation with the Lord "I'm troubled, LORD , I 'm Troubled carrying a heavy load , LORD, LORD....."- Charlie Patton, "stones in my passway" - Robert Johnson, or especially Blind Willie Johnson and Rev. Gary Davis who employed Blues music under spiritual lyrics on most of their songs.
Gospel music itself started as a contrived form invented for the profitable selling of new song books and the Baptist preachers also wanted to usurp the power of the elder women of the congregation, who led the congregation in the singing of spirituals. The spirituals were the parishoners favorite part of the ceremony. Members of Louie Armstrong's band were commissioned to invent Gospel and it was not popular with the congregation until the amazing Mahalia Jackson came along. Most Gospel songs are just Jazzed up Spirituals.
Blues and Spirituals were shared a repertiore, prior to the invention of Gospel.Although the Blues was frowned upon by the church as the Devil's music, A Bluesman was just as likely to play "When I Lay My Burden Down" as "Going Back Down South", Depending on the day of the week.It was only when Gospel was invented that the 2 forms became inextricably seperated.
Sorry for the long winded explanation, I know am preaching to the converted with most folks who chose to read this thread, but, my heart goes out to those who never heard or understood the Gospel Blues. I just wanted to enlighten them as to what they are missing.Maybe now their curiosity will be peaked to "let the light from the lighthouse shine on them, Oh let it shine on, let it shine on........." Blind Willie style.
- djh