Continuing where I left off from my previous big post....

A third stream that came to be indentified with the black gospel label is what is known as the black gospel quartet.Though the term "black gospel quartet" was first used in 1851 (according to book author Alan young), today it refers to a type of black quartet singing that developed somewhere in the 20's and 30's and what followed in it's footsteps.

To trace it's roots we have to first go back to the genre of barbershop quartet harmony (which was it's strongest inspiration in the beginning).Some of this will be a bit of a repeat and some of it new--but my research so far sais it was an originaly black American style (despite it's strong European feel).It goes back to atleast the early 1840's and was commonly sung by black minstrel singing groups, both the whites who blackened their faces and the authentic black groups who would appear on the minstrel stage.Recently on mudcat I read about one of those minstrel groups traveling to South Africa in the 19th Century and having a strong influence on South African music in that time.Chances are these South Africans were exposed to barbershop harmonies and if so it might be linked to the barbershop quality that can be heard in Ladysmith Black Mambazo (probably the most popular black groups of that country).

But before I get to off topic hear, one of my sources suggest that barbershop harmonies are linked to a craze of 4-part Austrian harmony in the 1830's.Meanwhile some of my other sources say it comes from a blend of black spirituals and European church music (though they never really give any specifics on the last part).Interestingly enough, the only European type church music I have heard that bares strong similarities to barbershop is a part harmony music from Mennonites (who have some of there strong roots in Germany--right next door to Austria, though there founder is from Holland).So this gives some credibility to some kind of Austrian and European religious connection to barbershop and the black Gospel quartet that followed.And it's alleged roots in black spirituals are clearly supported by the long black tradition of singing spirituals in barbershop harmony (going back to the 1800's), and the black religious groups of the genre who became known as "jubilee quartets".The use of the term "jubilee quartet" is said to have began in or around 1905 with the Fisk University Jubilee Quartet of Nashville Tennesse, who focused on the singing of spirituals.

Around the beginning of the 1920's a new type of black religious quartet sound was beginning to emerge, which was still called "jubilee quartet" but was given a syncopated jazzy feel and sometimes a clear nod to the blues.This began with a Virginia group by the name of "The Norfolk Jubillee Quartet" who recorded from 1921 to 1940, though they also did secular music under the name "The Norfolk Jazz Quartet.(They initialy put the emphasis on secular material).They would become the most important and most influential of the pre-war black religious quartets.Soon other religious quartets in the 20's and 30's such as the Fairfield Four and Golden Gate Quartet began to perform and record under their influence (some of them also shaped by the Mill's Brother's, a mostly secular group that mixed up jazz and barbershop).And at some point these jazzed up quartets also began to flavor there music with the new gospel sounds of the black church, like that of Thomas Dorsey or the rhythmic feel of rural black preachers.Meanwhile you have an od ball group of the 30's called "the Heavenly Gospel Singers" who appear to have no jazz influence, mixing the older style of "jubilee quartet' with a slow type of hymn music from southern black churches (black gospel hymns I would assume).But on this last group I'm going purely by what I have read.Most did not escape the jazz influence.Quite often all of these newer kind of "jubilee quartets" of the 20's and 30's are considered "black gospel quartet", even though in some cases it may be just a combination of barbershop with jazz (with no connection to the first two types of black gospel I mentioned).Music labels can be funny or even confusing at times!

Gradually the older "jubilee quartet" style of the 20's and 30's (super heavy emphasis on barbershop) faded into popularity to a new breed of quartets.These quartets put less emphasis on the barbershop type harmonies, and drew more on the new black gospel sounds then they did before (especialy that of the Pentecostal kind).They also added musical instruments such as piano, bass, electric guitar and drums, and experimented with new appproaches.

Alot of these kind of black gospel quartets were also known as "hard gospel" for there use of edgy, harsh, sometimes brutaly rough singing that echos some of the more extreme singing of the black Pentecostal church.But this was blended and contrasted with smooth harmonies and often had gentler moments on the lead vocals.One of the most popular examples of "hard gospel" is the Soul Stirrers (when R.H. Harris led the group.

continued...This is taking me to long!