I'm bothered. The following is stream of consciousness-- neither in response to any post nor a comment on anyone. I won't be posting in this thread again in the near future-- I'll be away leading Gospel music and then out of town. I'm sorry it will make some folks defensive but... .)

~S~

Here we are about to inaugurate Barack Obama, and our threads continue to proclaim a divide we all want to end.

"The Gospel in B&W." Give me a BREAK. I sing that stuff every week (have done so for over 10 years), week in and week out, with songs and influences drawn from all over the map. Many of our sources crossed that "line" generations ago, from both "sides." And we do too. It can't just be us-- this is not about "aren't we special" or "we're SO unique." Our styles may be rare in church circles, but not because of the B/W thing. We are not rare in music circles.

Marty Stuart said it well in a mainstream-gospel, big-market setting recently, talking to Bill Gaither about the place of Bluegrass in Gospel. He referenced something I've said for years-- that the divides in Gospel styles are artificial-- not reflective of individual artists' experiences. He especially menttioned Mavis Staples saying she listenEd to Country music on the road. And of course many "white" artists, of all genres, including gospel, have talked about listening to the Blues.

Look at current Blues music programming. Half the artists are white. And they don't sound white, as they did not so long ago. These are white men who CAN play basketball, the dozens, and the blues. They are sometimes listed now as primary influences on up and coming BLACK blues players! How wacky is THAT.


IMO our B&W Gospel threads should focus on appreciating the PAST legacies of these formerly-divided genres within the great Gospel tradition. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL ITSELF INCLUDES SOCIAL JUSTICE. Why do we persist in assuming that the music based on it (and marketed to people who ascribe to that message) could maintain the divisions of the societies in which it flourishes?!?!?


I celebrate the cultural contributions that arose even from divided hearts. Sometimes a great gift comes from the most-broken giver. But I can't divide the contributions anymore, and I'd hope most of Mudcat isn't falling for the illusion that they are divided.

Out here in the real world of gospel music-- the church-- that illusion is the work of The Enemy.

~Susan