Re: [ARSCLIST] Gospel preservation

[Scott Smith <SDSmith@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Steve,

Do you remember what outlet it aired on? I wasn't aware of too much
additional material on Dorsey.

--Scott D. Smith


----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven Smolian" <smolians@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 11:11 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Gospel preservation


> Saw a piece of a Dorsey interview this past weekend on TV, part of a
"Where
> Gospel Came From" type series (6 episodes.)
>
> Steve Smolian
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Scott Smith" <SDSmith@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 10:33 AM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Gospel preservation
>
>
> > Which reminds me...buried somewhere deep in the Disney archives is one
of
> > the last filmed interviews done with Thomas J. Dorsey (the father of
> > gospel
> > music), which we shot for a documentary called "Chicago on the Good
Foot"
> > back in the early eighties. In addition, the film also contained
material
> > with Willie Dixon (filmed in his studio), Junior Wells, Big Twist,
Pinetop
> > Perkins, Koko Taylor...the list goes on. Would love to get my hands back
> > on
> > that material again.
> >
> > I'm sure no one at Disney even knows it exists.
> >
> >
> > Scott Smith
> >
> > Chicago Audio Works, Inc.
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Matthew Barton" <mbarton@xxxxxxx>
> > To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 7:58 AM
> > Subject: [ARSCLIST] Gospel preservation
> >
> >
> >> From today's New York Times--a familiar tune.
> >>
> >> OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
> >> Gospel's Got the Blues
> >> By ROBERT DARDEN
> >>
> >> Published: February 15, 2005
> >>
> >>
> >> Waco, Tex.
> >>
> >> AT the Grammy awards on Sunday, viewers saw the marriage of old-time
> > gospel
> >> and new: the classic artists Mavis Staples and the Blind Boys of
Alabama
> >> performed a medley with a young musician, Kanye West, that included Mr.
> >> West's gospel-tinged hip-hop song, "Jesus Walks."
> >>
> >> Blessed with a rock-solid foundation, contemporary gospel is thriving.
In
> >> the past decade, new releases have been selling copies in the
millions -
> >> a
> >> major milestone in a musical genre that emerged in the 1930's, when the
> >> songwriter Thomas Dorsey set the words of Sunday morning to the music
of
> >> Saturday night. But the early gospel may soon be lost forever. Although
> >> albums by the legendary Mahalia Jackson are easy to find on CD, of the
> >> thousands of tracks recorded by less known greats like Clara Ward, the
> >> Sensational Nightingales, the Roberta Martin Singers, Sallie Martin,
the
> >> Georgia Peach and the Spirit of Memphis, only a few are available.
> >>
> >> Why is this music so difficult to find, or even hear, today? Although
> > small
> >> gospel labels still release classics, and reissue labels like Document
> >> Records and Collectables have repackaged some Golden Age music, these
> >> companies don't have the wide distribution of the major labels and
mostly
> >> depend on mail and Internet orders. In fact, catalogs of early gospel
> >> labels are mostly owned by the large corporations that dominate the
music
> >> industry. For the most part, these companies have released only a few
> >> classic albums on compact disc.
> >>
> >> For an unabashed fan like me, it's a painful situation. I realize that
no
> >> corporation is going to put out albums just to please a few
aficionados,
> >> but they may not realize that many people want to hear this music. Each
> >> time I do a radio interview and play a classic gospel song, the phone
> > lines
> >> immediately light up. The callers need to discuss what this music has
> > meant
> >> to them. They invariably ask where they can buy it and most of the time
I
> >> have to tell them they can't.
> >>
> >> Classic gospel can experience the same success that major-label
reissues
> > of
> >> jazz and blues have enjoyed in the last two decades. It was once
> >> difficult
> >> to find the jazz masters, but reissues of John Coltrane, Charlie Parker
> > and
> >> dozens of others have brought labels renewed sales, a new audience and
> >> critical acclaim. These reissues came about because of the aggressive
> >> lobbying by jazz lovers and the foresight of a few label executives.
The
> >> same can happen with early gospel.
> >>
> >> Music historians should also get involved: major record labels can form
> >> alliances with archivists like the Smithsonian, Rounder Records and the
> >> Library of Congress. Each day, irreplaceable master tapes deteriorate,
> >> get
> >> lost, or are simply tossed out.
> >>
> >> It would be more than a cultural disaster to forever lose this music.
It
> >> would be a sin.
> >>
> >>
> >> Robert Darden, an assistant professor of English at Baylor University,
is
> >> the author of "People Get Ready! A New History of Black Gospel Music."
> >>
> >
> >
> > --
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>
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