The Birth of Gospel Music 3
Despite Dorsey's exposure to and engagement with these varied articulations of Black religious music, none of them captured his imagination in such a way as to lure him immediately away from his career in blues and jazz. In the same year that he published his first gospel song, Dorsey also joined a jazz band, the Whispering Syncopators, and by 1924 he was working as music director for blues singer Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, writing songs, and recording and leading her backing band the Wildcats Jazz Band (Harris 1992, 91-3).
After his stint with Ma Rainey ended, Dorsey partnered Florida-born bottleneck guitarist Tampa Red (Hudson Whitaker) to produce over sixty recordings between 1928 and 1932. Their risqué 1928 recording "It’s Tight Like That" , one of a number with double entendre titles, became their biggest hit. Sales launched Dorsey into new-found notoriety and financial success. But no sooner had the first royalty check been deposited than his bank failed, a victim of the 1929 stock market crash. Interpreting his misfortune as God’s corrective hand, Dorsey turned once again to gospel music, with the National Baptist Convention serving as a point of entry (Harris 1992, 148).
From the start, the very concept of this new genre was problematic for some members of the African American religious community. Dorsey recalls ministers who objected to the reference to the Gospel as music, arguing that the Gospel could only be preached, not sung. Furthermore, the Gospel has also been defined as "good news" (Duckett 1974, 5; Ricks 1960, 141). Of course, these views reduce gospel music to the embodiment of the message of the first four books of the New Testament, ignoring the basic musical features that define the genre. However, as the gospel music genre has evolved, it has become understood as much more than mere text. Among African Americans, the term gospel music now references a specific body of composed repertoire and a performance style that can be superimposed upon other genres, particularly spirituals and hymns.
Stand By Me
When the storms of life are raging
Stand by me
When the storms of life are raging
Stand by me
When the world is tossing me
Like a ship out on the sea
Thou who rulest wind and water
Stand by me
Leave It There
If the world from you withhold of its silver and its gold,
And you have to get along with meager fare,
Just remember, in His Word, how He feeds the little bird,
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
Leave it there, leave it there,
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
If you trust and never doubt,
He will surely bring you out,
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.