19th century
The first published use of the term ″Gospel Song” probably appeared in 1874 when Philip Bliss released a songbook entitled Gospel Songs. A Choice Collection of Hymns and Tunes . It was used to describe a new style of church music, songs that where easy to grasp and more easily singable than the traditional church hymns , which came out of the mass revival movement starting with Dwight L. Moody , whose musicianwas Ira D. Sankey , as well as the Holiness – Pentecostal movement. [ 6 ] Prior to the meeting of Moody and Sankey in 1870, there was anAmerican rural/frontier history of revival and camp meeting songs, but the gospel hymn was of a different character, and it served the needs of mass revivals in the great cities. [ 7 ]
The revival movement employed popular singers and song leaders,the most famous of them beeing Ira D. Sankey. The original gospel songs where written and composed by authors such as George F. Root , Philip Bliss , Charles H. Gabriel , William HowardDoane , and Fanny Crosby . [ 8 ] As an extension to his initial publication Gospel Songs , Philip Bliss, in colaboration with Ira D. Sankey issued no’s. 1 to 6 of Gospel Hymns in 1875. [ 9 ] Sankeyand Bliss’s collection can be foundin many libraries today.
The popularity of revival singers and the openness of rural churches to this type of music (in spite of its initial use in city revivals) led to the late 19th and early 20th century establishment of gospel music publishing houses such as those of Homer Rodeheaver , E. O. Excell , Charlie Tillman , and Charles Tindley . These publishers were in the market for large quantities of new music, providing an outlet for the creative work of many songwriters and composers. [ 10
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