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Will the Circle Be Unbroken? : The Sacred Music of the African American Diaspora
Main Menu
Will the Circle Be Unbroken? The Sacred Music of the African American Diaspora
Enter the Exhibit
What is African American Sacred Music?
From Spirituals to Soul
Songs of the Underground Railroad
The Legacy of the Fisk Jubilee Singers
Women and Worship
Music of the Revolution: Sacred Music and Protest
Gospel Roots: African American Churches in Los Angeles
Albert J. McNeil
The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers
Jester Hairston
Don Lee White
Hansonia Caldwell
Opening the Exhibit
What’s a Music Exhibit without the music?
Take an audio journey through the CSUDH Sacred Music Archives collections
Sign our Guest Book!
Beth McDonald
16200cb3d5a875b72f65508a603e1bfceb2cda24
Gerth Archives and Special Collections, California State University Dominguez Hills
Yolanda Adams
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2020-04-28T12:21:33-07:00
Beth McDonald
16200cb3d5a875b72f65508a603e1bfceb2cda24
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Yolanda Adams is a gospel singer and radio host known as the "Queen of Contemporary Gospel Music.” A five-time Grammy winner, her blend of modern gospel with R&B and jazz has inspired a new generation of gospel singers and energized the genre. Photo by by Paul Buck.
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2020-04-28T12:21:33-07:00
Beth McDonald
16200cb3d5a875b72f65508a603e1bfceb2cda24
This page has tags:
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2020-04-24T12:42:16-07:00
Beth McDonald
16200cb3d5a875b72f65508a603e1bfceb2cda24
From Spirituals to Soul
Beth McDonald
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timeline
2020-06-26T15:59:45-07:00
Beth McDonald
16200cb3d5a875b72f65508a603e1bfceb2cda24
Contents of this tag:
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2020-04-28T12:27:11-07:00
Scott Joplin
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Ragtime was created as dance music in the south and is most known for its syncopated rhythm. Scott Joplin, "The King of Ragtime," wrote many of the most well-known rags, and set the stage for the blues and jazz.
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2020-05-06T08:23:25-07:00
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2020-04-28T12:08:19-07:00
Gary Clark, Jr.
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Gary Lee Clark Jr. is a contemporary blues musician best known for his fusion of blues, rock and soul music with elements of hip hop. A gifted songwriter, Clark’s music harkens backs to its roots with stark honest portrayals of what it is to be black in America, particularly in the South. Photo courtesy of Grammy.com.
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2020-04-28T12:09:08-07:00
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2020-04-28T13:26:34-07:00
Ella Fitzgerald at the Downbeat Club in New York.
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Dubbed "The First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular jazz singer in the United States for more than 50 years. With an unparalled vocal range and exceptional tone and phrasing, she sang everything from ballads to “scat songs” for a global audience, sold 40 million records, and won 13 Grammy awards. Photo by William P. Gottlieb, courtesy of the United States Library of Congress's Music Division
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2020-04-28T13:27:40-07:00
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2020-04-28T13:54:01-07:00
BB King
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B.B. King is possibly the most well known blues musician in the world. He was part of the early blues scene on Beale Street in New York in the 1940s and was instrumental in the evolution and definition of the genre. A virtuoso guitarist, King developed a sophisticated and distinctive playing technique, integrating elements from early blues guitarists like Blind Lemon Jefferson to create a unique style that influenced many later blues and rock guitarists. Photo by John Shearer/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
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2020-04-28T13:55:39-07:00
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2020-04-28T12:50:39-07:00
Beyonce Knowles
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Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is a singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of Destiny's Child, one of the best- selling girl groups of all time. As a solo artist, she has become one of the world’s bestselling music artists and an outspoken advocate for social justice issues. She has been listed among Time's 100 most influential people and ranked as the most powerful woman in entertainment. Photo courtesy of Theo Wargo/Getty Images for TIDAL.
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2020-04-28T13:02:03-07:00
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2020-04-28T13:07:57-07:00
Mahalia Jackson performs at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam
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Mahalia Jackson performs in Amsterdam, 23 April 1961. Jackson’s soulful renditions of gospel music and powerful and melodious voice thrilled fans the world over. In 1947, Jackson became the first gospel artist to sell one million copies, putting the genre into the mainstream. Photo by Dave Brinkman.
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2020-04-28T13:07:57-07:00
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2020-04-28T13:09:36-07:00
Marian Anderson at the Easter Concert at the Lincolm Memorial
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Marian Anderson sings spirituals at the Lincoln Memorial on April 9, 1939. She was invited to perform there by Eleanor Roosevelt after the DAR refused to let her perform in Constitution Hall because of her race. The event was seen as one of the earliest victories of the Civil Rights Movement. Photo by Thomas D. McAvoy .
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2020-04-28T13:09:36-07:00
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2020-04-28T11:54:58-07:00
Cabinet Card of the Fisk Jubilee Singers
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The Fisk University Jubilee Singers, photographed in 1871. The Fisk Singers were the first to present African American traditional music to the public. They sparked international interest and inspired many to emulate them. Cabinet card from the African American Music Collections, Gerth Archives and Special Collections, CSU Dominguez Hills.
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2020-04-28T11:54:58-07:00
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2020-04-28T13:10:37-07:00
Ma Rainey
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Gertrude "Ma" Rainey was one of the earliest professional blues singers and one of the first African-American blues singers to record. She was sometimes billed as the "Mother of the Blues". Rainey was known for her powerful vocals and "moaning" style of singing. She made over 100 recordings in 5 years in the 1920s and toured and recorded with Louis Armstrong and Thomas A. Dorsey.
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2020-04-28T13:10:37-07:00
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2020-04-28T13:22:13-07:00
Thomas A. Dorsey
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Thomas A. Dorsey, the “father of gospel music”. A prolific blues and jazz composer as well, Dorsey wrote many of the world’s greatest gospel songs. His best-known song, “Take My Hand, Precious Lord”, was performed at Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral .
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2020-04-28T13:22:13-07:00
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2020-04-28T12:21:33-07:00
Yolanda Adams
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Yolanda Adams is a gospel singer and radio host known as the "Queen of Contemporary Gospel Music.” A five-time Grammy winner, her blend of modern gospel with R&B and jazz has inspired a new generation of gospel singers and energized the genre. Photo by by Paul Buck.
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2020-04-28T12:21:33-07:00
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2020-04-28T12:56:58-07:00
W. C. Handy circa mid 1930s
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W.C. Handy was one of the most influential songwriters and blues musicians in the United States. Handy did not create the blues genre but was the first to publish music in the blues form, adapting the blues he heard on the street into a series of compositions that helped spark America’s first blues craze, including “Memphis Blues,” “Yellow Dog Blues,” “Beale Street Blues,” and “St. Louis Blues.”
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2020-04-28T12:56:58-07:00
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2020-04-28T13:37:40-07:00
Kendrick Lamar
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In 2018, Kendrick Lamar became the first hip-hop artist to win a Pulitzer Prize for music. The prize was awarded for “distinguished musical composition ... a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life. ” Photo courtesy of Grammy.com
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2020-04-28T13:37:40-07:00
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2020-04-28T13:01:09-07:00
NWA
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The rap group NWA is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential groups in the history of hip hop music. They were among the earliest pioneers of the gangsta rap genre. Drawing on their experiences with racism and excessive policing, NWA wrote intensely political music, with depictions of drugs, crime, and women that caused considerable controversy. Their sharp, staccato style and raw, authentic lyrics led the genre in new directions and continue to impact the development of hip-hop.
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2020-04-28T13:01:09-07:00