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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" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> 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" <[log in to unmask]> > To: <[log in to unmask]> > 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." >> > > > -- > Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. > Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. > Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.8.5 - Release Date: 2/3/2005 > > -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.8.5 - Release Date: 2/3/2005