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Gospel

Originating in 1930s Chicago through Thomas A. Dorsey, gospel irrevocably merged traditional Protestant hymnody with secular blues harmony and swing, establishing the foundation for modern Soul and R&B.

Genre genealogy

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GENRE PATHWAY EXPLORER22 NODES · 31 EDGES

LAYER

HEAD Gospel · 3 ancestors · 2 ROOTS

Card = genre birth (★) / dashed lane = derivative stage (no birth page). ★ opens birth; cards without birth open the genre page. Click to highlight path. Pan and zoom.

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Songs in this genre

5 / 5 songs

I'll Overcome Some Day

Charles Albert Tindley (1901) → Joan Baez (1963)

A church hymn of private faith was subject-shifted through Joan Baez's March on Washington into a collective anthem of resistance.

From church hymn to march anthem for hundreds of thousandsMoral resonance through acoustic purism

Stand by Me

Charles Albert Tindley (1905) → Ben E. King (1961)

A 1905 gospel hymn was redefined by Ben E. King as a secular soul ballad — an anthem of universal human connection.

Sacred to secularBass-line innovationString arrangement+1

Take My Hand, Precious Lord

Thomas A. Dorsey (1932) → Mahalia Jackson (1956)

The irreversible fusion of blues and hymnody defined modern Black gospel.

Sacred × blues fusionGospel blueprint

It Must Be Jesus

The Southern Tones (1954) → Ray Charles (1954)

A church hymn was "reinstalled" into soul and R&B when Ray Charles secularized the gospel melody.

Sacred to secularMelody carried overTaboo broken+1

Christ Is All (The World to Me)

The Soul Stirrers (1951) → Ray Charles (1954)

A church prayer was "reinstalled" into soul and R&B when Ray Charles secularized the gospel melody.

Sacred to secularMelody carried overTaboo broken+1