On Sunday, June 23, settle in for a marathon of Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s series Gospel. From the blues to hip hop, African Americans have been the driving force of sonic innovation for over a century. Musical styles come and go, but there's one sound that has been a constant source of strength, courage, and wisdom on any given Sunday. Gospel digs deep into the origin story of Black spirituality through sermon and song.

Episodes 1 and 2 – 11:30am 

Gospel's hour 1, "The Gospel Train," travels north to Chicago, where southern migrants Thomas A. Dorsey, Mahalia Jackson, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe blended the melodic sounds and instrumentation of blues and jazz with lyrics about God’s goodness. Like the blues, gospel would become a commodity, but one built by Black-owned publishing companies like Martin and Morris and sustained by Black audiences.

Starting in the 1940s, Gospel's hour 2, "The Golden Age of Gospel," explores the dramatic explosion of Black sacred music and the segregated highways of the American South through the successful careers of Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke, and Aretha Franklin. As the lines between the sacred and secular blur, gospel music becomes the powerful soundtrack of the freedom struggle. 

Episodes 3 and 4 – 2pm

Gospel's hour 3, "Take the Message Everywhere," reveals how gospel was going mainstream and family dynasties, many raised in the Church of God in Christ, would dominate the charts. Meanwhile, other children of the church used their heavenly voices to influence soul music. As gospel artists took the message everywhere, Black pastors continued to distinguish their message through a prophetic voice and sound with sermonettes. 

Gospel's hour 4, "Gospel’s Second Century," opens in the 1990s, when a new generation of music producers, record executives, and artists embraced the secular rhythms of R&B and hip-hop to modernize the gospel sound. The launch of the Platinum Age of Gospel brought commercially successful songs about faith to millions in clubs, on cable TV, and on urban radio, but drew criticism that gospel music had gone too far.

Gospel Live! Presented by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. – 4:30pm

Gospel Live! Presented by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is a concert celebration honoring the legacy of gospel music in America. Secular and gospel artists sing their favorite gospel classics.