That s Good News! Chicago and the Birth of Gospel Music Thomas Andrew Dorsey, the Father of Gospel Music, began using the phrase gospel songs in the mid- 1920s, for a new kind of religious music. These were songs of worship with the bounce and rhythm of early blues and jazz. This style of music already had a number of champions, but Dorsey s commitment would give rise to a gospel movement in Chicago that would spread worldwide. His association with gospel music was so strong that for decades, songs in this style were simply called Dorseys. Gospel songs combine religious lyrics with melodies and rhythms inspired by early blues and jazz. Many churches rejected this new integration of religious conviction and popular song as devil s music that had no place in a house of worship. Eventually, though, gospel grew to become one of the most popular genres of music. John Russick and Gwen Inhat Thomas A. Dorsey (seated) with colleagues, 1937. Courtesy Kathryn Dorsey and family. 22
This thing gospel, it was something new; they didn t take to it too well.... The preacher get up there and say, You can t sing no gospel, only preach the gospel. I ve been thrown out of some of the best churches in the country for that. Thomas Andrew Dorsey Thomas Andrew Dorsey in Washington, D.C., in 1981. Courtesy Tulane University. 23
The Dorsey family, c. 1906. Thomas is front left. Courtesy Oxford University Press and Kathryn Dorsey and family. Thomas A. Dorsey grew up in the South, home of blues. He was born in Villa Rica, Georgia, on July 1, 1899, to Thomas Madison and Etta Plant Dorsey. In many ways, his parents foreshadowed his future. His father was a traveling preacher and his mother played the organ at church. By 1910, his parents had moved to Atlanta. There, Tom found work selling soda pop in a music hall. By age 17, he had learned to play the piano and had moved to Chicago to join the growing blues scene in the North. On occasion, he interrupted his blues career with attempts to write and publish gospel songs, but it would be fifteen years before he would give up the blues in favor of the good news. Dorsey s childhood home. Courtesy Kathryn Dorsey and family. Atlanta, Georgia, c. 1910. Courtesy Skip Mason s archives. 24 Chicago History Fall 1999
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[W]e packed em in. And that s the way it was for two whole seasons, traveling through the country. I traveled with her almost four years. About 1922 or 23 up to 1927 or 28. And she was the ma of all of em. She taught Bessie Smith, Butterbeans and Susie, a lot of those black actors who came along in that day. That s why they call her Ma. Thomas Andrew Dorsey describing his years with Gertrude Ma Rainey and her band, Living Blues Magazine March/April 1975 Georgia Tom Dorsey, c. 1928. Courtesy George T. Nierenberg. Ma Rainey and her Wild Cats Jazz Band, c. 1925. Dorsey at piano, far right. Courtesy George T. Nierenberg. Ma Rainey and Thomas A. Dorsey. Courtesy Kathryn Dorsey and family. Like many African Americans born in the South, Thomas A. Dorsey moved to the North during the Great Migration between 1914 and 1920. In Chicago, Dorsey, known during these years by several stage names Barrelhouse Tom, Texas Tommy, and, most commonly, Georgia Tom started out playing theaters, clubs, and rent parties (parties held to raise rent money). By 1930, Georgia Tom Dorsey had become a successful bluesman, composing, performing, and recording the blues with many talented musicians, including Ma Rainey, and Tampa Red, with whom Georgia Tom had his biggest hit, 1928 s It s Tight Like That. 26 Chicago History Fall 1999
Thomas Andrew Dorsey met Nettie Harper at his uncle s rooming house, where Nettie and Thomas each boarded for a time. On August 1, 1925, they were married in Chicago and on August 2 they left to travel with Ma Rainey and her band. Ma hired Nettie to be her wardrobe mistress. Nettie and Thomas were on the road together and Thomas was arranging and playing for one of the biggest stars in his profession. Dorsey said, [I]t was a joy, just like a big long honeymoon. In late summer 1932, Dorsey went to a meeting in St. Louis for a few days. Nettie was pregnant, and Dorsey felt sure that on his return he would see his wife and newborn child safe and healthy at home. While he was gone, he received word that Nettie had died during childbirth. Dorsey s son died the next day. Thomas Andrew Dorsey wrote Precious Lord, Take My Hand in the grief-filled days and weeks after this tragedy. The powerful plea for guidance and comfort has been an inspiration to people around the world for more than sixty years. I knew a number of girls throughout the country where I had traveled. But this lovely little maid from Georgia... won my heart. I could play the piano and croon to her in the cool of the evening when the lights were soft and low. Thomas Andrew Dorsey from The Rise of Gospel Blues: The Music of Thomas Andrew Dorsey in the Urban Church Nettie Dorsey. Courtesy George T. Nierenberg. Although Dorsey had often dabbled in gospel music during the 1920s, he always allowed himself the luxury of being both a blues musician and a gospel composer. With Nettie s death he felt forced to choose between the two. Dorsey dedicated himself to gospel and this time, he never turned back. Sheet music for "I'll Never Turn Back" by Thomas A. Dorsey. Courtesy Kathryn Dorsey and family. That s Good News! 27
Dorsey s choir at Pilgrim Baptist Church. Courtesy Kathryn Dorsey and family. Praying hands from Thomas Dorsey's office desk and Thomas Dorsey's business card. Courtesy Kathryn Dorsey and family. Within the next year, Dorsey established and expanded the institutions that would secure his place as a gospel legend. The growth of the Dorsey House of Music and the creation of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses demonstrated the power of Dorsey s commitment to gospel. By August 1932, Dorsey was established as a leader of the fledgling gospel scene. 28 Chicago History Fall 1999
Dorsey with some of the instruments he played, c. 1935. Courtesy Kathryn Dorsey and family. That s Good News! 29
Dorsey (at left) spreading the good news by rail, c. 1940. Courtesy Kathryn Dorsey and family. The tradition of gospel groups touring the country from church to church, revival to revival, had been established by African American religious singing groups decades earlier. Gospel performers used this same method to spread the good news. Eventually, the popularity of gospel was so great that these tours begin to include nongospel music festivals, grand concert halls, even national ceremonies. The Thomas Andrew Dorsey Quartet. Courtesy George T. Nierenberg. 30 Chicago History Fall 1999
The freedom and opportunity sought by Dorsey and his fellow migrants found expression in an explosion of new music in Chicago jazz, blues, and gospel. Soon Chicago s thriving music scene attracted African Americans from all over the nation. Almost all of Chicago s gospel legends were born elsewhere, but found an outlet for their talents here. Roberta Martin was born in 1907 in Helena, Arkansas, and moved to Chicago as a teenager. She studied classical piano and, for a time, played the piano for Dorsey s choir at Pilgrim Baptist Church. Later, she formed the Martin Frye singers with Dorsey s friend Theodore R. Frye. By 1935, she alone led the group and renamed them the Roberta Martin Singers, an all-male group that ranged in age from 10 to 16. In 1940, Martin began mixing male and female voices, an innovation at that time. Roberta Martin Singers, c. 1950. Courtesy Eugene Smith. That s Good News! 31
Born in rural Georgia, Sallie Martin moved to Chicago in 1927. She rose to prominence as an associate of Thomas A. Dorsey and the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses. She worked with Dorsey for years, touring the country and promoting his gospel songs. In 1940, she and Kenneth Morris formed Martin and Morris Music, Inc. Sallie Martin is best remembered for her unusual voice and singing style. Not a refined or smooth singer, she possessed a raw power in her voice and style unique among gospel singers that connected with audiences. Many credit her with helping to foster Dorsey s early success. Sallie Martin and Thomas Andrew Dorsey in his studio, c. 1935. Courtesy Kathryn Dorsey and family. Sallie Martin in her home, c. 1980. Courtesy George T. Nierenberg. 32 Chicago History Fall 1999
No artist brought more acclaim to gospel music than Mahalia Jackson. She was born in 1911 in New Orleans, Louisiana, and moved to Chicago in 1927 when she was fifteen. She brought a southern style of singing with her to the North. Her interest in gospel music, combined with the power and emotive quality of her voice, gave her a rare presence when she sang. At twenty-two, she had become a well known local singer. Dorsey had heard her as early as 1928, but it wasn t until 1937 that they began to work together. Their collaboration lasted fourteen years. Jackson sang Dorsey s Precious Lord, Take My Hand at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. s funeral. Mahalia Jackson. Courtesy George T. Nierenberg. Thomas Andrew Dorsey kneels at Mahalia Jackson s grave, c. 1980. Courtesy Fisk University. That s Good News! 33
Sheet music for "Precious Lord, Take My Hand." Courtesy Kathryn Dorsey and family. 34 Chicago History Fall 1999
Martin and Morris Music publishing house on Chicago s South Side at 4312 S. Indiana Avenue in 1940. Courtesy National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. In the early days, blues songs were considered common property among musicians. After a time, Dorsey started copyrighting his blues compositions. This became the basis for the Dorsey House of Music. Dorsey eventually published more than four hundred of his own gospel songs. Many other important gospel composers nationwide followed his example. In Chicago, Sallie Martin and Kenneth Morris started to publish gospel music. Martin and Morris Music published a wide array of gospel artists including the Caravans. They were the first gospel publishing house to promote the compositions of artists other than themselves. Other older publishing businesses, such as the Bowles House of Music, branched out into gospel as the market developed. Left: Songbook published by Martin & Morris Music Studio, 1940. Courtesy Kathryn Dorsey and family. Original manuscript for "I Do, Don't You." Courtesy Kathryn Dorsey and family. That s Good News! 35
Elvis Presley s recording of Peace in the Valley 1957. Courtesy Leda Greene. Gospel music s nationwide movement attracted both religious and secular audiences. Along with international popularity during the 1950s and 1960s, gospel record sales soared, a Chicagobased television show thrived, and many all-gospel radio stations emerged. Many of the biggest stars from other styles of music had huge hits with recordings of gospel songs. Red Foley sang Thomas Andrew Dorsey s Peace in the Valley at Hank Williams s funeral in 1953 and later had a hit with the recording. In 1957, Elvis Presley topped Foley s success in gospel music when he recorded both Peace in the Valley and Precious Lord, Take My Hand. 36 Chicago History Fall 1999
Today, Thomas Andrew Dorsey is recognized worldwide as the Father of Gospel Music. But in the late 1970s, few outside the gospel community knew of his contributions. Between 1979 and 1983, Dorsey s star rose again. He was recognized in a tribute at the Smithsonian Institution and in the documentary Say Amen Somebody. Following the movie, Dorsey was honored at universities and cities across the globe. In 1964, he downplayed his achievements, responding to a student s question about the beginning of gospel songs this way: I can t say who was responsible for its beginning but I gave them the name gospel songs and created a market for them more than forty years ago. Dorsey poses with his National Music Award. Courtesy Kathryn Dorsey and family. John Russick is a public historian, exhibition development, and Gwen Ihnat is an editor at the Chicago Historical Society. That s Good News! 37