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Gospel Roots of Rock and Soul 2 of 4

Hosted by Grammy award-winning gospel singer Cece Winans and produced by WXPN, Gospel Roots of Rock and Soul to celebrate Black History Month. This limited-run series is the culmination of a 15-month project that included field research in Memphis, Nashville, and Chicago, building a content-rich website, live events in Philadelphia with gospel legends The Fairfield Four, The Dixie Hummingbirds, the Fisk Jubilee Singers and numerous interviews with musicians, historians and scholars. Each hour of Gospel Roots of Rock and Soul will illustrate the influence of gospel on secular music, celebrating the roots of black gospel and its impact on major artists.

This hour examines how rock, soul and R&B grew out of the roots of Gospel. By the mid-20th century, gospel music was a force in America. It was capturing the attention of record companies and audiences across the nation. Sam Cooke’s emergence as a soul singer epitomized this moment. Sister Rosetta Tharpe defined what it meant to be a rock star and influenced some of the early rock and rollers. Chess Records’ singer Mitty Collier tasted the highs of the pop life before she became a Pastor and The Edwin Hawkins Singers solidified gospel music’s place alongside pop music with their mainstream hit song, “Oh Happy Day.”