VA - Country Gospel - Five Classic Albums (Hymns By / Nearer the Cross / Singing on Sunday / Sings Sacred Songs / Sing and Shout) (Digitally Remastered) (2021)

American country music alongside American blues, r&b and even rock “n” roll have always owed a huge debt to the influence of gospel music in the development of their own particular style of music. Many of the great artists in these musical fields will tell stories of their younger days listening to gospel music in Sunday churches throughout the USA, but perhaps especially in the South where many of the greats were born. Think Elvis, Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Aretha, Hank Snow and most of the early rural blues singers and a host of others! Gospel music was what united black and white musicians when they came to perform the music that had inspired them. For many there was no prejudice or segregation regarding the music, it was God’s music to be sung and listened to by all folks. So it’s not surprising to see many of the great country stars paying tribute to the gospel music that so many of them grew up with. Our five fine selections include infamous country “rebel” Johnny Cash who had always been steeped in gospel music and didn’t care who knew it! Tennessee Ernie Ford had always included gospel songs on his nightly TV show. Hank Snow sings his personal gospel favourites alongside The Jordanaires and Kitty Wells recalls those Sunday prayer sessions back home. Out fifth artists The Oak Ridge Quartet actually started life in the early 1950s as a gospel band and continued in that vein until the 1970s when they morphed into The Oak Ridge Boys and became crossover sensations.