Rock ‘n’ roll and Gospel music have a long and contentious history, traditionally operating at odds to one another; and while it’s tempting to view that divide as entirely racial, that’s a needlessly reductive reading; and so we must guard against the temptation to find racial subtext everywhere.
Let’s look instead at the evidence. Both genres arise from the same musical wellsprings. Both depend on a certain level of ecstasy, although the sources, sacred and profane, are very different. And on a personnel level, there seems to be a competition for resources; Gospel artists who cross over to a mainstream audience often end up leaving sacred music behind, and — more rarely — secular artists such as Little Richard and Al Green have abandoned pop (temporarily or not) after a religious awakening.
When the two forms are hybridized, all too often it becomes a race competition to reach bottom, as lowest-common-denominator signifiers are shoehorned into one genre, like troweling makeup onto a drag queen — only less convincing. There’s more to rock music than a few power chords; there’s more to Gospel than tambourines and wailing vocals.
The multi-artist compilation Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration — out this week from EMI/Vector — brings together Gospel and pop performers, and showcases a few ways to try to split the musical difference. Three Doors Down demonstrate what might be called the Foreigner option. The only God being revered in their “Presence of the Lord” is Eric Clapton; it’s played as a straight rocker, with the Soul Children of Chicago choir mixed low, providing color texture — felt, more than heard.
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