The gospel spirit fills the history of country music... For many country and bluegrass fans, the constant Jesus-isms can be a real turn-off, yet, like many kinds of religious music, it can bring out amazing, powerful performances and an emotional conviction that is rarely matched in secular pop culture. I'm hardly a preacher man, but there is some of this stuff I love, and having had the opportunity to hear a lot of country gospel over the years, I decided to take the chance to share some of my thoughts and impressions of the genre with y'all... Ready? Here we go!
Randy Travis "Inspirational Journey" (Warner Brothers, 2000)
Randy Travis "Rise And Shine" (Warner Brothers, 2002)
Randy Travis "Worship And Faith" (Warner Brothers, 2003)
Ernest Tubb "Old Rugged Cross" (Decca, 1952)
Ernest Tubb "Family Bible" (Decca, 1963)
Ernest Tubb "Stand By Me" (Vocalion, 1966)
Ernest Tubb "Sunday Satan, Saturday Saint" (Decca, 1969)
Conway Twitty "Clinging To A Saving Hand" (MCA, 1973)
Conway Twitty "Who Will Pray For Me" (MCA, 1994)
Material from the 1974 Clinging To A Saving Hand album (above).
T. Texas Tyler "The Great Texan" (King, 1960)
Country gospel with a rollicking beat, a nice hillbilly twist on the genre -- none of the syrupy, watered-down, well-behaved poppiness that plagued so many other country Christian records. Tyler tears the house down with rambunctious revival-style rave-ups like "You've Got To Live Your Religion" and "Didn't They Crucify My Lord." Even the slower numbers have plenty of backbeat and slinky steel guitars; this is a for-real country record, fun to listen to, even aside from the religious content. If ya ask me, this is really the way to get folks fired up about their religion -- make it fun! Good record... recommended!
Creation date = 11/21/03