Where hymnody once came from the spontaneity of slave spirituals or camp meetings, worship songs are increasingly now focus-grouped by executives in Nashville.
When things got very difficult for us, financially and socially and otherwise, he would resort to the piano and play spirituals until he satisfied himself.
West says trains have an important place in African-American history -- from symbolism in Negro spirituals to a real conveyance for the mass migration of blacks moving to the North in the 1930s, '40s and '50s.
Chanticleer, an all-male a capella group best known for its classical repertoire, has released How Sweet the Sound, its second CD of gospel music and African-American spirituals.