What Are Spirituals?

Spirituals are Afican American folk songs that express religious faith that the troubles of this life will be overcome in the hereafter. Many are based upon biblical references which may also be connected to the difficult life of the slave and his redemption. The message of the spiritual is to have faith in attaining a better existence while expressing the sorrow of the present life. The message of the spiritual combined with the blues band evolved into today's gospel music.

Harry Burleigh

The Fiske Jubilee Singers

William Dawson and the Tuskeegee Institute Choir

Thomas Dorsey - Father of Gospel Music