Sacred Steel (musical Tradition)
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Sacred Steel is a musical style and
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
tradition that features the
steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...
as part of religious services. The style developed in a group of related
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement
churches in the 1930s, and is associated in particular with some branches of the Church of the Living God. The Church of the Living God was founded in 1903 by
Mary Magdalena Lewis Tate Mary Magdalena Lewis Tate ("Mother Tate") (January 3, 1871 – December 28, 1930) was an African American evangelist. She was the first American woman to serve as a Bishop in a nationally recognized denomination. She founded a Pentecostal denomina ...
. Following her death in 1930, the church divided into three branches, known as the Keith, Jewell and Lewis dominions. The
steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...
was embraced in the worship of two of these dominions, the Keith Dominion (officially known as The House of God Which Is the Church of the Living God the Pillar and Ground of the Truth Without Controversy), headquartered in
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, and the Jewell Dominion (officially known as Church of the Living God, Pillar and Ground of the Truth, Which He Purchased With His Own Blood, Inc.), headquartered in
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
. Brothers Troman and Willie Eason introduced
lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...
to worship services in place of the traditional organ. This new instrument was met with great enthusiasm and taken up by others including the Bishop J.R. Lockley. The three toured together and later Willie put the new style down on record, recording a total of eighteen sides in the 1940s and 50s. Since then, Sacred Steel has grown and flourished within the Keith and Jewell Dominions in churches in at least 22 states, including
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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, New York,
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and
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
. Darick Campbell (1966–2020) was a
lap steel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional a ...
player for the gospel band, the Campbell Brothers, who helped take the genre from
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement
churches to international fame. His older brother, Chuck Campbell, played
pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can ...
in the group. The Campbell Brothers' success in performing with rock groups such as the
Allman Brothers Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboa ...
was reproached by the House of God leaders and the Campbell Brothers were barred from performing at church services. Perhaps the most widely-known practitioner is Robert Randolph of the
Robert Randolph and the Family Band Robert Randolph and the Family Band is an American gospel band led by pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph (Robert Jermaine Randolph, born August 8, 1977, Irvington, New Jersey). NPR has described the band as one with an "irresistible rock ' ...
. Randolph, the son of a deacon and a minister, took up pedal steel guitar at 17. Just seven years later, he went on to become one of the most original and talented practitioners of the Sacred Steel form.Wharton, Ned (2001
npr.org
Heavenly 'Sacred Steel': The House of God's Little-Known Sound Goes Mainstream.
Willie Eason's nephew Aubrey Ghent had also become a celebrated steel guitarist, preserving the sacred steel tradition and bringing it to a wider audience. Ghent's father, Henry Nelson, was also schooled by Eason and played sacred steel for over 50 years, sharing the stage with Sister Rosetta Tharpe and
Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to ...
. Unlike
Robert Randolph and the Family Band Robert Randolph and the Family Band is an American gospel band led by pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph (Robert Jermaine Randolph, born August 8, 1977, Irvington, New Jersey). NPR has described the band as one with an "irresistible rock ' ...
who have crossed over to doing more
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
music, Aubrey Ghent has stayed closer to the gospel roots of tradition, as have many of the steel guitarists of the Jewell Dominion.


Notable performers

*Maurice "Ted" Beard *
The Campbell Brothers The Campbell Brothers are an American Sacred Steel gospel group from Rush, New York composed of three brothers and one son. The ensemble features prominent pedal steel guitar and began as the house band for a House of God Keith Dominion congrega ...
*Roosevelt Collier *Calvin Cooke *Aubrey Ghent *
A. J. Ghent A.J. Ghent j-ent also known as Aubrey Ghent Jr., (born September 18, 1986, in Fort Pierce, Florida) is a third-generation singer-songwriter, Record producer and lap steel guitar, lap and pedal steel guitar player. Ghent has become known t ...
son of Aubrey Ghent *Bishop Lorenzo Harrison *
The Lee Boys The Lee Boys are a funk and gospel band based out of Miami, Florida. The band plays in the Sacred Steel tradition that arose out of the musical stylings of the House of God Church. The band plays a mixture of funk music and gospel lyrics, stayin ...
*
Robert Randolph and the Family Band Robert Randolph and the Family Band is an American gospel band led by pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph (Robert Jermaine Randolph, born August 8, 1977, Irvington, New Jersey). NPR has described the band as one with an "irresistible rock ' ...
*Sonny Treadway


References


External links


A Brief History of the House of God Steel Guitar Tradition
by Robert L. Stone

by Robert L. Stone *{{Cite web, title = Infused with Spirit: National Heritage Fellow Chuck Campbell , url = http://www.nyfolklore.org/pubs/voic30-3-4/spirit.html. By Robert L. Stone.
Aubrey Ghent
Music and biography
“Sacred Steel”: Traditional Sacred African-American Steel Guitar Music in Florida
Various Artists (links to samples from the CD) Christian music genres