''TV Gospel Time'' was an American Sunday morning television
gospel music
Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...
show that ran for three years on NBC network from 1962 to 1965. The show was based out of Chicago, with running time of 30 minutes. ''TV Gospel Time'' was the first television show designed to appeal to black audiences, according to ''
Billboard Music Week
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the mus ...
'' October 20, 1962, when it launched in six television markets, New York, Washington DC, Augusta, Charleston, Columbus,
and Baltimore. The number of cities carrying the show had grown to 20 by January 1963, and 50 markets by 1965.
''TV Gospel Time'' was the first television broadcast dedicated to gospel music airing one year before a similar gospel theme broadcast Jubilee Showcase started to air also from Chicago, on ABC network in 1963. ''TV Gospel Time'' was also the first TV broadcast of music performed exclusively by black musicians.
The show was produced in one of seven different cities for each episode featuring local talent from that region: Chicago, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Memphis, New York (Newark), Richmond, and Washington DC.
The show pioneered the method of TV show crew, hosts and guests traveling to the location of the choir or orchestra, rather than flying the whole musical ensemble and their instruments to the broadcasting city to perform. In addition to the regularly featured choir, the TV audience got to see different black choirs from various cities each week - choirs they might not otherwise have been able to see. At that time travel for black Americans was difficult, with few hotels and restaurant options available to them. Perhaps the most remarkable note about ''Gospel Time'' was it was the very first all-black American TV show production. The hosts were black, as were the guests, audience, and the technical crew. Even the advertising that appeared during the weekly broadcasts featured only black personalities and models, which was the first time this happened on American television.
When the advertising by Pharmaco Inc for ''TV Gospel Time'' reached a cumulative spend across its four brands exceeding one million dollars by 1964, it had become the largest spend of advertising to a targeted black audience demographic in US broadcasting history.
Sixty-six episodes were created, usually recording two episodes on one day in one city, featuring the same host but different supporting guests and a different local gospel choir for both episodes recorded on that day. Typically the guest artist would do two songs. While the theme of the music was religious, there was no preaching during ''TV Gospel Time'', so it was a genuine music show, rather than a religious variety program with music. The hosts all sang during the episodes they hosted, usually with the visiting choir. The show was converted to and distributed on
kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940 ...
. Sixteen of those kinescopes are believed to have survived and content from those have been used to create the 2 DVD set. The program was directed by Peter Brysac and the musical director was the Reverend Alfred Miller of the Washington Temple Church Angelic Choir of Brooklyn. It was produced by Howard A Schwartz.
Hosts and guests
Hosts
''TV Gospel Time'' featured a rotating host system. The six hosts during the three-year run were:
James Cleveland
James Edward Cleveland (December 5, 1931 – February 9, 1991) was an American gospel singer, musician, and composer. Known as the King of Gospel, Cleveland was a driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound by incorporating trad ...
, Jesse 'JJ' Farley of the
Soul Stirrers
The Soul Stirrers were an American gospel music group, whose career spans over eighty years. The group was a pioneer in the development of the quartet style of gospel, and a major influence on soul, doo wop, and Motown, some of the secular musi ...
, Thomas Brown,
Marie Knight
Marie Knight (née Roach; June 1, 1920 – August 30, 2009) was an American gospel and R&B singer.
Life and career
She was born Marie RoachSeamus McGarvey, "Marie Knight: I Hear Music In the Air", interview and article in ''Juke Blues'' magazi ...
, Archie Dennis (of
The Roberta Martin Singers
The Roberta Martin Singers were an American gospel group based in the United States.
History
Founding
The group was founded in 1933 by Roberta Martin, who in that same year had just become acquainted with gospels music, which was different from ...
), and Georgia Louis. When it became Georgia Louis's turn to host'' TV Gospel Time'' for the first time in 1962, by hosting alone, she became first woman to host a televised program on American network TV. Up to that point all TV hosts had been men, or were mixed teams with male and female host. Future Rock n Roll Hall-of-Famer
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (born Rosetta Nubin, March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was an American singer and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her Gospel music, gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spir ...
was a guest host on two episodes. Betty Johnson hosted the 62nd episode that was recorded live and had artists like the Jewel Gospel Singers, the Gospel Baptist Church Youth Chorus & The Cedar Street Memorial Baptist Youth Chorus with Mr. Columbus Smith of Miami, Florida as the Soloist.
Guests
The show featured live gospel performances by famous gospel choirs and artists including
Soul Stirrers
The Soul Stirrers were an American gospel music group, whose career spans over eighty years. The group was a pioneer in the development of the quartet style of gospel, and a major influence on soul, doo wop, and Motown, some of the secular musi ...
,
Clara Ward
Clara Mae Ward (April 21, 1924 – January 16, 1973) was an American gospel singer who achieved great artistic and commercial success during the 1940s and 1950s, as leader of The Famous Ward Singers. A gifted singer and arranger, Ward adopted ...
, the
Five Blind Boys of Mississippi
The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi was an American post-war gospel quartet. They started with lead singer Archie Brownlee, their single "Our Father" reached number ten on the Billboard R&B charts in early 1951. Then the screams of their new lea ...
,
Barrett Sisters,
Ruth Brown
Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the " Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atl ...
,
The Harmonizing Four
The Harmonizing Four was an American black gospel quartet organized in 1927 and reaching peak popularity during the decades immediately following World War II.Jason Ankeny. "The Harmonizing Four," AllMusic (link points to University of South Car ...
, the Highway QCs, the
Clark Sisters
The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group consisting of five sisters: Jacky Clark Chisholm (born 1948), Denise "Niecy" Clark-Bradford (born 1953), Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark (born 1954), Dorinda Clark-Cole (born 1957), and Karen Cl ...
, the Thompson Community Singers, the
Mighty Clouds of Joy
The Mighty Clouds of Joy are an American traditional gospel music quartet.
Joe Ligon Bio:
Willie Joe Ligon was born on October 11, 1936, and died on December 11, 2016 (80 years, 2 months). He dedicated his life to Jesus making many hit songs ...
,
Roberta Martin
Roberta Evelyn Martin (February 12, 1907 – January 18, 1969) was an American gospel composer, singer, pianist, arranger and choral organizer, helped launch the careers of many other gospel artists through her group, The Roberta Martin Singers.
...
,
Carrie Smith
Carrie Louise Smith (August 25, 1925 – May 20, 2012) was an American blues and jazz singer. She was not well known in the United States but had a small following in Europe.
Career
Smith was born in Fort Gaines, Georgia, United States. ...
, Royal Travelers, Voices of Shiloh, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Thelma Jones, James Lowe, The Tears of Music and
The Caravans
The Caravans were an American gospel music group that was started in 1947 by Robert Anderson. It reached its peak popularity during the 1950s and 1960s, launching the careers of a number of artists, including: Delores Washington, Albertina Wa ...
, O'Neal Twins, Cleophus Robinson,
Drinkard Singers,
Dorothy Love Coates
Dorothy Love Coates (January 30, 1928 – April 9, 2002) was an American gospel singer. & The Original Gospel Harmonettes, Ernestine Washington, Alex Bradford. The TV show was the world introduction of the harpsichord to accompany gospel music, as pioneered by Francis Cole.
Many of the black artists had their first, and often even only TV appearances on ''TV Gospel Time''. Making their TV debut included
Dionne Warwick
Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host.
Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...
and Whitney Houston's mother, recording star
Cissy Houston
Emily "Cissy" Houston ( ''née'' Drinkard; born September 30, 1933) is an American soul and gospel singer. After a successful career singing backup for such artists as Roy Hamilton, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, Houston embar ...
when they were in the gospel group the Drinkard Singers; as well as future rock n roll hall of famers Soul Stirrers and Ruth Brown.
Choirs
Each episode featured a gospel choir usually performing two songs. A total of 54 choirs performed during the 66 episodes, including Camp Meeting Gospel Choir, Cornerstone Baptist
Southern California Community Choir The Southern California Community Choir is a choir founded by the Rev. James Cleveland.
It has appeared on several recordings, including by artists such as Aretha Franklin, Kansas (band), Kansas, Elton John and Arlo Guthrie. It performed on several ...
, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church Choir, Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ Choir, Shiloh Christian Community Church Choir, St Mary's Church Choir, St Paul Disciple Choir, Voices of Shiloh, Washington Temple Angelic Choir and Washington Temple Celestial Chorus.
Distribution
Viewership
On its Sunday morning time slot, for its target demographic, in cities where it was broadcast, ''TV Gospel Time'' achieved complete market dominance. Audience measurement by Pulse in 1965 reported that out of black households that had a TV receiver, 4 out of 5 such households had their television set turned on and tuned to ''TV Gospel Hour'' when the show was aired.
International
Broadcast to Europe by RAI of Italy, ''TV Gospel Time'' became first television program of American gospel music to be seen in Europe exposing American gospel artists to a large new market in 1963.
With the exposure to the European market some ''TV Gospel Time'' performers achieved a larger success in Europe than in the US, notably Carrie Smith.
Video
A two DVD collection of selected musical performances was released in 2010 by the title of ''Soul of the Church'' (Hollywood Select Video/Infinity Entertainment Group, 2010). Most of the content on the DVD set is from ''TV Gospel Time'', but the TV show's title is not mentioned on the cover of the DVD.
References
{{reflist
American music television series
Gospel music media