Theodore Frye (September 10, 1899 – August 26, 1963) was a

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 ...

composer and singer and an early pioneer of the genre. Along with

Thomas A. Dorsey Thomas Andrew Dorsey (July 1, 1899 – January 23, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and Evangelism, Christian evangelist influential in the development of early blues and 20th-century gospel music. He penned 3,000 songs, a third of them ...

, Frye established the first gospel choir at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He worked with

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. ...

in the 1930s, forming the Martin-Frye Quartet, and helped launch

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 t ...

's career in the 1940s. Frye was a cofounder of both the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses and the National Baptist Music Convention.

References

1899 births 1963 deaths Musicians from Chicago American gospel singers Gospel music composers {{Gospel-music-stub