Maybe you are new to this page and are not familiar with southern gospel music.  Maybe you have came to this portion of the site just to learn a little more about this particular type of music.  In the Christian music industry, many different styles of music are prevalent.  From black gospel, contemporary, rock, hip hop, adult contemporary, country gospel, there is almost any style of Christian music available.
Southern Gospel is NOT country gospel.  Sure, it may have country influenced sounds, but this music is so much more than that.  Southern Gospel fuses many styles of music together and you can hear various musical influences in every song.  One of the best definitions i can give for this brand of music is from www.sgmhistory.com: "“Southern Gospel Music” is characterized by balanced full voice harmony (with some exceptions); lyrics that address biblical topics (redemption, Heaven, evangelism, etc.); rural diction common to the southern United States and country/bluegrass/piano influenced accompaniment."  I urge you to listen to various groups: Gold City, The Kingsmen, The Hinsons, The Crabb Family, The Perrys, The Happy Goodmans ect ect.  So many styles, but yet great music. In this music, you will find not only inspiring words, but some of the greatest musicians and singers that you may never have heard about.

To the young folks:
Southern Gospel ,possibly because of how this genre is named, is sometimes said that it is "old folks music".  I can say with a resounding NO that this is not so.  There are many styles in southern gospel (which could be just as easily called "american gospel") for someone to like.  From the more contemporary sounds of The Crabb Revival, Jason Crabb, The Imperials, Gold City, Brian Free and Assurance, and many others.  Give it a try...try out all different styles...i'm in my 20's and love it!  We just call it "progressive southern gospel".  However, please try to go back and listen to some of the older great groups.  The Hinsons, the Statesmen, The Blackwood Brothers, just to name a very few.  These groups and more are the roots of southern gospel and paved the way.

To the older generation:
Enjoy southern gospel in ALL its many forms.  From the classic sounds of the Statesmen to the more modern approach of some progressive groups, encourage the young folks to listen and be open to knew sounds.  Though the times and some sounds may change, the music is still at its heart what it is supposed to be harmony, great music, and most importantly great lyrics.  Thanks for supporting gospel music all these years!

Find out more about southern gospel history at:
www.sgmhistory.com
http://www.sghistory.com/
Southern Gospel History Article

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www.sogospelnews.com

Southern Gospel has a great fanbase and a large online community with blogs, opinions, and interactive discussion boards/forums:
The Singing News Forums
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There are many blogs online that express interest, thoughts, concert reviews, and discussion about southern gospel music.