Gospel Disco
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Sanctified lyrics and full gospel-choir vocals set to four-on-the-floor disco and boogie production, made for both the sanctuary and the club — the rare gospel records spun at Studio 54 and the Paradise Garage alongside secular dance hits. Strings, syncopated bass, hi-hat-driven grooves and clap tracks carry testimony vocals and choir refrains built for extended 12-inch mixes, and the best records work equally as praise and as peak-hour dancefloor material. The style drew real controversy inside the church for taking the message to the disco, and its private-press wing stayed obscure until the crate-digging reissue era canonized it.
History
The Mighty Clouds of Joy opened the door when "Mighty High" (ABC, 1975) spent five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's disco chart; the New York Community Choir's RCA sides brought choir disco to clubs in 1977, Detroit's Clark Sisters crossed "You Brought the Sunshine" (1981) into Studio 54 rotation, a Brooklyn church recording of "Stand on the Word" became a Larry Levan-championed Paradise Garage anthem, and Tramaine Hawkins' club-gospel smash "Fall Down (Spirit of Love)" (1985) topped the dance chart amid church controversy; the private-press wing of the style was later anthologized on Greg Belson's Divine Disco (Cultures of Soul, 2016).
Defining artists
Essential listening
- You Brought the Sunshine(1981) — The Clark SistersSpotifyYouTube
- Mighty High(1975) — The Mighty Clouds of JoySpotifyYouTube
- Fall Down (Spirit of Love)(1985) — Tramaine HawkinsSpotifyYouTube
- Stand on the Word(1985) — The Joubert SingersSpotifyYouTube
- Express Yourself(1977) — The New York Community ChoirSpotifyYouTube
- Free Spirit — Betty GriffinSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Greg Belson (curator), "Divine Disco: American Gospel Disco 1974 to 1984", Cultures of Soul Records, 2016, https://culturesofsoul.com/products/greg-belsons-divine-disco-american-gospel-disco-1974-to-1984
- Red Bull Music Academy Daily, "The Tangled History of the Joubert Singers' 'Stand On The Word'", 2016, https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2016/05/stand-on-the-word/
- "Fall Down (Spirit of Love)", Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_Down_(Spirit_of_Love)