A revivalist music that appeared around 1870, this American music genre has grown into popular culture and is known worldwide. The Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music is the first comprehensive reference to cover all aspects of gospel music in the United States, highlighting how African-American and white gospel tradition interconnect. By adopting an inclusive approach that incorporates both African-American and white gospel music, this work is a complete survey of this important genre, relating its origins and development.Coverage includes all aspects of both African-American and white gospel from history and performers to recording techniques and styles as well as the influence of gospel on different musical genres and cultural trends. Organized alphabetically to facilitate searching, this Encyclopedia also contains many reference tools to aid the user such as bibliographic and "see also" references at the end of entries; a thorough, analytical index; and black-and-white illustrations.