Thomas Dorsey: Father of Gospel Music
Demographic Info
Thomas A. Dorsey was born in Georgia, and although he grew up with religious parents, most of his early musical career was centered around jazz music. He played lots of events in Atlanta, and eventually moved to Chicago as the blues genre gained popularity. Soon after, he had a “spiritual awakening” and bagged focusing on creating gospel arrangement while integrating blues style. For his time this was a radical decision, as churches condemned the behaviors that come with secular music, such as clapping, stomping, etc. His practices influenced black churches throughout the nation.
Blues 1919-1925
Dorsey moved to Chicago in 1919, and learned to adapt his slower more traditional style of piano playing to the upbeat tempo that was surfacing in the city. His first song was copyrighted in 1920, titled “If You Don’t Believe I’m Leaving, You Can Count the Days I’m Gone.” This made him one of the first teachers to copyright blues music. Two more of his secular compositions were recorded by Monette Moore and the second by Joe “King” Oliver. The fame he got from these recordings secured him a position as a musical arranger for Paramount Records. He later become the lead pianist of the Wild Cats Jazz Band in 1923, which famously accompanied blues singer Gertrude “Ma” Rainey.
Gospel Career (1926-1933)
After overcoming hard personal struggles through a spiritual awakening, Dorsey vowed to put all of his efforts into Gospel music. However, he first found difficulty considering the controversy between blues and the church. Personal expression was frowned upon, and music was to be performed as written. Dorsey, however, began to sell physical copies of his own music directly to churches and publishers, and was unsuccessful. He made a short return to blues , due to his uncertainty with his gospel career. In 1930, Willie Mae Ford Smith sang Dorsey’s version of “If You See My Savior” at the National Baptist Convention. He then formed a choir at Ebenezer Baptist Church, and encouraged the choir to sing the songs in a lively joyous manner, with longer notes, clapping, and shouts; this was very similar to the delivery of blues that he was familiar with. He was then hired by Pilgrim Baptist, Chicago’s second largest Black church, as a music director. His new style began to catch on in Chicago, and in 1932 he co-founded the Gosepl Choral Union of Chicago, later renamed the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses (NCGCC). Dorsey also began to introduce the idea of uptempo Negro Spirituals, which he called “jubilees.”
