In the 1870s, Jubilee Quartet came about. This lead to gospel quartet and later contemporary gospel. But how?
One early and notable jubilee quartet was the Fisk jubilee quartet. They were just trying to raise money for their university back in the 1870s. The four melodic voices took them further than they ever thought life would be. These groups sang old western spirituals and brought them to life with live music.
From Jubilee Quartet came Gospel Quartet in the mid 1900s. Jubilee quartet had died down in the 1930s. This style of music was inspired by their modern blues as they added more instruments such as guitars and pianos. Gospel groups moved back and forth between the jubilee and gospel styles. They sang jubilee songs in close harmony, using a call-and-response format in which the soloist introduced a phrase of text that is answered and completed by the group.
Only one was here to stay and is still honored. That’s Gospel Quartet
