Part of the basis of Southern Gospel were traditional postbellum shape note singing schools. At that time, shape note singing was most popular among rural singers. According to James Goff, Jr in his book “Close Harmony: History of Southern Gospel”, itinerant singing school instructors organized shape singing local, regional, and even national singing conventions and local quartets sung the latest gospel hymns. The four shaped notes—a right triangle for fa, an oval for sol, a rectangle for la, and a diamond for mi—were invented by Philadelphia shopkeeper John Connelly about 1790. Shape note singing was a tradition that grew around the 1840s - 1860s in the rural areas of Appalachia and the South. Shape note singing highlighted a singer’s ability to pick up an unfamiliar piece of music and sight read it perfectly.

The roots of Sacred Harp (one form of a cappella, shape-note music) extend back to an eighteenth-century New England singing-school movement that spread the rudiments of choral music south and west with songs that drew upon folk melodies as well as original compositions by the earliest American composers.

Southern Gospel has transitioned from its antebellum roots into its 20th century emergence as a music industry driven by the world of radio, TV, recordings, and concert promotions. Southern gospel comes from a broad and diverse range of sources and absorbs a lot styles (country, pop, black gospel, even jazz and some elements of orchestrations from classical music). Southern gospel is most well-known for close harmony, sung in small ensembles (usually threes or fours). It can have a soloist and a choir, but it is often sung by quartets. It features tight harmonies and a focus on Christian salvation.

There have been thousands Southern Gospel groups over time. Some played only in their local community, others have been well-known regionally, and a few have become nationally famous. In the early 1900’s, professional musicians were sent around the country by music publishers with the latest songs. They often sang at some of the regional and national singing conventions, selling the sheet music. Many musical families formed bands. In the Sevierville Southern Gospel Hall of Fame, there are photos of the LeFevre Trio, the Blackwood Brothers, the Chuck Wagon Gang, the Speer Family, the Klaudt Indian Family, and many, many more. The Crist Family retired to Sharps Chapel after their singing career.

Some Southern Gospel groups were included in movies. The Sunshine Boys were featured in a movie called the “Prairie Roundup” and were played on over 80 radio stations around the south. The song “Give Me That Old Time Religion” is credited to Charles Tillman (c. 1889), but it became a modern classic when it was featured in the movie “Sergeant York” (1941). “O Brother, Where Art Thou” featured the music of Appalachia. It was more than the clever lyrics or the catchy tune that made it so successful. Radio made music accessible to more people, and then Southern Gospel made it to TV.

Since its beginning in 1991, songwriters Bill and Gloria Gaither's Homecoming video and concert series has become a gospel music franchise. The Homecomings represent "southern gospel”. This usually means a musical style popular among white evangelical Christians. It sometimes overlaps in style, theme, and audience with country music. “The Gaithers' deliberate racial integration of their stages, their careful articulation of a relatively inclusive evangelical theology, and their experiments with an array of musical forms demonstrate that the Homecoming is neither simplistically nostalgic, nor solely "southern."” (“Close Harmony:History of Southern Gospel”, James Goff, Jr.)
The Union County Opry, started in 2019, has been bringing excellent Southern Gospel music to Maynardville. Coming next, The Gospel Plowboys from Charlotte NC and the Scrap Iron Quartet will be at the Patriot Auditorium on March 16th at 7:00. The Union County Lions Club brought The Primitives to Maynardville annually until the band retired last year. This year, the Lions Club will be hosting two groups in partnership with the promoter Gospel Christians Music Association. The Poet Voices and The Browders will be in Maynardville on May 18th!