Until that time national audiences had heard only caricatures of Southern music in the performances of the black-face minstrels ... forms such as Cajun, cowboy, gospel (African- and European ...

February 2, 2025 • The Bells of Zion were practitioners of a particular sub-genre, a soulful, particularly Southern brand of downhome gospel music.

Called the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program ... For example, listen to 1954’s “It Must Be Jesus” by The Southern Tones ...