The latest project from The Louisville Story Program dives deep into the rich and storied history of gospel music in Louisville. Co-founder and Deputy Director Joe Manning came by the studio to talk about the unique process of gathering narratives, the importance of letting a community tell their own stories in their own voices, and the world-class audio unearthed during the three-year long process.
Over the course of the past years, Joe Manning and others from the LSP have visited "Gospel Elders" in their homes, recording hours of singers and musicians recounting their experiences in the early days of gospel music in Louisville. We talked about the connection between music and the civil rights movement, the role Thomas Dorsey played in creating a new gospel sound, and how big acts from all around the country would often come to Louisville to find the very best singers and players for their shows. One of the women interviewed, Ms. Wilma Clayborn, observed "Louisville is like a musical garden. The soil here in Louisville is so rich."
I couldn't agree more.
Find tickets here for the musical celebration of this project: Saturday, September 28, 7:30pm at the Brown Theatre.
