From the Executive Producers Desk 

Every September, the United States recognizes Gospel Music Heritage Month, a time to honor the profound history, culture, and spiritual roots of gospel music. Established with bipartisan congressional support in 2008, this month celebrates a musical tradition that grew from African American spirituals and went on to influence the very fabric of American music. The sound of gospel—its raw emotion, soaring harmonies, powerful vocals, and pulsating beats—became a foundation for Rhythm and Blues, Soul, and Rock and Roll. Generations of Gospel artists, including Thomas A. Dorsey, Roberta Martin, the Clara Ward Singers, the Caravans, the Davis Sisters, Rev. James Cleveland, Rev. Timothy Wright, and so many more, helped lay the foundation. Their music represents a rich heritage of faith, family, struggle, hope, and perseverance. Through my broadcast, “Let’s Go Back to the Old Time Way,” I am dedicated to ensuring the contributions of gospel's great voices are not forgotten and give future generations an opportunity to understand where so much of the music they hear today began. This September, as we celebrate Gospel Music Heritage Month, let us remember the voices that laid the foundation—and continue to keep the “Old-Time Way” alive.