Gospel music came out of African beginnings in Southern America, and is still mostly made by the black community, despite having widened to be enjoyed by many diverse people throughout the world. Early writers and singers of these hymns after they were termed gospel in the 19th century included Philip Bliss and Ira D Sankey.
The sound grew out of the churches, onto radios and into theatres in the early 20th century. The audience reacted positively to these large performances by vocal choirs, relating humanly to a religious experience. Since then, the two strands of gospel music have co-existed amicably alongside one another; the aesthetic listening pleasure of the tuneful rhythm, harmony and soul, and the heartfelt, God-worship outpouring of many of the songs lyrics.
The genre developed further into other types of gospel music; there became gospel blues, incorporating the blues guitar and rasping vocals with gospel traditions; bluegrass infused gospel into its white celtic origins; later, soul music borrowed heavily from gospel inspirations and country music shared its evangelical preaching; and now rock, dance, and most genres, regularly add gospel backing singers to create the desired feel to tracks which in themselves may be far removed from the traditional church music, but remains similar to its emitted emotions.
Playlists of today demonstrate what the wider public view is for favourite examples of gospel music, from its birth to the modernday. Each has wildly different offerings, taking in traditions and moving through many interpretations in several genres inspired by gospel, but popular inclusions are Take My Hand Precious Lord by Thomas A Dorsey, Move On Up A Little Higher by W Herbert Brewster, Peace In The Valley by Elvis Presley, and Oh Happy Day by Edwin Hawkins.