Welcome to Jerry Riley Promotions
I would like to first say, "thank you for attending our concerts", and let you know we are committed to helping keep Southern Gospel Music Alive.
Until the Jesus Movement of the 1970s gave birth to Contemporary Christian Music and Praise & Worship Music, Gospel Music commonly referred to any song that contained a biblical message. In the 60s and 70s, Top 40 Radio played “gospel” songs from Country quartets like The Oak Ridge Boys (“Jesus Is Coming Soon”), church choirs like the Edwin Hawkins singers (“Oh Happy Day”), and soloists like Ray Stevens (“Everything is Beautiful”). For better or worse, mainstream marketeers lumped all religious music together, even throwing George Harrison’s Hara Krishna hymn “My Sweet Lord” and Norman Greenbaum’s theologically suspect hit “Spirit in the Sky” into the mix.
But as the years progressed, record labels weren’t content to produce and promote music to a general religious “target market.” Rather, they understood the value of separating religious music consumers into more distinct “market segments” that could be segregated by demographics.There is a rich history in Southern Gospel music, and when you think about the pioneers you can’t help but remember groups like The Blackwoods….and, thelist goes on.
So, our goal is to help promote the rich history of Southern Gospel Music, and to introduce this style of music to a whole new generation.
Again, "Thank You"
Jerry Riley
