Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia (w/CD accompaniment).(Book review)

[website] Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia (w/CD accompaniment), by Bil Carpente. Backbeat Books, (600 Harrison St., San Francisco, CA 94107), 2005. 515 pp., $24.95.

There is something about gospel music that speaks to the soul. Maybe it is because many gospel artists have had hard lives, and their stories are poured out in the words of their songs, giving a glimpse of deeply felt emotions.

Uncloudy Days: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia contains more than 100 interviews that reveal many of these stories for the first time. It chronicles the careers of more than 650 gospel artists and personalities from 1900 to the present day. It is an easy-to-read reference book for anyone interested in gospel musicians and music. It contains an overview, alphabetical biographical entries of hundreds of gospel singers and groups, a glossary of gospel terms, trivia tidbits, lists of the all-time best-selling gospel recordings, gospel songs that crossed over to R&B charts, and Grammy, Dove and Stellar gospel award winners. With a writing style that is honest, insightful and straightforward, author Bil Carpenter is one of America's preeminent music journalists. Recommended recordings are given at the end of many entries, for those interested in hearing the music of these ...