This summer, the Congrss pass resolutions (House of Representatives – (H.Con. Res. 370) and Senate – S. Res. 595) that designated September at Gospel Music Heritage Month. The initiative was created by Gospel Music Channel, the country’s first and only television network devoted to all forms of Gospel/Christian music, with support from The Recording Academy and the Gospel Music Association.
While at first it might seem like a very clever marketing ploy on the part of the Gospel Music Channel, it’s actually a great thing to have an entire month dedicated to honoring gospel music, in its many forms.
The genre has influenced every form of music, from church hymns to Elvis to David Byrne’s latest project.

For more information, you can visit www.gospelmusicheritage.com, which is the Gospel Music Channel’s website.
You can test your Gospel music trivia knowledge, although I had a few problems with the quiz. When I went to look at my answer, it had marked different answers than I had given. And I’m not so sure about tis question:
What was the first-ever gospel music video to be played on MTV?
a) Jars of Clay “Flood”
b) Kirk Franklin “Stomp”
c) Third Day “Consuming Fire”
d) P.O.D. “Boom”
Since we’re defining any Christian music as gospel, I think we can go even farther back – how about Degarmo and Key’s “666”? (The answer to the above question is B)
And if you go to the Artists page, you won’t find a whole lot there about Southern Gospel and there’s not even a category on the home page for Gospel. Just Rock, Country, Pop and Soul.
But the channel is doing a ton of stuff this month on Gospel music, so watch your local listings for shows.