大象传媒

Financial educator Alvin Hall explores how American gospel music became a global force through commercialisation.

Gospel's uplifting and rejoicing sound is world famous, a multi million-dollar music genre that in many ways has ended up the beating heart of American popular music. But can gospel be gospel if it entertains, makes money and praises the Lord at the same time?

Alvin explores how this American religious music genre has been affected by both commercialisation and secularisation.

In this final episode, Alvin explains how gospel became a global force in popular music.

He reveals how Aretha Franklin's marriage of pop to gospel sold millions of records, introducing gospel to a world audience in the process. He looks at the rise of the gospel choir in the 1970s and 80s and discovers how it increasingly became a money-making industry.

He also meets leading gospel stars Kirk Franklin and Donnie McClurkin to ask whether they think today's gospel stars have been affected by money and celebrity.

Producer: James Hale

First broadcast on 大象传媒 Radio 4 in February 2016.