‘GLORY, GLORY TO THE NEW BORN KING’
Gospel at Christmastime
By Bob Marovich
When did the tradition of gospel artists recording Christmas carols begin? One is inclined to answer that Mahalia Jackson set the standard in 1950 with her Apollo recording of "Silent Night," but the tradition goes back much further, more than two decades before the release of Mahalia's disc. In truth, Christmas recordings by African American sacred artists predate gospel by several years. Our gospel contributor Bob Marovich, of the Black Gospel Blog, takes a look at the history of Christmas-oriented gospel music in America.

In THE TWELVE CLASSIC GOSPEL SONGS OF CHRISTMAS, Bob Marovich selects his favorite dozen Yuletide gospel songs.