Praise and Worship Songs People Know and Love

If you are a fan of today's praise and worship songs then it's important for you to first understand where they

came from to truly appreciate them today. It's one thing to just be fan of the praise and worship songs, but it's

another to have a true appreciation for the history of the songs from the church.

The actual date of origin of songs from the church has been debated and probably will be debated for years to

come but the original songs date back before for the early 300’s when they were called “plainsong” or a hymn.

These were merely responses between the congregation and the Cantor reflective of that particular synagogue at

the time. These were basically renditions of Hebrew and Greek poetry in a chant format. Later an antiphon was

added to these responsorial chants which later became the foundation of what we know now today as a chorus.

Then in the 1500’s and 1600’s came a change as more composers began doing more praise and worship songs

that involved a more individual religious feeling and less about quoting the Scripture directly. It wasn't until the

1700’s before musical instruments became more widely used.

Many shorter songs along with hymns and anthems were created during this period. This is where the songs of

praise and worship began to take on a new sound and feeling that would continue to progressively change as

time went on.

It was then in the 1800s and 1900s where praise and worship songs really began to take on the sound of music

of the times particularly here in America. American traveling preachers began to use country-theme songs and

this type of worship music eventually became the start of gospel music in the early 1920’s.

A lot of this music was deeply rooted in bluegrass, black gospel and jazz. The proliferation of this style of

worship songs continued into the 1950’s. In the 1950s with the introduction of rock 'n roll that spurred many

genres of music, praise and worship songs began to take shape of the genre of the times.

With each passing decade a new version or genre of music began to evolve and worship songs followed suit. In

the 60’s and 70’s there was a hippy music movement and into the 70’s was more the classic rock and many

worship song artists began there as well.

The 80’s brought heavy metal and the 90’s brought a combination of country and rock mixed to bring a new

generation of worship artists in reggae, rap and urban Gospel.

Some of today's most popular praise and worship songs and artists are a culmination of the collective history of

praise and worship music dating back hundreds of years. Such popular artists of today and yesterday as Carmen,

Chris Tomlin and David Crowder are all a byproduct of the great history that precedes them.

So to be a fan of today’s praise and worship music means more than just being your average fan, it's about

understanding the true history of the praise and worship songs we as people know and love, from then till now.

Written by Gary Harbin www.garyharbin.com Praise and Worship Songs People Know and Love