Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : A native informant's report from the field -- Glory bumps, or the psychodynamics of the southern gospel experience -- Nostalgia, modernity, and the reconstruction roots of a tradition -- The rise of "southern" gospel music and the compensations of history -- The gaitherization of contemporary southern gospel -- Southern gospel in the key of queer -- Epilogue : the soul's best song -- List of songs referenced -- Appendix : methods and preliminary findings of a survey of attitudes and beliefs about southern gospel music.

Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2013. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.