CAAM
Los Angeles, CA • opened 2018
Developed with Picnic Design
How did Los Angeles become a hub of 20th-century gospel music? With vintage artifacts and photographs, memorabilia, and other fascinating ephemera, How Sweet the Sound explores this facet of Los Angeles’ religious history and highlights beloved gospel musicians including James Cleveland, Andraé Crouch, Sallie Martin, and others.
The exhibition charts the story of gospel in LA, including the Azusa Street Revival in 1906, the Great Migration to Los Angeles in the 1940's, musical innovators within black church congregations, its key role during the Civil Rights era, and the thriving commercial success it enjoyed afterward. Each period contributed to producing a global musical phenomenon that shifted American popular culture and politics—and uplifted the country for generations.
Photos: Brian Forrest
