Mahalia Jackson, the "Queen of Gospel," was born and raised here. The city has been home to generations of gospel legends such as the Zion Harmonizers and the critically acclaimed Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship Choir.

But gospel music is no longer relegated to choir lofts and church socials. Thanks to crossover hits by artists such as Yolanda Adams, CeCe Winans and 12 Stones, Christian and Gospel music has sashayed into the mainstream, playing in nightclubs and topping the charts.

While the rest of the music industry scrambles to boost lagging record sales, Christian artists are selling more CDs than they’d ever dreamed possible. Southern Gospel album sales grew 15 percent in 2004. Christian music sales, which include the gospel, rock and hip-hop genres, grew 30 percent between 1996 and 2003, when sales topped 47 million units. During that same period, according to Neilson Soundscan, sales in the rest of the industry actually declined 10 percent.

But why, even as profits in the rest of the recording industry plummet, is spiritual music in the midst of a revival?

"Gospel has crossed over into the mainstream," says Angela Stewart of Beyond Measure, a New Orleans gospel quartet. "The traditional sound of gospel is changing, it is more contemporary."

Gospel isn’t just choir music anymore, she says, it includes rap, hip-hop and rock, which has made it appealing to a wider audience. "Gospel is now the kind of music you can ride in your car to," Stewart says. "It’s got a good beat."

"It has become hugely fashionable and chic," says LeBron Joseph, program director for gospel radio station Praise 94.9. "Gospel has evolved and as a result it has taken off across the country."

John W. Styll, president of the Gospel Music Association, a nonprofit industry group headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., says part of its meteoric rise is the American Idol television series. Finalists Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard have albums ranked in the top 15 on the Billboard Christian music chart. New Orleans idol George Huff has a solo album, "My Christmas" EP, ranked at No. 11. The exposure these artists received on national television raised overall awareness of Christian music, Styll says. "Gospel is reaching people of all races, nationalities and religions," says Joslyn Blackburn, also a member of Beyond Measure. "It’s crossing generations — everyone from small children to grandparents are inspired by the music."

Shades of Praise, a nondenominational interracial choir in New Orleans, is familiar with the crossover power of gospel music. Founded by literacy advocate Michael Cowan, jazz vocalist Phillip Manuel and gospel music veteran Al Bemiss in 1999, it has 65 members of all races, ages, religions and economic backgrounds. "Shades of Praise has become a spiritual community of its own. We travel together, we sing together and we perform," Cowan says. "We are connected by friendship, faith and the public mission of the choir."

There is a waiting list to become a member of Shades of Praise, a phenomenon Cowan attributes to a renewed national focus on spirituality. "A great many people are interested in spirituality but aren’t interested in organized religion," he says. "Gospel music gives them a chance to connect with something deeply-rooted in religious tradition, but without all of the baggage that can come along with it."

Religion and spirituality have undoubtedly become mainstream in American culture in recent years, in everything from politics to fashion — hipster retailer Urban Outfitters now sells "Jesus is my Homeboy" T-shirts.

September 11, 2001, led people to focus more on spirituality, says Stewart. "God is saying something to the nation and people’s hearts are more open to the message now."
"Spirituality is coming to the fore because the world is in trouble," says Bishop Paul Morton, the minister of Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church. "There is war, pain, murder and crime. People are reaching out for spirituality, hoping to find an answer for what they [and the world] are going through."

Gospel music is the answer, he says. "For listeners, it satisfies a longing. When people are hurt and need healing or are troubled and need an answer, they find it in Gospel music," Morton explains.

For musicians, the music "is a way to reach out and fulfill the needs of the community through song."

"Not to bash hip-hop and rap, but people are tired of hearing about the woes and problems, the murder and gore," Blackburn says. "People are looking for hope, something to encourage and inspire them. Gospel music takes you to a place where everyday life won’t take you, a place where you can relax and experience peace."

Whatever the reason, national interest in Gospel music has translated into recognition for New Orleans’ deep pool of talented gospel musicians. Morton and the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship Choir won three Stellar Awards in 2005, the gospel equivalent to the Grammy. He was also inducted into the International Gospel Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tenn., in February. Shades of Praise has played to packed houses in venues from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival to the residence of the president of Ireland. The St. Peter Claver Church Choir has recorded four albums and played at conventions and universities across the United States.

The popularity of gospel music is leading people back to church, too. "Once you add gospel to a service, people look at church differently. Adding gospel makes the services more appealing, and people have started coming back to mass because of it," says Veronica Downs-Dorsey, choir director at St. Peter Claver Church on St. Phillip Street. "People like the music and it has a message," she says. "It brings people closer to God."

It seems as long as people are troubled, Gospel music will arise to fill the need. After all, Mahalia Jackson once said, "When you sing gospel, you have a feeling there is a cure for what’s wrong."