Deluxe double LP on 150-gram vinyl featuring 26 incredible recordings of vintage Louisville gospel!
“I'm Glad About It: The Legacy of Gospel Music in Louisville, 1958-1981 is an extraordinary collection – a lavishly and lovingly compiled and annotated collection of songs, photographs and commentary documenting one of America's great hotbeds of gospel music. It is that rare project that elevates while it entertains ... even as it celebrates and reveals the startling depth and impact of Louisville's deep gospel tradition. And oh! those songs …”
—Robert F. Darden, Emeritus Professor of Journalism, Public Relations & New Media at Baylor University, founder of the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program
"With I’m Glad About It, the Louisville Story Program team has not only made an invaluable contribution to gospel music history, but they have done it with perfection, giving the men and women who created this marvelous music their well-deserved props. Every American city that can claim a rich gospel music heritage needs to take heed of this remarkable collection and follow suit.”
—Robert M. Marovich, two-time GRAMMY nominee and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Gospel Music
"Like all of the Louisville Story Program's work, I'm Glad About It is a vital portrait of a community presented through the eyes, ears, and mouths of its members—in this case the singers, players, producers, and facilitators of the city's fantastically rich Black gospel tradition. Its impact and import, though, should be felt far beyond Louisville. This is community archiving at its absolute best, from methodology to music."
—Nathan Salsburg, Curator, Lomax Digital Archive
“The Louisville Story Program has produced an inspiring, beautiful portrait of our region’s Gospel legacy with the publication of I’m Glad About It. The combination of storytelling, photography, and musical curation is exceptional and vital. Louisville’s Black Gospel traditions are celebrated the way they should be, reinforcing their immense impact on American culture, inviting people to learn about this remarkable history, and securing this critical legacy for future generations. Once again, the Louisville Story Program demonstrates the depth of its vision and mission with this special collection of history and music.”
—Teddy Abrams, Music Director, Louisville Orchestra
Over three years, the Louisville Story Program has digitized 1,000 rare recordings by Louisville artists and/or record labels between 1958 and 1981. Dozens of members of Louisville's Black gospel music community have written a 208-page book that documents the history of the communities that produced this extraordinary music. The book is included in a box set along with 4 CDs featuring 83 recordings.
We are also launching a double LP featuring 26 of those songs, and a free digital archive of 1,000 songs and 1,000 photographs.
On September 28, we will celebrate the launch of this historic material at the Brown Theatre. We hope you can join us for a concert celebrating the legacy of gospel music in Louisville and featuring performances from some of the city's finest choirs and quartets.
SHIPPING TIMELINE: The double-LP will be released on September 28 and will ship shortly thereafter.