Podcast presents sacred and spiritual music in the mountains

A new episode of “Sepia Tones: Exploring Black Appalachian Music,” titled “Sacred and Spiritual Music in the Mountains,” features hosts Dr. William Turner and Dr. Ted Olson in a spirited conversation with special guests Dr. Kathy Bullock and the Rev. Dr. Virgil Wood.

Bullock is an arranger, choral conductor, pianist, and professor emerita of music at Berea College in Kentucky, specializing in gospel music, spirituals, and classical works by composers of the African diaspora. Wood is a longtime church leader, educator, and civil rights activist who, among many other accomplishments, helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“We're talking about the power of music here . . . when we think of the Black community, particularly in Appalachia, the power of music to heal, support, encourage, uplift, inspire, connect,” Wood said.

Bullock’s lively and spontaneous performances flow throughout the episode and illustrate examples and connections as the guests discuss the African American traditions of spiritual music, gospel, and the unique revival of shape note singing in 20th-century Appalachia. In many cases, music from sacred traditions and communities also became anthems that propelled those struggling in the civil rights movement.

“What was so beautiful is that, in our church and sacred tradition, they talked about the trials . . . but there was always hope,” Bullock said. “even if they were talking about the struggles, the pains, or the joys of life.”

In East Tennessee, the Highlander Folk School also played a particularly important role in supporting some of the most prominent activists of the civil rights movement.

“Rosa Parks had been at Highlander two weeks before she decided not to give up that seat,” Wood said, “and that's where she really shaped her own sole resilience. There's no way to tell the story of the civil rights movement without always remembering Highlander Folk School.”

Music featured in the podcast episode includes recordings by Amythyst Kiah and Roy Andrade; the Berea Black Music Ensemble at the Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music, 2014; and the Bethlehem Kings Quartet in 1949, from the Berea Sound Archive.

“Sepia Tones” is funded through the African American Experiences in the Smokies project in collaboration with Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is distributed through GSMA’s existing podcast, “Smoky Mountain Air,” and available through Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, and most other major streaming services. You can find the third episode of the miniseries here.

Great Smoky Mountains Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the scientific, historical, and interpretive activities of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by providing educational products and services to park visitors.