An editorial from Associate Editor Troy Lilly…
It may be hard to believe but it’s been 30 years since Bobby Jones Gospel debuted, making its host, Dr. Bobby Jones, more popular on Sunday mornings than most preachers in the pulpit.
When Bobby Jones Gospel first aired on BET in 1980, the network’s first year, I wasn’t even alive. My parents weren’t married until the following year, and Martin Luther King’s birthday wasn’t a national holiday. Albums were still called LPs then, and everybody’s home entertainment center consisted of a deluxe turntable. Remember those days? Okay, neither do I, but I’ve done some research.
Anyway, what I’m saying is that it’s been really long time since the cameras started rolling on the set over there, and things have changed. A lot.
We’ve come a long way. We have Sunday Best now, which is the gospel equivalent of American Idol. Singers (and pretenders) belt their hearts out in front of the judges for weeks, and at the end the home viewing audience votes to decide who wins a recording contract. And then there’s the yearly Celebration of Gospel where gospel and secular artists make music on the same stage while host Steve Harvey tries to tell clean jokes. How’s that for progress? I know some of you are disenchanted with Sunday Best but this isn’t a comparison, so hear me out.
Long before the competitions and musical soirees went mainstream and hit primetime, Bobby Jones Gospel put a face with the music and gave the industry its first national platform. Dr. Jones expanded that platform across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans , earning the title “Ambassador of Gospel.” I hold him in the highest of regard for everything he’s done for gospel music, and I’m sure you do as well. I just have a couple of questions, and I want to know what you think.
Although the music and mediums have changed over the years, those changes haven’t affected the show very much. You can still find it airing on the same network, on the same day, in the same timeslot, same format, and still hosted by Dr. Jones. In fact, Bobby Jones Gospel is the longest-running show on BET and one of the longest in cable television history. However, do you find it strange that the show has stuck to the same formula for three decades?
I mean, Bob Barker did the same thing with The Price is Right, so maybe it’s not a bad thing. But I’m leaning against it.
Consider this: traditional radio and television viewership is declining; digital music sales via iTunes and online music retailers will eclipse physical sales this year; internet marketing through social media is rapidly becoming the most effective way to market and sell music, aside from the music itself. Let us also remember the rise of blog sites in the last five years, sites like GospelPundit.com (which we love, right?).
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware that many artists who were introduced on Bobby Jones Gospel went on to achieve unprecedented success. Gospel heavyweights like Yolanda Adams and Kirk Franklin, who are two of the best-selling gospel acts of the last 20 years, both got their start there.
I’m just asking you, when was the last time you saw a new artist on the show Sunday morning and headed to Best Buy or jumped on iTunes to cop their album? I’m curious to know.
If anything, I feel like the show has become sort of a rite of passage. It’s the place every major gospel artist must go to pay their respects at some time or another, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
I think it’s very appropriate for us to take this time to appreciate (and congratulate) Dr. Bobby Jones for all he’s has done for gospel music. By introducing the look and sound of gospel to households across the nation, Bobby Jones Gospel has allowed countless artists to share their ministry with the world. And I love a good ole’ gospel jamboree.
As we celebrate 30 years, however, I’m just wondering– will you still be skipping Sunday School to watch?
