Download Free Gospel Music

We know that when you want to download free gospel music, you are often facing an uphill battle. Finding free gospel music to download on the internet can be a little like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. But that's where we come in. Here at LTK Music, we aim to please, and if you want to download free gospel music, then download free gospel music you shall. We have done the research for you and discovered the best places to find free gospel music downloads. Read on to find our picks.

About Gospel Music

What exactly is gospel music? Not everyone agrees on one single definition. Generally speaking, gospel music is religious music - specifically music associated with the Christian faith. The themes for gospel songs tend to be praise and worship, rather than explorations of faith or storytelling.

That is the general idea of gospel music, but some music fans make a distinction between gospel music and Christian rock and country music. When this distinction is made, "gospel" is associated with religious music that draws on R&B, jazz and African American spirituals as inspiration.

Although religious music has been around since the start of the church, music that resembles what we today consider to be gospel/religious music emerged at the end of the 19th century. It was popularized by Dwight L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey. Moody and Sankey traveled around the US, especially the rural South, hosting revivals and promoting their brand of Pentecostal religion. Short, melodic, easy to sing-along to songs were an important part of their movement.

It was also through the Pentecostal church that gospel influenced popular music. In many ways, rock and roll and early R&B have their roots in the Pentecostal church and gospel music. Early rock and R&B artists like Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis all drew heavily on the music they heard in their Pentecostal churches, and the influence of gospel can be heard on the vast majority of early rock records. Little Richard in particular was deeply affected by both the music and the flamboyant fashion and performance style of the gospel musicians of the day and used many of these influences in his act. Throughout his career, he moved back and forth between performing gospel music and secular music.

Modern gospel music encompasses many subgenres, including:

  • Southern gospel - usually associated with vocal harmony groups, similar in style to barbershop quartets. Recently, a subgenre of Southern gospel, called progressive Southern gospel has emerged, that blends more modern musical inspirations with the vocal harmony roots.
  • Bluegrass gospel
  • Urban contemporary gospel - heavily influenced by rap and modern R&B
  • Celtic gospel
  • Blues gospel

More Resources to Download Free Gospel Music

It can be trickier to find good sources to download free gospel music, as there simply aren't as many ad supported free networks specializing in this genre of music as there are for pop music. If you are looking for free gospel music downloads, try these sites:

  • Artist Direct - Artist Direct caters to all genres of music, but they do have gospel section. On this site, you will find free downloads as well lots of background info about your favorite gospel artists.
  • Christian Tuner - Christian Tuner is essentially a large radio network for gospel music of all styles, so streaming is always available on this site. However, they do offer free downloads as well from time to time. Keep an eye out as their selections will change.
  • Share Song - Share Song is a great place to discover up and coming gospel artists. This site features both up and coming gospel artists as well as some of your favorites. You will want to bookmark the page and check back often, because the download selection is always changing.
  • EZ Tracks - EZ Tracks is an ad supported free download network that is a good spot to find the biggest gospel hits. You can also download gospel ringtones from this site.

Know Any Good Sites?

If you uncover any great free gospel music downloading sites, we'd love to hear about them. Post the web address in the comment section and share the wealth!