"Without gospel music there never would have been an Elvis Presley. There never would have been a Ray Charles, or a James Brown. From the mid-twentieth century on, gospel music not only thrived within a separate sphere as vital as the jazz, rock and rhythm and blues worlds; it also constantly intersected with the secular music industry, providing models that countless artists outside the church emulated. The Gospel Roots of Rock and Soul explores these connections as a way of reinstituting gospel’s central place within the history of American popular music."

-Ann Powers, Author and Music Journalist