麻豆约拍

As the former director of a community gospel choir, Laura Mvula knows a bit about the way gospel can inspire us.

In this series she gives us a personal slice of gospel funk and celestial soul, telling the story of gospel music's wider influence from the 1950's right up to the present day.

Over the years, so much music from the blues, funk, disco, soul and plenty of pop music has been influenced by gospel music and Laura's playlist will pick some of the best, and most personal to her.

Programme 1: Laura starts her story with some of the great music of the 50's and early 60's, and explains how gospel came to co-exist with the "devil music" of the blues, and how the fusion of gospel and R&B brought about soul music. We hear from the Sensational Nightingales, Pastor TL Barrett as well as exploring the gospel routes of Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and Ray Charles.