Gospel Revival Number

• Main
• All Subpages
• Create New

Cue the organ music.

Often in The Musical, one character will get the ensemble to join in on a rousing gospel song. You know the one. It'll have powerful pipes behind it - not just that organ, but with the lead singers (often Sassy Black Women who are big and beautiful). Usually held at a Baptist church, with a primarily black congregation. It'll make you want to get up and either clap and sing along, or put your hands in the air because it's all so true! This is the music that tells grand truths about life! This is the music of epiphanies! This is the music of the LORD, so raise up a joyful noise! HALLELUJAH! Tell it, sister!

Now largely a Dead Horse Trope, except in parody.

Examples, hallelujah!

Anime and Manga

• "Song of Tomorrow", the second ending theme from Heartcatch Pretty Cure.

Film

• "Get Happy", most famously used in the movie musical Summer Stock, though written twenty years earlier.
• "Dig a Little Deeper" from The Princess and the Frog.
• Both Blues Brothers movies—first one having, "The Old Landmark" (with James Brown presiding!), second time around featuring John The Revelator (although we get a taste of the song during the opening credits too, with Taj Mahal singing solo. It's later on sung again at a Tent Revival by James Brown, Sam "The Supervoice" Moore, and Joe Morton.
• Most of the soundtrack for Disney's Hercules, especially as provided by the Muses. "The Gospel Truth" is the most evident example - just look at the title!
• Across the Universe covered "Let It Be" as a Gospel Revival Number - and a complete Tear Jerker as well.
• Sister Act, naturally.
• "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive" from Here Come The Waves.
• "Stand Up" from the made-for-TV film adaptation of Aunt Polly. Partially justified, since they were actually in a church at the time.

Live-Action TV

• "He's Guilty, Judge, He's Guilty" from Cop Rock.
• Scrubs did this for one of JD's fantasies in "My Own Personal Jesus".
• Gospel, in addition to being a short-lived game similar to Hoedown, was one of the most frequent musical styles used in Song Styles on Whose Line Is It Anyway??.
• There's no hidin' place, down here, down here! There's no hidin' place, down here...
• "I guess what I'm sayin' is this..." "GO..." "If 'Fair and Balanced' is how you want to sell yourself..." "FUCK..." "Guess what I'm sayin' is this..." "YOURSELVES!"
  • "Revolution Muslim and that kind of hate, that's the enemy. And so...I say to you..." "GO..." "And I KNOWS ya get cable..." "FUCK..." "And I say this to anyone who's threatening death in the name of religion or politics..." "YOURSELF!"

Theatre

• "Clap Yo' Hands" from Oh, Kay!.
• "Hallelujah" from Hit the Deck.
• "Great Day," one of several Breakaway Pop Hits from an obscure musical of the same name.
• "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" from Anything Goes.
• "Overflow" and "Leavin' for the Promise' Lan'" from Porgy and Bess. These two songs do a lot to enliven the funeral scene.
• "The Lord Done Fixed Up My Soul" from Louisiana Purchase (recycled in the movie There's No Business Like Show Business).
• "On That Great Come-And-Get-It Day" from Finian's Rainbow.
• "Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat" from Guys and Dolls.
• "Brotherhood of Man" from How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.
• "Run, Freedom Run" from Urinetown, a slight parody example.
• "Ain't It Good" from Stephen Schwartz's Children of Eden.
• "The Gods Love Nubia" and "Dance of the Robe" from Aida.
• As you may have guessed, Godspell has a few of these - "Day By Day", "Bless the Lord", "Light of the World", "Beautiful City" and "We Beseech Thee".
• "Miracle Song" from Anyone Can Whistle.
• "In Mysterious Ways," the opening number of The Color Purple. Subject to Alternate Song Interpretation: on the surface it's a powerful and assertive tune of faith - but on the other hand, the church is full of Gossipy Hens who are commenting on the horrendous abuse going on in the house of their neighbor - and doing flat nothing about it.
• "Simon Zealotes" from Jesus Christ Superstar.
• "I Feel So Happy" from RJ
• "Random Black Girl" from Homemade Fusion parodies this trope through the eyes of a "random black girl singing the soul". It's also an amazing song [1].
• "Faith" from I Had A Ball.
• "Prayer of the Comfort Counselor" from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee turns into this.
• "Are You Sure?" from The Unsinkable Molly Brown.
• "He's Got the Key" from Stocks and Bondage, the 1982 Princeton Triangle Club show.

Web Original

• "Heaven on Earth" from Me and My Dick, lampshaded in the chorus:

Ooh, hallelujah Oooh, here we go Everything feels Like a gospel song

Western Animation

• In the ReBoot movie "Daemon Rising", Mike the TV performs a gospel song on the glory of being infected by the virus Daemon.
• In Disney's Hercules, most of the songs sung by the Muses fall into this category.
• In My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Sweetie Belle manages to turn a lullaby into one of these.