W. K. McNeil – författare

The Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music is a comprehensive reference source covering all aspects of both African American and white gospel from history and performers to recording techniques and styles, as well as the influence of gospel on different musical genres and cultural trends. Now available in paperback, this work is a valuable reference for both scholars and the general reader. Organized alphabetically to facilitate searching, this encyclopedia also contains many reference tools to aid the user such as bibliographic and references at the end of entries, a thorough and analytical index, and black-and-white illustrations.Entries include: biographical profiles of numerous performers, such as Andrae Crouch, and influential figures in the development of gospel music, such as Isaac Wattsimportant events in the history of gospel such as the Azusa Street Revivalbroadcasting outlets, such as radio station WLAC AM, and record companies, such as Canaan Records, that were prominent in gospel’s history publications, such as The Singing News, significant songbooks, such as Gospel Pearls, and noteworthy publishing companies, such as Lillenas, all of which helped popularize some of the best-known gospel songstopics ranging from instruments frequently used by gospel performers to types of performing groups, such as gospel quartets and gospel choirs, to the unique qualities of gospel as it is composed and performed in different regions around the United States, to the globalization of gospel.

The Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music is the first comprehensive reference to cover this important American musical form. Coverage includes all aspects of both African-American and white gospel from history and performers to recording techniques and styles as well as the influence of gospel on different musical genres and cultural trends.

Ozark Country by W. K. McNeil A stimulating encounter with the vigorous mountain culture and enduring folklife of the Ozarks This study of folklife in the Ozarks surveys one of America's most fascinating regions and shows its distinctive cultural imprint. The living heritage of Ozark country is detailed here beside the history of its earliest settlements and its unique folkways. Although many who pioneered in the Ozarks migrated from southern Appalachia, Ozark is not "Appalachia West," for the flavor of Ozark culture is rare and particular. This book is an expression of that lasting distinctiveness. The folklife of the home (its foodways, crafts, and folkways), of the workplace (its architecture and its crafts), of Ozark leisure (music, dance, folksongs, ballads, games, and narratives) are given special attention here so that the singular nature of life in Ozark country can be revealed as an ongoing tradition rather than a static preservation. In the Ozark region, perhaps as in no other place in America, the essential character of the people is stamped with this combination of what is past and what is present. W. K. McNeil (deceased) was a folklorist at the Ozark Folk Center.He wrote and edited many books about folklore in the southern United States.