The Royce-Darden Collection | The Black Gospel Music Restoration Project

The purpose of this project is to identify, acquire, preserve, record and catalogue the most at-risk music from the black gospel music tradition. This collection will primarily contain 78s, 45s, LPs, and the various tape formats issued in the United States and abroad between the 1940s and the 1980s. Additionally, any ephemera that may be of use to scholars – including PR photos and press packets, taped interviews, informal photographs, tour books and programs, newspaper and magazine clippings, and sheet music – will also be acquired as it becomes available. The ultimate goal is to have a copy of every song released by every black gospel artist or group during that time period. Click here for Professor Darden’s editorial in the New York Times about the importance of this topic.

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Activity Note

This collection is considered an active collection. Items will be added periodically as they are acquired by Baylor University and processed through the Digitization Projects Group.

History and Impact

The rich and soulful sounds from the "Golden Age of Gospel" are distinctly African American. They are the voices of men and women who loved to sing and raise their voices in praise. Black gospel groups moved from town-to-town to raise money to live daily, and then moved on to the next church. Along their journey, they found time to record their unique renditions and compositions. This fertile musical time period in American history is a cultural snapshot revealing the depth of a people, their community, and the influence they have had on the rest of American music. These recordings - containing valuable history and culture - are rapidly disappearing and must be preserved. This project is an ideal fit with Baylor and complements the university’s Baptist heritage. Once completed, this digital audio archive will draw numerous researchers to Baylor University to listen to and research the "Golden Age of Gospel Music Archive." This archive will elevate the holdings of the already strong Crouch Fine Arts Library. The ultimate goal of the project is to preserve and store a digital copy of the audio long term, and to provide standards-based discovery tools through an online interface into a full catalog of materials, along with samples of all tracks from the audio archive. Most importantly, this beautifully sweet, vibrantly alive music will be preserved so all can enjoy, love, and learn from.

This project was made possible by men and women with a zeal for preserving history. When Charles Royce came across Robert Darden’s New York Times article, he recognized the need to preserve this important piece of history and was impressed by Professor Darden’s passion. In turn, his gift to Baylor University created the Charles M. Royce Black Gospel Music Restoration Project. In addition, the faithful support from Harold (BBA ’51) and Dottie Riley of Austin continues to strengthen Baylor University’s digitization efforts by equipping the Libraries with the Ray I. Riley Digitization Center, named in memory of Harold’s father, and the Dottie S. Riley Conference Room. Their support has provided state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, allowing the University to enhance preservation of such materials.

To expand and increase this one-of-a-kind initiative, The Prichard Family Foundation established the Lev H. Prichard III Traditional Black Music Restoration Endowed Fund in 2009. Paying tribute to Lev Prichard III, the gift embodies Lev and Ella (BA ‘63) Prichard’s love of cultural and educational ventures.

Copyright Information

As a result of the preservation work of the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project, these recordings are presented here free for personal, non-commercial use as a contribution to education and scholarship. Baylor University does not own the rights in this collection and therefore cannot grant or deny permission to distribute material in this collection. It is the user's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing music from the BGMRP.

If you have any more information about the music available from the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project, or if you are the copyright owner and believe this collection has not properly attributed your work to you or has used it without permission, we want to hear from you. Please use the BGMRP Interest/Comment form to get in contact with the project staff, including your contact information and a link to the relevant content.

Photos of Sound Isolation Booth Installation

Photos of the installation of the Wenger sound isolation booth. The booth contains the equipment needed to digitize the materials in this collection.

Contact Information

Interest/Comment Form
Have questions? Do you have materials that might fit in the collection? Would you like to support the project? Use the BGMRP Interest/Comment form to get in contact with the project staff.

Loaning or Donating Materials
Information on how you can loan or donate materials to the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project.

Project Weblog

Watch our Blog for project updates and feel free to leave us a comment!

Mailing Address:

Black Gospel Music Restoration Project
ATTN: Denyse Rodgers
Baylor University Libraries
1312 S 3rd Street
Waco, TX 76706

Email: librarywebmaster@baylor.edu

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