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The Southern Gospel Music Association (SGMA) is a non-profit corporation formed as an association of [[Southern_gospel|southern gospel music singers, songwriters, fans, and industry workers. Membership is acquired and maintained through payment of annual dues. The SGMA was formed in 1994, and states that its primary goal is "to preserve, protect and promote Southern Gospel Music, its history and heritage".
The music itself began to be popularized as paid groups traversed the country giving concerts as a means of publicizing published books of sheet music, which the groups would try to hawk to the audience. Greater detail about several groups that pioneered the music in this way can be found in Bob Terrell's book, listed below.
The Southern Gospel Music Association operates the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Pigeon Forge, a popular Tennessee tourist town, and also hosts the Southern Gospel Music Awards. The Hall of Fame and Museum was opened in Dollywood in 1999.
Leadership of the SGMA is vested in a 23-member board of directors. The SGMA is responsible for the nomination, selection, and induction into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
Related topics on Wikipedia
Recommended reading Bob Terrell "The Music Men: The Story of Professional Gospel Quartet Singing in America" B. Terrell, 1990. ISBN 1878894005.
Mike Collins and Bill Gaither "Hold On: The Authorized Biography of the Greenes, America's Southern Gospel Trio" Woodland Press LLC, 2004. ISBN 0972486763.
Michael P. Graves and David Fillingim "More than Precious Memories: The Rhetoric of Southern Gospel Music" Mercer University Press, 2004. ISBN 0865548579.
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