Anthony Heilbut

Anthony Heilbut writes cultural history and produces recordings with a sustained focus on Black gospel music. The Gospel Sound, first published in 1971 and repeatedly updated, traces the tradition through its singers, churches, regional styles, and connections with blues, jazz, and rhythm and blues. Heilbut’s authority also comes from decades spent recording major gospel performers and writing about their artistry. His catalogue extends beyond music history to Thomas Mann: Eros and Literature, Exiled in Paradise, and the essay collection The Fan Who Knew Too Much. A Harvard-trained scholar who taught at New York University and Hunter College, he brings archival research, interviews, and a producer’s ear to his criticism. The Gospel Sound remains central to that body of work because it joins social history with close attention to voices, performance, and the communities that sustained the music.