New Technology to Promote an Old Story

As the popularity of tabernacle revivalism declined, Homer Rodeheaver embraced new technologies to advance his ideas about the power of gospel music and community singing. While Billy Sunday was suspicious of technology and held on to an evangelistic model that was fading, Rodeheaver was an evangelical pioneer in recorded music—on cylinders, player piano rolls, and records. After becoming a best-selling recording artist he launched new forays into network radio and film, where he attempted to apply his ideas about community singing. Rodeheaver’s early-adopter attitudes toward technology broadened the scope of the gospel music industry, but it also brought personal tragedy, including the death of his brother.