Sallie Martin combined fame as a performer with a far-sighted business acumen that brought Black gospel music to a national audience and laid the foundation for the industry that followed. Kay Norton’s biography follows Martin’s parallel careers from her early plans to grow the genre through her celebrity in the 1960s–1970s and eventful retirement. “Same old Sallie Martin, same old Jesus,” she once told audiences, a reflection of both her musical style and unapologetic approach to life. Cofounder of the National Conference of Gospel Choirs and Choruses, Martin also co-established the pioneering Black music publisher Martin and Morris Music Studio. Her group the Sallie Martin Singers took Chicago gospel to all points of the compass and Martin mentored and employed dozens of aspiring vocalists and instrumentalists. Norton looks at Martin’s important relationships and the challenges she faced, while placing her accomplishments and legacy on the arc of gospel music history. In-depth and powerful, Sallie Martin, Mother of Gospel Music tells the story of one woman’s role in shaping the music and business of Black gospel. “Kay Norton’s fascinating biography of Sallie Martin celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit of African American women who, denied leadership in the pulpit because of their gender and economic opportunities because of their race, took matters into their own hands and popularized gospel music in the process.” ―Robert M. Marovich, author of A City Called Heaven: Chicago and the Birth of Gospel Music Kay Norton is a professor in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre at Arizona State University.