A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. The awards have been held in Nashville, Tennessee every year except 2011 and 2012 when they were held in Atlanta, Georgia. The ceremonies feature live musical performances and are broadcast on TBN.
The Dove Awards were originally conceptualized by Gospel singer and songwriter Bill Gaither, at a Gospel Music Association board meeting in 1968. The idea of the award being represented by a dove is credited to Gaither and design for the award itself is credited to gospel singer Les Beasley and designer Bob McConnell.[3] The first GMA Dove Awards were held at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee in October 1969. In 1971, the awards moved to Nashville.
The 3rd GMA Dove Awards of 1971 were deemed invalid due to apparent ballot stuffing by the southern gospel group the Blackwood Brothers, and that year is still not considered an official awards year by the Gospel Music Association. There were no awards held in 1979, due to a decision by the Gospel Music Association to move the awards from autumn to spring. Every ceremony since has been held in the spring. The first televised ceremony was the 15th GMA Dove Awards of 1984, which aired on the Christian Broadcasting Network.[4]
Because of the large number of award categories (42 in 2012), and the desire to feature several performances by various artists, only the ones with the most popular interest are presented directly at the televised version of the award ceremony.[8][non-primary source needed]
General
The "General Field" includes seven awards which are not restricted by genre:
Song of the Year is awarded to the songwriter and the publisher.
Other awards are given for performances in specific genres, as well as for other contributions such as artwork and video. As of the 43rd Dove Awards, these include:
In 1998 the GMA published a new definition of gospel music. According to the definition, to be considered eligible for the Dove Awards, music was required to have lyrics that were:
Substantially based upon historically orthodox Christian truth contained in or derived from the Holy Bible
An expression of worship of God or praise for His works
Testimony of relationship with God through Christ
Obviously prompted and informed by a Christian world view[9]
Prior to the definition, the only qualified music was that sold in Christian Booksellers Association affiliated stores. The new standards resulted in complaints by some fans and artists after thirteen entries were disqualified as being too secular in the 1999 Dove Awards. The rules were rescinded afterwards, and many groups disqualified by the rulings in 1999 were winners in 2000.[10][unreliable source]
The GMA's current policy states: "From time to time, screening judges may encounter product submissions that raise questions about whether or not the product's content is appropriate for the GMA Dove Awards. To assist the judges in their determination, the GMA Board has authorized the following content criteria for use in these instances: 'For purposes of GMA Dove Award eligibility, the content of all entries will be: based upon the historically orthodox Christian faith contained in or derived from the Holy Bible; or apparently prompted and informed by a Christian world-view.'"[11]
NOTE: The 1971 winners (except GMA Hall of Fame members) were nullified because of voting irregularities; no awards show was held in 1979, as the Gospel Music Association moved the awards show from September to April.
