had recently finished No Maps on My Taps (1979), a documentary following three New York City-based tap dancers. Seeking ideas for a new project, he asked blues guitarist and friend Ry Cooder for suggestions: "These were his exact words – he said, 'You oughta look into gospel music; those cats are really neat.' " Nierenberg went looking for performers "whose expression was an extension of themselves", people committed to an art form without, he felt, proper recognition. He decided on the project when he learned no documentary about gospel music had ever been made. He believed this, and his inexperience with the topic, allowed him to bring a "fresh point of view" to the film, saying, "One of my goals was to dispel the mystique of the gospel experience, which people have all kinds of misconceptions about... or don't know what to think of." For background work, Nierenberg interviewed hundreds of figures in gospel music, including James Cleveland, the Hawkins Family – also known as the Edwin Hawkins Singers who released the international number 1 hit, "Oh Happy Day" in 1969, Rebert Harris of the Soul Stirrers, and Claude Jeter, an original member of the Swan Silvertones. After learning about Dorsey, Smith, and their contributions to gospel music, Nierenberg settled on them as the central focus of the film, later admitting that had he not found them, the film probably would not have been made. They were, in his opinion, extraordinary people whose stories should be told. He met with them, then visited Smith in her St. Louis home and Campbell in hers. With the background research done, Nierenberg felt that half of his pre-production work was behind him. To put all the participants at ease during filming, he spent a year in churches, becoming familiar with choirs and singers, music, and church culture. Cinematographer Edward Lachman recognized the importance of developing relationships with the subjects, as "they knew us as people so they could react freely" in front of the cameras. The title of the film references typical moments in black churches when a preacher will say a phrase or scripture, and met without any response – especially if the congregation does not agree – will prompt them by saying, "Say 'Amen', somebody." Dorsey does this in the film when he remembers that gospel blues, denigrated in black churches before 1932 for being sinful and degrading, is in actuality