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While the term Gospel quartet includes any quartet singing evangelical-style hymnody, the term frequently refers specifically to a style of vocal performance within Southern Gospel music, with roots in a form of shapenote singing.

The earliest of these quartets were formed in the late 19th Century, often to promote sales of shapenote Gospel hymnals. Shapenote Gospel music is a style of shapenote music that developed in the postwar American South, that blended traditional contrapuntal shapenote religious singing with the cheerful, simple, style of 4-part harmony associated with Dwight L. Moody's meetings. This style of music introduced piano or organ accompaniment to Southern church music, which had generally been absent in earlier forms of shapenote singing.

Gospel quartets sing in four-part harmony, with parts given to a tenor, or highest part; lead, which usually takes the melody; baritone, which blends the sounds and adds richness; and the bass, or lowest part. It is not uncommon for some quartets to switch parts between members for given songs.

Gospel quartets, such as the Stamps-Baxter Quartet and the Stamps Quartet, promoted their respective publishing houses, and soon the Gospel quartet style was integral in southern church music, especially in the southern central states.

By the mid 20th Century, Gospel quartets such as The Blackwood Brothers had gained exposure across the United States, by means of radio and television. Some Gospel Quartets, such as the Jordanaires and the Imperials, even served as backup singers for Elvis Presley.

In the 1980's, Gospel quartet music was somewhat overshadowed by the emerging contemporary Christian music, but saw something of a revival in the 1990's, partially due to the reunion videos produced by Bill Gaither. The Cathedral Quartet was thought by many quartet fans to be the epitome of class during their peak of popularity from the 1980's until their retirement in 1999.