By Craig Harris (www.allmusic.com)

      Fisk University in Nashville was in dire straits at the turn of the 1870s. The buildings that the school had used since opening in 1866 were in need of major repair, teachers were severly underpaid and the food supply for students was dwindling. In an attempt to raise necessary funds, a group of student singers, under the direction of treasurer and music instructor George L. White, came together to perform during a benefit concert tour of the Midwest. Although they started the tour on October 8, 1871 with only $1 of institution money, they returned seven months later with $20,000 -- enough to pay the school's debts and purchase Fort Gillen, the site of the current university. Traveling to England in April 1873, the group raised more than $50,000 in the little more than a year they toured Great Britain. In the first seven years that they were together, the Fisk Jubilee Singers raised more than $150,000 for the university. More than a century later, the group continued bringing their soulful singing to enthusiastic audiences around the globe. Although their initial repertoire featured what they called "white man's music" and a few "slave songs", the Fisk Jubilee Singers increasingly focused on Afro-American spirituals. According to member Esther Jones, "The group has tried to maintain a spirituality and a closeness to God." The Fisk Jubilee Singers have been guided by a series of highly-talented directors. In 1956, the group returned to Europe, under the direction of John W. Work III, performing fifty-four concerts in nine countries. Matthew W. Kennedy served three stints as director -- 1972 to 1973, 1975 to 1983 and 1985 to 1986.

1. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"
2. "I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray"
3. "Little David, Play on Yo' Harp; Shout All Over God's Heaven"
4. "There Is A Balm In Gilead"
5. "Roll Jordan Roll"
6. "Old Black Joe"
7. "Golden Slippers"
8. "When Malindy Sings"
9. "Banjo Song"
10. "Great Campmeeting"
11. "The Old Ark; Brethren Rise, Shine"
12. "Good News; Wasn't That A Wide River"
13. "Done What You Tole Me To Do"
14. "Po' Moaner Got A Home At Last"
15. "In Bright Mansions Above"
16. "My Soul Is A Witness"
17. "Band Of Gideon"
18. "I Know The Lord Laid His Hand On Me"
19. "The Old Tunes"
20. "In The Morning"

1. "Steal Away to Jesus"
2. "Shout All Over God's Heaven"
3. "Little David Play On Your Harp"
4. "There Is A Light Shining For Me"
5. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"
6. "In The Great Gettin' Up Mawnin'"
7. "River of Jordan"
8. "O Mary Don't You Weep Don't You Mourn"
9. "Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray"
10. "The Great Camp Meeting"
11. "Brethren Rise!"
12. "Good News, The Chariot's Coming"
13. "Most Done Traveling"
14. "Oh! Reign Massa Jesus Reign"
15. "I Know I Have Another Building"
16. "I Want To Be Ready"
17. "Roll Jordan Roll"
18. "I Know The Lord Laid His Hand On Me"
19. "Ezekiel Saw De Wheel"
20. "You're Going To Reap Just What You Sow"
21. "Give 'Way Jordan"
22. "You Hear The Lambs A-Crying'"
23. "I Ain't Going To Study War No More"
24. "My Soul Is A Witness For My Lord"

1. "You Better Get Somebody On Your Bond"
2. "Hope I'll Join The Band"
3. "Keep A Inchin' Along"
4. "Shout All Over God's Heaven"
5. "Steal Away To Jesus"
6. "Every Time I Feel The Spirit"
7. "Ezekiel Saw De Wheel"
8. "Little David"
9. "Dry Bones; The Old Ark's A' Morning"
10. "I Wanna Die Easy"
11. "Nobody Knows The Trouble I See"
12. "Show Me The Way"
13. "There Is A Light Shining"
14. "Everybody Ought To Pray Sometime; Ev'ry Time I Feel The Spirit"
15. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (Theme)"
16. "On My Journey Now"
17. "Blow, Gabriel, Blow"
18. "My Lord's Writing All The Time"
19. "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder"
20. "Lord I Done Done"
21. "Oh Mary Don't You Weep"
22. "In That Morning"
23. "I Been 'Buked"
24. "Shine On Me"
25. "Sweet Turtledove"
26. "On My Journey Now"
27. "Hear The Lambs A Cryin'"
28. "Deep River"
29. "Golden Slipper"

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This page updated June 5, 2005 by Adrian Carter.