''Christmas Spirituals'' is the name of two albums recorded by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

folk singer Odetta. The first was released in 1960 on Vanguard Records. The second, a new recording of mostly the same songs, produced by Rachel Faro at White Crowe Audio in Burlington, Vermont, was originally released in 1987 on Alcazar Records and was reissued digitally in 2007 on Ashe Records. Both albums have Bill Lee,

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

's father on double bass. The cover of the second ''Christmas Spirituals'' album, by the artist Coleen Patterson, depicts a Black Madonna by the River Jordan with the Three Kings in attendance. Odetta said that these songs were traditional spirituals that emerged from the sufferings of slavery as a catharsis for the terrible wrongs that were committed.

1960 track listing

#"Virgin Mary Had One Son" – 2:44 #"Somebody's Talking About Jesus" – 2:49 #"Ain't That A-Rocking" – 2:04 #"Mary Had A Baby" – 1:47 #" Go Tell It On The Mountain" – 2:07 #"Beautiful Star" – 2:42 #"Poor Little Jesus" – 2:23 #"Shout For Joy" – 1:42 #"Oh, Jerusalem" – 1:27 #"Rise Up Shepherd And Follow" – 1:49 #"If Anybody Asks You" – 2:35 #"What Month Was Jesus Born In?" – 2:04 #" Children, Go Where I Send Thee" – 6:59

1987 track listing

All songs traditional unless otherwise noted. #"Rise up, Shepherd, and Follow" – 1:45 #"What Month Was Jesus Born In?" – 2:25 #"Mary Had a Baby" – 1:52 #"Somebody Talking 'Bout Jesus" – 2:05 #"Virgin Mary Had One Son" – 3:08 #" Go Tell It on the Mountain" – 2:01 #"Shout for Joy" – 2:31 #"Poor Little Jesus" – 1:56 #"O Jerusalem" (with new lyrics by Rachel Faro) – 2:51 #"Ain't That A-Rockin'" – 3:20 #"If Anybody Asks You" (Odetta Gordon) – 2:00 #"Beautiful Star" (Gordon) – 2:54 #"

Children Go Where I Send Thee "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" (alternatively "Children, Go Where I Send You" or variations thereof, also known as "The Holy Baby", "Little Bitty Baby", or "Born in Bethlehem") is a traditional African-American spiritual song. Among the many d ...

" – 2:45

Personnel

* Odetta –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Bill Lee –

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

*Lincoln Goines * –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

*Jeff Salisbury * –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Carol Steele * – percussion *Helge Sasse * – executive producer ''(* denotes 1987 personnel)''

References

{{Odetta 1960 Christmas albums Odetta albums Vanguard Records albums Christmas albums by American artists Covers albums Folk Christmas albums