In addition to celebrating their 150th year, the Fisk Jubilee Singers can celebrate another milestone– their first Grammy reported The Tennessean.
On Sunday night, during the awards pre-ceremony, the legendary group won “Best Roots Gospel Album” for their 150th-anniversary album, “Celebrating Fisk.” The group was nominated once before, in 2009, for “Best Gospel Performance” but lost to Donnie McClurkin.
Music Director, Dr. Paul Kwami, a Fisk University graduate who has led the group since 1994, gave an inspiring acceptance speech, “Hallelujah, I just want to thank God. I thank Shannon Sanders and our wonderful team of engineers. I thank our wonderful guest artists. I thank Curb Records. I’m very grateful to Butch Spyridon and his staff.”
“I thank the Fisk University family. I thank the Ryman Auditorium staff for their wonderful help and all the fans around the world. Thank you so much, hallelujah.”
In an interview with News 5 in Nashville, Otto Price, the executive producer of “Celebrating Fisk,” told the news outlet, “I think it’s great for the Fisk Jubilee Singers and Dr. Kwami, in particular. They put so much hard work in. People in music know who they are. A lot of country music arts have worked with them. I think to have people outside the music industry who aren’t as deep into it to recognize it– will be huge.”
According to the Tennessean, the Ghanaian music director paid homage to the original Fisk Jubilee Singers with Sunday night’s performance.
“In a way, it’s surprising. It’s the first time we have won a Grammy,” Kwami said, “Sometimes I think it’s because of the music we’re known for, which is the Negro spiritual. Whatever the case, I’m happy this happened in the year we are celebrating our 150th anniversary. It’s an addition to the celebration.”
The original group, assembled in 1871, wanted to share the Black musical tradition, known as the Negro Spiritual, with countries around the world.
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According to its website, the original members were all former slaves and students at the university. Fisk’s music professor George L. White assembled the chorus– naming them “The Jubilee Singers,” for the Book of Leviticus and the Biblical year of the choir’s namesake.
With Fisk University facing financial challenges in 1871, the group began their first tour to save the financially-strapped institution. By 1873, the Singers’ tours had raised $50,000 to construct the HBCU’s first original, permanent building, Jubilee Hall. Queen Victoria gifted the university a portrait of the original Jubilee Singers, which remains in the corridor today. October 6 is celebrated on campus and by Fisk alum worldwide as “Jubilee Day,” to honor the original singers’ sacrifice.
The group recorded their first song, the Negro Spiritual “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” in 1909. Since then, the Jubilee Singers have had many recordings and live performances with some well-known artists. The choir’s resume includes work with Danny Glover, Faith Hill, Shania Twain, Hank Williams, Jr., Rodney Atkins, and Keith Urban.
The Jubilee Singers have also graduated some distinguished alumni, including five-time Grammy-nominated Gospel-Christian artist Mandisa, who won her 2014 album, “Overcomer.”
