Wednesday 23 June 2021
Tune of the Day: Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho
Traditional African-American spiritual
The title and lyrics of this well-known African-American spiritual allude to the biblical story of the Battle of Jericho, in which Joshua led the Israelites against Canaan.
The song is believed to have been composed by slaves in the first half of the 19th century. Some references suggest that it was copyrighted by a Jay Roberts in 1865. The first recorded version was by Harrod's Jubilee Singers in 1922. Later recordings include those by Paul Robeson (1925), Mahalia Jackson (1958), and Elvis Presley (1960) among many others.