Testimonial, 1936

Ever since I was a child, my father and my nurses have always sung spirituals to me. I’ve known them ever since then. But I never connected much value to them or never thought much of them until lately.

In fact when I went off to college the girls used to tease me about singing Negro songs and make us sing for entertainment. I used to be rather ashamed of them.

But now I realize the beauty of them and how much religion they have in them and how much appeal that they have in the music that’s in them. I really sing them for love of singing them. I think they have so much appeal to everyone who listens to them that you really want to hear them again. I hope that they will never die out or that the old way of singing them will live through the years to come.