African American Legacy Series: A Life of Song

In A Life of Song, Ella Jenkins, “The First Lady of Children’s Music,” offers stories and songs that speak to her youthful years as an African American child in a multi-cultural world. Her career of more than a half century earned her the first Lifetime Achievement Grammy award for a children’s music artist, and her more than thirty recordings teach us to learn from one another while taking pride in our own heritage. This African American Legacy recording of Ella singing with children from the Cool Classics after-school program spotlights her own heritage while showing her delight for the traditions of others. 36 minutes, lyrics, photos, 28-page booklet. This recording is the sixth release in the Smithsonian Folkways African American Legacy Series, co-presented with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Track Listing

101	Pick a Bale of Cotton	Ella Jenkins	04:18
102	One Two Three O’Leary	Ella Jenkins w/children	01:15
103	Calling a Square Dance	Ella Jenkins	00:40
104	Black Royalty	Ella Jenkins	01:45
105	Little Sally Walker	Ella Jenkins w/children	01:13
106	Cotton-Eyed Joe	Ella Jenkins	01:19
107	I Want to Be Ready	Ella Jenkins	01:37
108	He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands	Ella Jenkins w/children	01:47
109	Swing Low, Sweet Chariot	Ella Jenkins w/children	01:36
110	Rock My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham	Ella Jenkins	01:15
111	Standing in the Need of Prayer	Ella Jenkins	01:06
112	Amazing Grace	Ella Jenkins	03:23
113	Somebody’s Talking about Freedom	Ella Jenkins	01:49
114	Sadie Complete	Ella Jenkins	02:14
115	Uncle Flood and the Blues	Ella Jenkins	02:07
116	Milk Cow Blues	Ella Jenkins	00:45
117	Summertime	Ella Jenkins	02:20
118	The Cuckoo	Ella Jenkins	02:04
119	The Farmer in the Dell	Ella Jenkins	01:17
120	This is Your Year, Children	Ella Jenkins	00:59
121	I’m On My Way to Canaan Land	Ella Jenkins w/children	01:35