Wade in the Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions is a 26-part documentary series that details the history of African Americans through song and music, storytelling and historical analysis over a 200-year period beginning with their arrival on American shores.
Produced by NPR and the Smithsonian Institution in the 1990s and hosted by Bernice Johnson Reagon, the program explores the history, the players and the lore of gospel music and its larger impact on soul, jazz and R&B.
Listen to episodes on NPR.org and NPR One. Stream a playlist of songs featured in the show below.
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