Song of the Week: "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"

Admittedly, I fell off the ball last week and didn't do a Song of the Week entry. Hopefully this week's song will make up for it. It's one of the most beloved African-American spirituals in American history, and has been performed by everyone from Eric Clapton to Duke Ellington, Paul Robeson, and She & Him.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (purchase/download), while no certain composer is known, is often credited to Choctaw freedman Wallis Willis during mid- to late-19th Century. The earliest known recording was made by the Fisk Jubilee Singers in the late 1800s. Learn more about this traditional African-American spiritual with the history of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot".

photo: Sami Sarkis/Getty Images