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The Life and Choral Works of Jester Hairston

3, 2025. ston,” YouTube Video, 3:08, July 6, 2018, https://www.
13 Micah Bland, “Jester Hairston’s Film Music Career,” The youtube.com/watch?v=FFRDQrOkG7s.
Journal of Film Music 11, no. 1 (2024): 5–21, https://doi. 35 Jester Hairston, My Black Hollywood, 395.
org/10.1558/jfm.23542. 36 Jester Hairston, “The Afro-American Slave Song.”
14 Micah Bland, “Jester Hairston’s Film Music Career.” 37 Jester Hairston, “The Afro-American Slave Song.”
15 Jester Hairston, “ACDA Jester Hairston Video.” 38 The Voices of Walter Schumann, “Christmas Gift: The Voices
16 The exact number of Hairston’s film music credits is unfor- of Walter Schumann, Jester Hairston (Baritone Soloist)
tunately unknown as he was frequently uncredited. (1955),” YouTube Video, 2:27, December 9, 2022, https://
17 A thorough discussion of Hairston’s film music career is www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CYZTqOpImE.
beyond the scope of this article. For more information 39 J.M.T. Dosoo and Jester Hairston, No Ne Li Domi (New York:
about Hairston’s career in Hollywood, see Bland, “Jester Bourne Co., 1971).
Hairston’s Film Music Career.” 40 Jude Nwankwo, e-mail to author, June 4, 2025.
18 Jester Hairston, My Black Hollywood, 289. 41 Jude Nwankwo, e-mail to author.
19 A musical theatre production about the life of Jester Hair- 42 Jude Nwankwo, e-mail to author.
ston is currently in the works. See, https://jestermusical. 43 Jester Hairston, “Teaches the Story Song: Black American Folk
com/ for more details. Songs,” YouTube Video, 12:40, August 23, 2020, https://
20 Negro Spirituals and Folk Songs by Hairston and Harry Robert www.youtube.com/watch?v=W32GNt72kuY&t=3s.
Wilson has been excluded from the statistical analysis in 44 Jester Hairston, “Teaches the Story Song.”
this article, as the work is a collection of sixteen arrange- 45 Albert McNeil, “Albert McNeil Jester’s Choral Contribu-
ments, which cannot be accurately categorized in a sta- tions,” YouTube Video, 8:41, August 19, 2020, https://
tistical analysis. www.youtube.com/watch?v=duyhxaq_6Qw.
21 J. Terry Gates, “A Historical Comparison of Public Sing- 46 Additional works utilizing sound effects include, Dis Ol’ Ham-
ing by American Men and Women,” Journal of Research mer, Dis Train, Gossip Gossip, Hold My Mule While I Dance Josey,
in Music Education 37, no. 1 (1989): 32–47, https://doi. Home In Dat Rock, Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho, Our Troubles
org/10.2307/3344951. Was Hard, Ring de Christmas Bells, Swing a Lady Gum-Pum,
22 Jester Hairston, My Black Hollywood, 428. and That Ole House.
23 Jester Hairston, My Black Hollywood, 429. 47 Jester Hairston, “Teaches the Story Song.”
24 Jester Hairston, My Black Hollywood. 48 Jester Hairston, “’Goin Down That Lonesome Road’ Row-
25 Tim Sharer, “Jester Hairston: Background and Interpreta- en College,” YouTube Video, 5:29, August 24, 2020,
tion of ‘Elijah Rock,’” Choral Journal 20, no. 1 (1979): 34. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkV_l71q8kU.
26 Tim Sharer, “Jester Hairston.” 49 For more information on performing spirituals, see André J.
27 Tim Sharer, “Jester Hairston.” Thomas, Way over in Beulah Lan’; Felicia Raphael Marie
28 Jester Hairston, “Jester Hairston: The Afro-American Slave Barber and Andre J. Thomas, A New Perspective for the Use
Song (1978),” YouTube Video, 2:19:06, August 6, 2019, of Dialect in African American Spirituals: History, Context, and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLTRyEK2i2s&t=1s. Linguistics (Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2021);
29 Jester Hairston, “The Afro-American Slave Song.” Randye Jones, So You Want to Sing Spirituals: A Guide for
30 Based solely on listening, it cannot be determined if it is the Performers (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019); and Anton E.
entire tenor section or a small group singing the solo. Jest- Armstrong “Practical Performance Practice in the Afri-
er Hairston, “Hold On! Arr. Jester Hairston,” YouTube can American Slave Song,” in Heather Buchanan and
Video, 2:37, July 7, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/ Matthew W. Mehaffey, eds. Teaching Music Through Perfor-
watch?v=7dpYx_NDFrY. mance in Choir, Volume 1 (GIA Publications, Inc., 2005).
31 Jester Hairston, Mary’s Little Boy Chile (Bourne Co., 1956). 50 Jester Hairston, Home in Dat Rock (Bourne Co., 1957), 5.
32 John Shearlaw and David Brown, Boney M (Hamlyn Paper- 51 Jester Hairston, My Black Hollywood, 127.
backs, 1979), 105. 52 Jester Hairston and Harry Robert Wilson, Negro Spirituals and
33 Jester Hairston, My Black Hollywood, 318. Folk Songs (Bourne Co., 1960), 6.
34 Jester Hairston, “Mary’s Little Boy Chile arr. Jester Hair- 53 Hairston and Wilson, Negro Spirituals.

32 CHORAL JOURNAL October 2025 Volume 66 Number 3