Original artwork created for the series by Al Smith. NPR hide caption
Wade In The Water Produced in 1994 by NPR and the Smithsonian Institution, Wade in the Water is a 26-part documentary series detailing the history of American gospel music and its impact on soul, jazz and R&B.
Special Series
Wade In The Water
Sweet Honey in the Rock. Rico D'Rozario/Redferns hide caption
Bessie Jones. Paul Conklin/WikiMedia Commons hide caption
Jessye Norman rehearsing with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for the first night of The Proms at the BBC's Maida Vale Studio, London. Keystone/Getty Images hide caption
The Soul Stirrers. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption
Fannie Lou Hamer, Victoria Gray and Annie Devine, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party contestants for the state's seats, hold a telegram allowing them onto the House floor during debate. Bettmann/Bettmann Archive hide caption
Singer Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon speaks during a music workshop for high school students in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, February 9, 2010, "A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement." AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
The Fisk University Jubilee Singers in 1925. Davis/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images hide caption
Wade In The Water Ep. 7: The Fisk Jubilee Singers And The Concert Spiritual Tradition
Harry T. Burleigh. Maud Cuney-Hare/Public domain hide caption
Wade In The Water Ep. 8: African American Composers & The Concert Spiritual Tradition
Marian Anderson singing at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Easter Sunday, 1939. Universal History Archive/Getty Images hide caption
The Golden Gate Quartet, circa 1940. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption
The First Baptist Church choir in Montgomery, Ala. in 2011. The Washington Post/Getty Images hide caption
Wade In The Water Ep. 11: Birmingham, Ala., Regional Quartet Tradition
Pilgrim Travelers, circa 1970. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption
Wade In The Water Ep. 12: From Local Community To Nation, Post-WWII Quartet Tradition
Ben E. King performs at the Apollo Theater in New York City in 1964. Don Paulsen/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption
Mahalia Jackson performs at the American Jazz Festival (later renamed the Newport Jazz Festival) in July 1958. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption
Wade In The Water Ep. 14: Lucie Campbell, Gospel's 1st African American Woman Composer
Clara Ward. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption
Wade In The Water Ep. 15: William Herbert Brewster, The Eloquent Poet Of Gospel
The Dixie Hummingbirds. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption
The Roberta Martin Singers. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Wade In The Water Ep. 17: The Music Of Roberta Martin And Kenneth Morris
The Clark Sisters perform in London in 1989. Ian Dickson/Redferns hide caption
Ray Charles, circa 1960. Express Newspapers/Getty Images hide caption
Sister Rosetta Tharpe at a press conference during a British tour in 1957. Chris Ware/Getty Images hide caption
Wade In The Water Ep. 20: Beyond Text: Instruments In The Service Of The Lord
Duke Ellington at the piano at Fairfield Halls in Croydon, during a British tour in 1963. John Pratt/Getty Images hide caption
Sun Ra (left) performs with his Arkestra at the Newport Jazz Festival, circa 1970. David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption