Download or read book Sinful Tunes and Spirituals written by Dena J. Epstein and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Awarded both the Chicago Folklore Prize and the Simkins Prize of the Southern Historical Association From the plaintive tunes of woe sung by exiled kings and queens of Africa to the spirited worksongs and "shouts" of freedmen, in Sinful Tunes and Spirituals Dena J. Epstein traces the course of early black folk music in all its guises. This classic work is being reissued with a new author's preface on the silver anniversary of its original publication.