This version of Amazing Grace, called “New Britain”, was based on a tune of the version’s name and is what is most commonly used with Amazing Grace today. This was sung at the Sacred Harp Singing Convention in Birmingham, Alabama in 1942. The person leading the song was not the girl in the image used in my video as I used it as filler but rather a man known as Uncle Bill Hardeman whom I could get no information on besides the fact his voice and name are permanently in the Library of Congress. The persons recording this were the famous Alan Lomax with assistance from George Pullen Jackson. Alan was a dedicated folklorist, orator, and musician while George was a singer and educator. Alan in particular is remembered today for his contribution to our knowledge of old tunes and folk songs, especially in the American south where he and his father undertook a great effort to get field recordings of local songs and music. The collection was partly funded by the Library of Congress but in spite of the funding being pulled, Alan continued the work and assembled a massive collection of recordings that have a permanent house in the LOC to this day.
I wanted to upload this because I never really saw this version of the recording on YT and felt it deserved to be here so more people could hear and gain knowledge of this recording and the efforts of many people to ensure we could hear it today.