Amazing Grace

The Library of Congress announces the launch of a new website devoted to the history of the hymn *Amazing Grace,* and the Library's Chasanoff/Elozua Amazing Grace Collection, which is comprised of 3,049 published recordings of the hymn by different individual musicians or musical ensembles. This a joint venture of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, the Music Division, and the American Folklife Center.

Since its creation in 1779 in England, *Amazing Grace* has grown in popularity to become one of the best-known musical works in the world. This Web site explores its history through items from the collections of the Library of Congress, from the earliest printing of the song to various performances of it on sound recordings.

The audio collection and database, compiled by Allan Chasanoff and Ramon Elozua, and given to the Library in 2004, is in the Guinness Book of World's Records as the largest collection of recordings of a single musical work. The website includes a number of selections from the collection, from gospel renditions by Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the Mighty Clouds of Joy, an Elvis Presley recording, country versions by Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson to rock versions by the Byrds and the Lemonheads. A database for the entire collection can be searched on the site, and the complete audio collection is available for listening in the Library of Congress* Recorded Sound Reference Center.

To visit the website, click HERE