"Watch That Star" is a traditional "slave shout" performed by The McIntosh County Shouters of coastal Georgia. The oldest surviving African American performance tradition in the United States, slave shouts combine a call-and-response style of singing with dance-like movements, and were once a joyous way of celebrating the Christmas and New Year holidays in many black churches. Today, this unique expression is practiced only by the McIntosh County Shouters.

"The Cherry Tree Carol" is an ancient English ballad which was transplanted to the Appalachian Mountains with some of the earliest white settlers, who sang and reworked it until it became a unique product of their mountain culture. It is performed here by Sheila Kay Adams, a seventh generation Appalachian ballad singer from Mars Hill, North Carolina. The song describes nature's cooperation in the Divine plan for Jesus' birth, and is intercut with Southern winter landscapes and home-made, nature-inspired holiday decorations.

In downtown Atlanta, a young a cappella trio called Crossover subdues the traffic noise and urban bustle with their own arrangement of "Silent Night."

Balfa Toujours brings a Cajun sound to the holidays with an original composition, "Le Plus Grand Cadeau" (The Greatest Gift), performed with traditional instrumentation. This band, from Lafayette, Louisiana, includes the daughters of the seminal Cajun musician, Dewey Balfa.

The Spiritual, "Sweet Little Jesus Boy," is given a melting rendition by Carla Isaac. This young native of South Carolina has been singing as a soloist with the renowned Stillman College Choir for nearly four years, and seems destined for a professional musical career.

Jerry and Tammy Sullivan and friends close the program with their own rousing arrangements of two traditional songs. "Children Go Where I Send Thee" is a cumulative song (like the Twelve Days of Christmas) which they perform a cappella. "Away in a Manger" features Tammy's powerful vocals along with string-band instrumentation. The Sullivans come from a long tradition of string-band musicians in rural Washington County Alabama, and now regularly bring their gospel-country music to the Grand Old Opry stage.

This program was produced by Carolyn Hales (chales@cpt.ua.edu) for The Alabama Experience series. Program length: 30 minutes.

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