<Tr> <Th> Genre </Th> <Td> African - American spiritual </Td> </Tr> <P> "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" (or alternatively "Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho" or "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho") is a well - known African - American spiritual . </P> <P> The song is believed to have been composed by slaves in the first half of the 19th century . Some references suggest that it was copyrighted by Jay Roberts in 1865, . In 1882, the song was published in Jubilee Songs by M.G. Slayton and in A Collection of Revival Hymns and Plantation Melodies by Marshall W. Taylor . The first recorded version was by Harrod's Jubilee Singers, on Paramount Records No. 12116 in 1922 (though some sources suggest 1924). The Online 78 Discography entry for this record credits Jay Roberts as the author . Later recordings include those by Paul Robeson (1925), Mahalia Jackson (1958), Clara Ward, and Hugh Laurie (2011) among many others . </P> <P> In 1930, Marshall Bartholomew created his arrangement of the song . </P>

Who sang joshua fought the battle of jericho
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