When complete, the collection will contain recordings by more than 2,300 performers spanning more than a hundred years including Ma Rainey, Lead Belly, Mahalia Jackson, Alberta Hunter, Tampa Red, William Bunk Johnson, Duke Ellington, Sophie Tucker, Joe Turner, T-Bone Walker, Sarah Vaughn, Cripple Clarence Lofton, Big Joe Williams, Memphis Jug Band, Roosevelt Sykes, Dizzy Gillespie, Chicago River Kings, Muddy Waters, Skip James, Blind Willie McTell, Lonnie Johnson, Alberta Jones, Johnny Shines, and Memphis Minnie, and more.

This first release offers access to over 16,000 track from Document Records--the worlds largest collection of rare and vintage blues, jazz, gospel, spiritual, boogie-woogie, and country recordings. From the earliest recordings of Afro-American music made in the late 19th century (including the Fisk Jubilee Singers, recorded at the turn of the century for Victor Records) to performances of the mid-1970s, in most instances the full recorded works of each artist are presented.

Eventually, African American Song will also deliver online access to the Alan Lomax Collection, a set of international field recordings by folklorist Alan Lomax from the 1930s through the 1960s, including the Jelly Roll Morton series (complete Library of Congress recordings), the Lead Belly series, and great artists and ensembles such as Son House, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Irma Thomas, Bessie Jones, Etta Baker, and the Georgia Sea Island Singers.