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The influence of African music is widespread. Elements can be heard in blues, gospel, jazz and Latin American music due to the historic movement of African slaves to the Americas.

Millions of people were taken from Africa to America and the West Indies, especially during the period around 1600 – 1850. Europeans transported African slaves on ships across the Atlantic where they would be sold at daily auctions.

Families were torn apart, children were separated from their parents and the slaves were taken to areas where there was a need for manual labour.

Living conditions were terrible, but this did not prevent people of African descent from preserving their culture. Although they were denied the right to practice their religious rituals, the supervisors of the slaves often allowed them to sing as they worked.

Through these worksongs, the people could communicate with each other as well as worship God. These worksongs laid the foundations of what we know today as Afro-American music.

In the audio clip below, the bass singer and civil rights activist Paul Robeson sings "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", one of the best known examples of African American music from this time.