Go Tell It on the Mountain ( song ) - wikipedia Go Tell It on the Mountain ( song ) `` The template Infobox musical composition is being considered for merging. '' Go Tell It on the Mountain by unknown Genre Christmas, spiritual Language English Published 1909 `` Go Tell It on the Mountain '' is an African - American spiritual song, compiled by John Wesley Work, Jr., dating back to at least 1865, that has been sung and recorded by many gospel and secular performers. It is considered a Christmas carol because its original lyrics celebrate the Nativity of Jesus : `` Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere ; go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born. '' Recording artists This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2016 ) In 1963, the musical team Peter, Paul and Mary, along with their musical director Milt Okun, adapted and rewrote `` Go Tell It on the Mountain '' as `` Tell It on the Mountain '', their lyrics referring specifically to : Exodus and using the phrase `` Let my people go, '' but referring implicitly to the Civil Rights struggle of the early 1960s. This version became a moderately successful single for them ( US # 33 pop, 1964 ). According to Religious Studies professor and Civil Rights historian Charles Marsh, it was African American Civil Rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer who combined this song with the spiritual `` Go Down Moses, '' taking the last line of the chorus, `` Let my people go '' and substituting it in the chorus of `` Go Tell It on the Mountain. '' Marsh does not document this claim, but notes that Hamer was highly active in civil rights work beginning in the 1950s, and that the use of the Exodus story and the singing of spirituals played a central role in her activities. Little Big Town 's 2006 non-album single version reached No. 35 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Other artists who have recorded the song ( chiefly on either Christmas - themed music albums or collections of spirituals or folk songs ) include : 195 ? : Mahalia Jackson on the album Silent Night, Holy Night 1960 : Bobby Darin on the album The 25th Day of December 1964 : Gordon MacRae on the album Firestone Presents Your Christmas Favorites, Volume 3 1964 : Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra on the album 12 Songs of Christmas 1964 : Simon & Garfunkel on the album Wednesday Morning, 3 AM 1965 : Ray Conniff Singers on the album Here We Come A-Caroling 1965 : Esther & Abi Ofarim on the album `` That 's Our Song '', and a version in French `` Viens sur la Montagne '' 1971 : Bob Marley and the Wailers featuring Peter Tosh on the album The Best of The Wailers 1981 : Anne Murray on the album Christmas Wishes 1990 : Dolly Parton on the album Home for Christmas 1993 : Bruce Cockburn on the album Christmas 1996 : Vanessa L. Williams on the album Star Bright 1998 : Cece Winans on the album His Gift 1999 : Garth Brooks on the album Garth Brooks and the Magic of Christmas 1999 : Jewel on the album Joy : A Holiday Collection 2001 : Candi Staton on the album Christmas in My Heart 2001 : Fred Hammond on the album Christmas... Just Remember 2001 : Sara Evans on the album Country Christmas 2001 2002 : Jim Nabors on the album Jim Nabors Christmas 2003 : Oh Susanna on the album Maybe This Christmas Too ? on the album ( various artists ) 2003 : The Blind Boys of Alabama on the album Go Tell It on the Mountain 2004 : James Taylor on the album A Christmas Album 2007 : Toby Keith on the album A Classic Christmas 2008 : Needtobreathe on the album An Alternative Christmas ( various artists ) 2008 : Sheryl Crow on the album Home for Christmas 2009 : Big Daddy Weave on the album Christ Is Come 2012 : Pentatonix on the album PTXmas 2013 : David Crowder Band on the album Wow Christmas : 30 Top Christian Artists and Holiday Songs 2015 : Hunter Hayes on the album Country Faith Christmas ( various artists ) 2016 : Jennifer Nettles on the album To Celebrate Christmas 2016 : Sarah McLachlan on the album Wonderland 2016 : Blues Traveler on Go Tell It On The Mountain ( single ) 2017 : Hanson ( band ) - mashup of ' Joy To The World ' and ' Go Tell It On The Mountain ' ( ' Joy To The Mountain ' ) on the album Finally It 's Christmas References Jump up ^ Marsh, Charles ( 1997 ). God 's Long Summer. Princeton. p. 47. ISBN 9780691130675. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2008 ). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 241. ISBN 0 - 89820 - 177 - 2. Jump up ^ `` Firestone Your Favorite Christmas Music - Volume Three - 1964 ''. DLF Music Transfer. 2006. 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Question: who wrote go tell it on the mountain song
Answer: John Wesley Work, Jr.