Today I heard "Happy on the Way" online on Venerable Radio. It sure is a different-sounding shape note song.

It's available on Religion Is A Fortune: Sacred Harp Singing (County Records 3542).

Old Weird America has the track available for listening here (scroll down to it) and says, "Another shape-note singing black group was recorded in Atlanta in 1931. Calling themselves "The Fa Sol La Singers", their four recorded sides are available on another Document Cd intituled "Black Vocal Groups vol.4″" There's another track there, "Jesus Walk With Me". (Old Weird America is a blog exploring Harry Smith's "Anthology of American Folk Music".)

He also says "Some black communities had also shape-note singing on meetings and "conventions" and used the same books as the whites, with the addition, in New Jersey, South Alabama and Florida communities, of "The Colored Sacred Harp", a book compiled by Judge Jackson in 1934. Their singing style and repertoire resembles those of the whites communities but has a distinctive African-American feeling."

Here's a site for "The Colored Sacred Harp". Unfortunately, there's no table of contents there.

Here's a prior Mudcat discussion (also from 2001) on African American versus white shape note singing communities and traditions.

~ Becky in Tucson