Mahalia Jackson

Mahalia Jackson was born in poverty on Water Street in New Orleans and became one of the greatest gospel singers of all time, entertaining personal greetings from Queen Elizabeth I and Winston Churchhill, and giving a command performance for the king and queen of Denmark.

She began singing at the age of four in the children's choir at Plymouth Rock Baptist church and the church remained her guiding focus throughout her life. Although influenced by the many styles of music and performers of New Orleans in the 1920s, the Sanctified church was the most significant and lasting.

The music she brought the world was a fusion of the blues, ragtime, jazz, and gospel. Thomas A. Dorsey, later known as the "Father of Gospel Music" became her mentor and publisher and wrote over 400 gospel songs that Jackson helped popularize. Dorsey and Jackson, along with other composers and performers of this time period, revitalized African-American religious music.

Ms. Jackson's first recording was "God Shall Wipe Away All Tears" in 1934 but the one that launched her career was "Move On Up a Little Higher" on the Apollo label which sold over 8 million copies. Mahalia Jackson became famous solely through that Black community; when she broke the one million dollar mark in sales the African-American press described her as "the only Negro whom Negroes have made famous".

She recorded around thirty albums and a dozen gold records, signifying million dollar sellers, from her 45 rpm recordings. In addition to her singing career, Mahalia had her own CBS radio program and television show and managed several businesses and had significant real estate holdings. At the 1964 march on Washington, DC, for civil rights, Ms. Jackson preceded Dr. Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech with the traditional spiritual, "I Been 'Buked and I Been Scorned".

Mahalia Jackson died of heart failure in 1972. She is buried in Providence Memorial Park, Metairie, LA.