Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972) was once referred to as “The Queen of Gospel”. Her distinct contra-alto voice lifted gospel music from churches and placed it squarely into mainstream music, where it has remained ever since.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
Today’s musical legend was once referred to as “The Queen of Gospel”. Her distinct contra-alto voice lifted gospel music from churches and placed it squarely into mainstream music, where it has remained ever since.
Let’s talk about Mahalia Jackson
Mahalia was born on October 26, 1911 in a three-room house in the Black Pearl neighborhood in New Orleans. It was a tiny space, housing not just her mother and brother, but several aunts and cousins too. At one point, it was home to thirteen people and a dog.
When Mahalia was five, her mother passed away. Mahalia was then raised by her strict Aunt “Duke”. One of Aunt Duke’s many rules was: no secular records in the house!
This wasn’t too much of an imposition as Mahalia grew up singing in church and took to gospel music early on. Her tremendous talent was audible from the start and one family member remarked at the time, “Mahalia would one day sing before royalty.” A comment that turned out to be prophetic.
When Mahalia was a teenager, she moved to Chicago. It was there that word about her incredible voice began to spread. What started as a few local church gigs, grew into singing at churches across America. Her big break came in 1948 when she recorded “Move On Up a Little Higher” for Apollo records.
The record was a barrier-breaking success. No gospel song had ever achieved such impressive sales on the secular side of the music industry. Across the country, stores scrambled to keep Mahalia’s first great hit in stock.
The song propelled Mahalia into instant celebrity. She became a regular on both American radio and television -- mediums that were usually off-limits to African American musicians and entertainers. She even hosted a popular Sunday night radio show for CBS in 1954. And in 1956, her appearance on the Ed Sullivan show solidified gospel’s status in mainstream American music.
In 1958, she collaborated with the celebrated composer and band leader, Duke Ellington, on the album “Black, Brown and Beige”. The album is believed by music scholars to be one of Elligton’s most ambitious works and Mahalia’s contribution was substantial. The album includes one of music history’s most stirring performances, a rendition of “Come Sunday” which Ellington wrote specifically for Mahalia’s deep voice.
Mahalia’s success and appeal expanded internationally. She traveled around the world, performing in front of several heads of state and -- as her family had once predicted -- for royal families in both Europe and Asia. Back in the U.S., she performed at the White House for President Eisenhower and sang at John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Ball.
Mahalia was also an active member of the Civil Rights Movement. She traveled throughout the South with her friend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. singing gospel hymns before many of his speeches. Mahalia sang one such spiritual -- at Dr. King’s request -- right before his famed “I Have A Dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington. Dr. King once said of Mahalia, "A voice like this one comes not once in a century, but once in a millennium.”
In 1972, just a few months after her 60th birthday, Mahalia Jackson passed away. Celebrations of her life were held in both Chicago and New Orleans with tens of thousands of mourners in attendance. Among the estimated 6,000 to attend the Chicago funeral were music legends Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin. At the end of the service, Aretha Franklin paid tribute to Mahalia by singing one of her signature songs, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”.
In 1997, Mahalia Jackson was honored with an induction into the Rock and Roll Music Hall of Fame.
Her legacy carries on in the enduring prevalence and popularity of gospel in mainstream music.
As always, we’re taking a break for the weekend. Tune in on Monday for another barrier-breaking songstress.
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Talk to you tomorrow!