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Quick Facts
- NAME: Mahalia Jackson
- OCCUPATION: Civil Rights Activist, Singer, Television Personality
- BIRTH DATE: October 26, 1911
- DEATH DATE: January 27, 1972
- PLACE OF BIRTH: New Orleans, Louisiana
- PLACE OF DEATH: Evergreen Park, Illinois
- Originally: Mahalia Jackson
Best Known For
20th century recording artist Mahalia Jackson, known as the Queen of Gospel, is revered as one of the greatest musical figures in U.S. history.
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Play NowMahalia Jackson. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 02:19, May 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/mahalia-jackson-9351242.
Mahalia Jackson. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/mahalia-jackson-9351242 [Accessed 19 May 2013].
"Mahalia Jackson." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 19 2013, 02:19 http://www.biography.com/people/mahalia-jackson-9351242.
"Mahalia Jackson," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/mahalia-jackson-9351242 [accessed May 19, 2013].
"Mahalia Jackson," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/mahalia-jackson-9351242 (accessed May 19, 2013).
Mahalia Jackson [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/mahalia-jackson-9351242.
Mahalia Jackson, http://www.biography.com/people/mahalia-jackson-9351242 (last visited May 19, 2013).
Mahalia Jackson. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/mahalia-jackson-9351242. Accessed May 19, 2013.
Synopsis
Born on October 26, 1911, in New Orleans, Louisiana,
Quotes
"Gospel music is nothing but singing of good tidings -- spreading the good news. It will last as long as any music because it is sung straight from the human heart."
Mahalia Jackson started singing as a child at Mount Moriah Baptist Church and went on to become one of the most revered gospel figures in the U.S. Her recording of “Move On Up a Little Higher” was a major hit and she subsequently became an international figure for music lovers from a variety of backgrounds. She worked with artists like Duke Ellington and Thomas A. Dorsey and also sang at the 1963 March on Washington at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She died on January 27, 1972.
Early Life
Born on October 26, 1911, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Charity and Johnny Jackson, Mahalia Jackson became one of gospel music’s all-time greats, known for her rich, powerful voice that cultivated a global following. The young Mahalia grew up in a Pitt Street shack and started singing at 4 years old in the Mount Moriah Baptist Church.
Brought up in a devout Christian family, Jackson still found herself influenced by the secular sounds of blues artists like Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey. Jackson’s sanctified style of performance would also rely upon freer movement and rhythm when contrasted to the styles seen in more conservative congregations.
Major Gospel Hit
After moving to Chicago as a teen with the aim of studying nursing, Mahalia Jackson joined the Greater Salem Baptist Church and soon became a member of the Johnson Gospel Singers. She performed with the group for a number of years. Jackson then started working with Thomas A. Dorsey, a gospel composer; the two performed around the U.S., further cultivating an audience for Jackson. She also took on a number of jobs -- working as a laundress, beautician and flower shop owner for example -- before her musical career went into the stratosphere. She wed Isaac Hockenhull in 1936, with the two later divorcing.
While she made some recordings in the 1930s, Mahalia Jackson tasted major success with "Move On Up a Little Higher" in 1947, which sold millions of copies and became the highest selling gospel single in history. She became more in demand, making radio and television appearances and going on tour, eventually performing in Carnegie Hall on October 4, 1950 to a racially integrated audience. Jackson also had a successful 1952 tour abroad in Europe, and she was especially popular in France and Norway. She had her own gospel program on the CBS television network in 1954 and scored a pop hit with "Rusty Old Halo."
An International Star
In 1956, Jackson made her debut on The Ed Sullivan Show and in 1958 appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island, performing with Duke Ellington and his band. Ellington and Jackson worked together on an album released the same year under Columbia Records titled Black, Brown and Beige. Future Columbia recordings from Jackson included The Power and the Glory (1960), Silent Night: Songs for Christmas (1962) and Mahalia (1965).
In 1959, Jackson appeared in the film Imitation of Life. By the end of the decade, much of Jackson’s work featured crossover production styles; she was an international figure, with a performance itinerary that included singing at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration.
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