Gospel Queen Mahalia Jackson

Born in New Orleans, Mahalia Jackson was influenced not only by local Baptist church and Holiness church music but also by blues singers such as Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey. She moved to Chicago, where she became a member of several different professional gospel singing groups.

Mahalia’s reputation as a soloist began with the choir of the National Baptist Convention which brought her a wide following. In 1947 she recorded “Move on Up a Little Higher,” which catapulted her to fame as a gospel singer, making her the “Queen of Gospel Singers” by 1950.

She had her own radio program in Chicago and appeared on national TV shows. People of all races, even non-church members, found her music moving, comforting, and encouraging. Her deep, powerful contralto inspired many singers, including Aretha Franklin.

Mahalia received many offers to sing secular music, but she turned them down and continued with gospel music. In 1963, she sang at the civil rights March on Washington, D.C. When it came time for Martin Luther King to begin the final speech of the day, he began his carefully edited speech, only to find it was not going well. At one point, he heard Mahalia, who was standing nearby, call out to him, “Tell ‘em about the dream, Martin.” He put down the text of the prepared speech and launched out on an extemporaneous speech that became internationally famous: “I Have a Dream”. She later sang at King’s funeral when he was assassinated in 1968.

On “The Essential Mahalia Jackson” album, you will hear some of her best-known songs. She sings a soft version of “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”. You don’t have to be religious to feel the power of these songs.

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