Queen Of Gospel

Mahalia Jackson, the greatest gospel singer of all time, was born in poverty on Water Street in 1912 overlooking the River in New Orleans. Mahalia sang pure soul, undiminished music whose great voice sprang forth, as if from some unknown, uncharted source and soared. By the time she was five, Mahalia was singing every Sunday in her father's church choir. Mahalia 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.

Mahalia Jackson reigned as a pioneer interpreter of gospel music whose fervent contralto was one of the great voices of this century. Both gospel and rhythm & blues had their roots in the Sanctified church, but whereas blues and R&B departed on secular paths that led to rock and roll, gospel stayed the spiritual course. Nonetheless, the influence of gospel on R&B and rock and roll, especially through such force of nature voices as Jackson's, is inescapable. Little Richard has cited Jackson as an inspiration, calling her "the true queen of spiritual singers." In Jackson's own words, "Rock and roll was stolen out of the Sanctified church!" Certainly, in the unleashed frenzy of the "spirit feel" style of gospel epitomized by such singers as Mahalia Jackson.

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. After performing with the Prince Johnson singers, she first recorded as a soloist in the mid-Thirties. Mahalia Jackson sang only songs she believed in, positive anthems that uplifted the spirit. The first gospel song she wrote and recorded was her personal statement: "I'm Going to Move on Up a Little Higher" on the Apollo label which sold over 8 million copies.

She moved up to Chicago when she was sixteen. Weekdays, Mahalia labored as a domestic. Weekends, she was the featured singer at the South Side Greater Baptist Church. Her following within the black community was immense and it grew as she traveled throughout the Midwest, singing at other Baptist churches. 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.

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