Mahalia Jackson

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Mahalia Jackson
Background information
Birth name	Mahala Jackson
Also known as	Halie Jackson
Born	October 26, 1911(1911-10-26)[1] New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Origin	United States
Died	January 27, 1972 (aged 60) Evergreen Park, Illinois, USA
Genre(s)	Gospel
Instrument(s)	Singer
Years active	1927 – 1971
Label(s)	Decca Coral Apollo Columbia
Associated acts	Present "Queen of gospel" Albertina Walker "Queen of soul" Aretha Franklin "The story teller" Dorothy Norwood and Della Reese

Mahalia Jackson (October 26, 1911^[1] – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely regarded as the best in the history of the genre, and is the first "Queen of Gospel Music". With her powerful, distinct voice, Mahalia Jackson became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world. She recorded about 30 albums (mostly for Columbia Records) during her career, and her 45 rpm records included a dozen "golds"—million-sellers.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 1920s – 1940s 2.2 1950s – 1970s 3 Death 4 Legacy and honors 5 Selective awards and honors 5.1 Grammy Award history 5.2 Grammy Hall of Fame 5.3 Honors 6 Well-known songs 7 In popular culture 8 Further reading 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Early life

Mahalia Jackson, born Mahala Jackson, nicknamed “Halie," grew up in the Black Pearl section of the Carrollton neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana. The three-room dwelling on Pitt Street housed thirteen people. This included Little Mahala (named after her aunt, whom the family called Aunt Duke), her brother Roosevelt, whom they called Peter, and her mother Charity. Several aunts and cousins lived in the house as well. Aunt Mahala was given the nickname "Duke" after proving herself the undisputed “boss” of the family. The extended family (the Clarks) consisted of her mother's siblings - Isabell, Mahala, Boston, Porterfield, Hannah, Alice, Rhoda, Bessie, their children, grandchildren and patriarch Rev. Paul Clark, a former slave. Mahalia's father, John A. Jackson, Sr. was a stevedore (dockworker) and a barber who later became a pastor. He fathered four other children besides Mahalia - Wilmon (older) and then Yvonne, Pearl and Johnny, Jr. (by his marriage shortly after Halie's birth). Her father's sister, Jeanette Jackson-Burnett, and husband, Josie, were vaudeville entertainers.

When Halie was born she suffered from a condition known as genu varum or what is commonly called "bowed legs." The doctors wanted to perform surgery by breaking Halie's legs, but one of the resident aunts opposed it. So Halie's mother would rub her legs down with greasy dishwater. The condition never stopped young Halie from performing her dance steps for the white woman her mother and Aunt Bell cleaned house for.

When Mahalia was five, her mother Charity died, leaving the family to decide who would raise Halie and her brother. Aunt Duke assumed this responsibility, and the children were forced to work from sunup to sundown. Aunt Duke would always inspect the house using the "white glove" method. If the house was not cleaned properly, Halie would be beaten with a "cat-o-nine-tails." If one of the other relatives was unable to do their chores, or clean at their job, Halie or one of her cousins was expected to perform that particular task. School was hardly an option. Halie loved to sing and church is where she loved to sing the most. Halie’s Aunt Bell told her that one-day she would sing in front of royalty. Halie would one day see that prediction of her aunts come true. Mahalia Jackson began her singing career at the local Mount Mariah Baptist Church. She was baptized in Mississippi by Mt. Moriah's pastor, the Rev. E. D. Lawrence, then went back to the church to "receive the right hand of fellowship."

[edit] Career

[edit] 1920s – 1940s

In 1927, at the age of sixteen, Jackson moved from the south to Chicago, Illinois, in the midst of the Great Migration. After her first Sunday church service, where she had given an impromptu performance of her favorite song, "Hand Me Down My Favorite Trumpet, Gabriel", she was invited to join the Greater Salem Baptist Church Choir. She began touring the city's churches and surrounding areas with the Johnson Gospel Singers, one of the earliest professional gospel groups.^[2] In 1929 Jackson met the composer Thomas A. Dorsey, known as the Father of Gospel Music. He gave her musical advice, and in the mid-1930s they began a fourteen-year association of touring, with Jackson singing Dorsey's songs in church programs and at conventions. His "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" became her signature song.^[3]

In 1936 Jackson married Isaac Hockenhull, a graduate of Fisk University and Tuskegee Institute, who was 10 years her senior. Mahalia refused to sing secular music, a pledge she would keep throughout her professional life. She was frequently offered money to do so and she divorced Isaac in 1941 because of his unrelenting pressure on her to sing secular music.

In 1931, Jackson recorded "You Better Run, Run, Run". Not much is known about this recording, and is impossible to find. Biographer Laurraine Goreau cites that it was also around this time she added 'i' to her name, changing it from Mahala to Mahalia, pronounced [məˈheɪljə] or [məˈheɪliə]. At age 26, Mahalia's second set of records were recorded on May 21, 1937 under the Decca Coral label,^[4] accompanied by Estelle Allen (piano), in order; "God's Gonna Separate The Wheat From The Tares," "My Lord," "Keep Me Everyday," and "God Shall Wipe All Tears Away." Financially, these were not successful, and Decca let her go.

In 1947 she signed up with the Apollo label, and in 1948 recorded the William Herbert Brewster song "Move On Up A Little Higher", a recording so popular that stores could not stock enough copies of it to meet demand, selling an astonishing eight million copies.^[5] (The song was later honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in (1998)).^[6] The success of this record rocketed Jackson to fame in the U.S. and soon after in Europe. During this time she toured as a concert artist, appearing more frequently in concert halls and less often in churches. As a consequences of this change in her venues, her arrangements expanded from piano and organ to orchestral accompaniments.

Other recordings received wide praise, including: "Let the Power of the Holy Ghost Fall on Me" (1949), which won the French Academy's Grand Prix du Disque; and "Silent Night, Holy Night", which became one of the best-selling singles in the history of Norway. When Jackson sang "Silent Night" on Denmark's national radio, more than twenty thousand requests for copies poured in.^[7] Other recordings on the Apollo label included "He Knows My Heart" (1946), "Amazing Grace" (1947), "Tired" (1947), "I Can Put My Trust in Jesus" (1949), "Walk with Me" (1949), "Let the Power of the Holy Ghost Fall on Me" (1949), "Go Tell It on the Mountain" (1950), "The Lord's Prayer" (1950), "How I Got Over" (1951), "His Eye is on the Sparrow" (1951), "I Believe" (1953), "Didn't It Rain" (1953), "Hands of God" (1953), and "Nobody Knows" (1954).^[8]

[edit] 1950s – 1970s

In 1950 she became the first gospel singer to perform at New York's Carnegie Hall. She started touring Europe in 1952 and was hailed by critics as the "world's greatest gospel singer". In Paris she was called the Angel of Peace, and throughout the continent she sang to capacity audiences. Jackson's career in the late 1950s and early 1960s continued to rise. She began a radio series on CBS and signed to Columbia Records in 1954. Down Beat music magazine stated on November 17, 1954: "It is generally agreed that the greatest spiritual singer now alive is Mahalia Jackson."^[9] Her debut album for Columbia was The World's Greatest Gospel Singer, recorded in 1955, followed by Bless This House in 1956.

With her mainstream success, Jackson was criticized by some gospel purists who felt she had watered down her sound for popular accessibility. Jackson had many notable accomplishments during this period, including her performance of many songs in the 1958 film, St. Louis Blues, and singing "Trouble of the World" in 1959's Imitation of Life; recording with Percy Faith. She was the main attraction in the first gospel music showcase at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957, which was organized by Joe Bostic and recorded by the VOICE OF AMERICA, and performed again in 1958 (Newport 1958). In 1961 she sang at U.S. President John F. Kennedy's inauguration. She recorded her first Christmas album Silent Night (Songs for Christmas) in 1962. By this time, she had also become a familiar face to British television viewers as a result of short films of her performing that were occasionally shown.

At the March on Washington in 1963, she sang in front of 250,000 people "I've Been 'Buked, and I've Been Scorned". Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his famous "I Have a Dream" speech there. She also sang "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" at his funeral after he was assassinated. Jackson sang to crowds at the 1964 New York World's Fair and was accompanied by "wonderboy preacher" Al Sharpton.^[10] She toured Europe again in 1961 (Recorded Live in Europe 1961), 1963-1964and 1967, 1968 and 1969. In 1970, she performed for the President of Liberia and also toured several Caribbean Islands that year as well. And graced the continent of Asia with her presence by singing for the Royal Family of Japan, and the Prime Minister and the people of India in the Spring of 1971.

Her last album was What The World Needs Now (1969). She ended her career in 1971 with a concert in Germany, and when she returned, made one of her final television appearances on The Flip Wilson Show. Jackson devoted much of her time and energy to helping others. She established the Mahalia Jackson Scholarship Foundation for young people who wanted to attend college. For her efforts in helping international understanding, she received the Silver Dove Award.

Chicago remained her home until the end. She opened a beauty parlor and a florist shop with her earnings, while also investing in real estate ($100,000 a year at her peak).^[11]

[edit] Death

Mahalia Jackson died in Chicago on January 27, 1972 of heart failure and diabetes complications. Two cities paid tribute, Chicago and New Orleans. Beginning in Chicago, outside the Greater Salem Baptist Church, 50,000 of the people who had known and loved Mahalia Jackson filed silently past her mahogany, glass-topped coffin in final tribute to the queen of gospel song.^[12] The next day, as many as could — 6,000 or more — filled every seat and stood along the walls of the city's public concert hall, the Arie Crown Theater of McCormick Place, for a two-hour funeral service. Mahalia's pastor, the Rev. Leon Jenkins, Mayor Richard J. Daley, Mrs. Coretta Scott King eulogized Mahalia during Chicago funeral as "a friend - proud, black and beautiful." Sammy Davis, Jr. and Ella Fitzgerald paid their respects. Dr. Joseph H. Jackson, president of the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc., of which Mahalia was Official Soloist, delivered the eulogy at Chicago funeral. Aretha Franklin, closed the Chicago rites with a moving rendition of "Precious Lord, Take My Hand".

Three days later, a thousand miles away, the scene repeated itself: again the long lines, again the silent tribute, again the thousands filling, this time, the great hall of the Rivergate Convention Center in downtown New Orleans. Mayor Moon Landrieu and Louisiana Governor John J. McKeithen joined gospel singer Bessie Griffin; Dick Gregory praised 'Mahalia's "moral force" as main reason for her success", and Lou Rawls sang "Just a Closer Walk With Thee". The funeral cortège of 24 limousines drove slowly past her childhood place of worship, Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, where her recordings played through loudspeakers. It made its way to Providence Memorial Park in Metairie, Louisiana where Jackson was entombed.^[13] Despite the inscription of Jackson's birth year on her headstone as 1912, she was actually born in 1911.

Jackson's estate was reported at "more than a million dollars". Some reporters estimated that record royalties, TV and movie residuals, and various investments made it worth more. The bulk of the estate was left to a number of relatives — many of whom cared for Mahalia during those lean years when she was just another young black girl in the South. Among principal heirs were relatives including her half-brother John Jackson and aunt Hannah Robinson. Neither ex-husband, Isaac Hockenhull (1936-1941) nor Sigmund Galloway (1964-1967), was noted in her will.^[14]

[edit] Legacy and honors

Mahalia Jackson is widely regarded as the greatest gospel singer in history and one of the great voices of the twentieth century. Her music was never played widely on any but traditional gospel and traditional Christian radio stations. Her music was heard for decades on Family Radio. Her good friend Martin Luther King Jr said, "A voice like hers comes along once in a millennium."

In addition to sharing her singing talent with the world, she mentored the extraordinarily gifted Aretha Franklin. Mahalia was also good friends with Dorothy Norwood and fellow Chicago-based gospel singer Albertina Walker (who is the present "Queen of Gospel Music", heir to Mahalia's legacy.) She also discovered a young Della Reese. Jackson was present at the opening night of Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music in December 1957.^[15]

The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences created the Gospel Music or Other Religious Recording category for Mahalia making her the first Gospel Music Artist to win the prestigeous Grammy Award. She performed for Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. She has also given performances for Queen Elizabeth II and Sir Winston Churchill of the U.K., the King and Queen of Denmark, the Presidents of France and Liberia, the Empress of Japan, Prime Minister Indira Ghandi of India, the prime ministers of several Caribbean islands and several other heads of state and political figures worldwide.

[edit] Selective awards and honors

[edit] Grammy Award history

Mahalia Jackson Grammy Award History[16][17]
Year	Category	Title	Genre	Label	Result
1976	Best Soul Gospel Performance	"How I Got Over"	Gospel	Columbia	Winner
1972	Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award[18]				Winner
1969	Best Soul Gospel Performance	"Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah"	Gospel	Columbia	Nominee
1963	Best Gospel Or Other Religious Recording, Musical	"Make A Joyful Noise Unto The Lord"	Gospel	Columbia	Nominee
1962	Best Gospel Or Other Religious Recording	"Great Songs Of Love And Faith"	Gospel	Columbia	Winner
1961	Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording	"Everytime I Feel the Spirit"	Gospel	Columbia	Winner

[edit] Grammy Hall of Fame

Mahalia Jackson was posthumously inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor artists whose recordings are at least twenty-five years old and have "qualitative or historical significance."^[19]

Grammy Hall of Fame Award
Year Recorded	Song	Genre	Label	Year Inducted
1948	"Move On Up A Little Higher"[20]	Gospel (Single)	Apollo	1998

[edit] Honors

Mahalia Jackson Honors
Year	Category	Honor	Result	Notes
1998	U.S. Postal Service	32¢ Postage Stamp[21]	Honored	Issued July 15, 1998
1997	Rock and Roll Hall of Fame		Inducted	"Early Influence"
1988	Hollywood Walk of Fame	Star		at 6840 Hollywood Blvd.
1978	Gospel Music Hall of Fame		Inducted

[edit] Well-known songs

• "What Child Is This"
• "How I Got Over"
• "Trouble of the World"
• "Silent Night"
• "Go Tell It on the Mountain"
• "Amazing Grace"
• "Move On Up A Little Higher"
• "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" (performed this song at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral)
• "Remember Me"
• "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho"
• "Holding My Saviour's Hands"
• "Roll Jordan, Roll"
• "The Upper Room"
• "We Shall Overcome"
• "I'm on My Way to Canaan"
• "You'll Never Walk Alone"
• "His Eye is on the Sparrow"

[edit] In popular culture

In the movie Jungle Fever, the character played by Ossie Davis tries to distract himself from his son Gator's (Samuel L. Jackson) crack cocaine addiction by listening to Mahalia Jackson albums by the hour.

In the 1959 remake of the film Imitation of Life Mahalia Jackson portrays the choir soloist, singing "Trouble of the World" at Annie's funeral. She has no speaking lines, but her singing performance highlights the climactic scene.

In the The Boondocks episode "Return of the King", a still-living Martin Luther King, Jr. laments over losing his iTunes password when he tried to download Mahalia Jackson's catalog.

She is referenced in the Denis Leary song "Elvis & I" when Leary sings "He says what the hell is Lisa Marie thinking with Michael Jackson crap, she should have married Janet or LaToya or Tito or even Mahalia Jackson".

In the 1994 "Wake Up Show Anthem" for the Los Angeles radio station 92.3FM The Beat, the rapper Ras Kass mentioned Jackson in his freestyle verse: "Come equip, your losing your paraphernalia / I'm a hip hop Apostle singing the Gospel like Mahalia Jackson".

She was an early influence on Irish soul singer Van Morrison, whose song "Summertime in England" (from 1980s Common One) refers to her by name: "The voice of Mahalia Jackson came through the ether."

African-American and Wu-Tang Clan member rapper Raekwon in Mobb Deep's song "Eye for an Eye" says, "But still/ write my will out to my seeds then build/ Mahalia sing a tale but the real we still kill."

In the Donna Summer song, "Dinner with Gershwin", she wants to "sing hymns with Mahalia."

Duke Ellington, with whom she occasionally recorded, paid tribute to her on his New Orleans Suite album with the song "Portrait of Mahalia Jackson."

In 2000 a musical about Mahalia Jackson was directed by Michael Wedekind.

[edit] Further reading

• Tony Heilbut, The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times, Limelight Editions, 1997, ISBN 0-87910-034-6.
• Horace Clarence Boyer, How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel, Elliott and Clark, 1995, ISBN 0-252-06877-7.
• Laurraine Goreau, Just Mahalia, Baby, Waco, TX: World Books, 1975.
• Jesse Jackson, Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord! : The Life of Mahalia Jackson, Queen of Gospel Singers, T.Y. Crowell, 1974.
• Mahalia Jackson, Movin On Up Hawthorn Books, 1966.
• Hettie Jones, Big Star Fallin' Mama : Five Women in Black Music, Viking Press, 1974.
• Jules Schwerin, Got to Tell It : Mahalia Jackson, Queen of Gospel, Oxford Univ. Press, 1992, ISBN 0195071441.
• Bob Darden, People Get Ready : A New History of Black Gospel Music, New York: Continuum, 2004. ISBN 0826414362
• Jean Gay Cornell, Mahalia Jackson: Queen of Gospel Song, Champaign, Ill., Garrard Pub. Co., 1974. ISBN 0811645819 oh god

[edit] See also

• Honorific titles in popular music

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Obituary, January 28, 1972 Mahalia Jackson, Gospel Singer, And a Civil Rights Symbol, Dies in The New York Times On The Web
• Mahalia Jackson at Find A Grave
• Mahalia Jackson at the Internet Movie Database
• Mahalia Jackson at the Notable Names Database
• bio in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• The World´s Greatest Gospel Singer Fan site with detailed discography
• JEAN SHY sings MAHALIA JACKSON