Mahalia Jackson - Queen of Gospel

Ahh, I still recall those weekends at my grandmother's house when she'd blast her record player and sing along to Mahalia Jackson. You know those heart-stealing, gut-wrenching, good gospel songs like "How I Got Over", "Trouble Of The World", "Summertime", and "Down By The Riverside".

Born on October 26, 1911, as Mahala Jackson, she added the "i' to her first name when she began singing professionally, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Charity Clark and Johnny Jackson, she grew up in a shack and began singing at 4 years old in the Mount Moriah Baptist Church. As a teen, she moved to Chicago, joined the Greater Salem Baptist Church, and started working with Thomas A. Dorsey, a gospel composer. The two performed around the U.S. and cultivated an audience. She soon became a member of the Johnson Gospel Singer group and also took on several jobs — working as a laundress, beautician, and flower shop owner to name a few.

While she made some recordings in the 1930s, in 1947 she tasted major success with "Move On Up a Little Higher" a civil rights song that sold millions of copies and became the highest-selling gospel single in history. Now more in demand, making radio and TV appearances, and going on tour, Mahalia went on to perform in Carnegie Hall to a racially integrated audience and at John F. Kennedy's inauguration. She had a successful 1952 tour abroad in Europe and 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 the country song"Rusty Old Halo".