Saturday 26 October 2019

Mahalia Jackson born 26 October 1911


Mahalia Jackson (October 26, 1911** – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer. Possessing a contralto voice, she was referred to as "The Queen of Gospel." She became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world and was heralded internationally as a singer and civil rights activist. She was
described by entertainer Harry Belafonte as "the single most powerful black woman in the United States". She recorded about 30 albums (mostly for Columbia Records) during her career, and her 45 rpm records included a dozen "golds"—million-sellers.

To speak of Mahalia Jackson's voice is to speak of magic and mystery and majesty. Hers is not a voice. It is a force of nature. It moves with the power of a tornado and soothes with the tenderness of a spring rain. In describing the legendary gospel singer, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said: "A voice like hers comes along once in a millennium."

Mahalia was born in new Orleans , Louisiana and was the third child to John A. Jackson, a barber and preacher, and Charity Clark, who died at the age of 25 when Mahalia was four years old. In 1916, her father sent her to live with her aunt Mahalia "Duke" Paul. Aunt Duke didn't allow secular music in her house, but Mahalia's cousin would sneak in records. Even at a very young age, Mahalia had a booming voice and she would sing hymns and old-time gospel tunes around the house. She attended the McDonough School No. 24 in New Orleans through the eighth grade.

Mahalia is viewed by many as the pinnacle of gospel music. Her singing began at the age of four in her church, the Plymouth Rock Baptist Church in New Orleans. Her early style blended the freedom and power of gospel with the stricter style of the Baptist Church. As a teenager, through her cousin's aid, she was influenced by such famous singers as Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, Enrico Caruso and Ma Rainey, and her own style began to emerge into a more soulful expression.

In 1927, at the age of 16, she moved to Chicago and found work as a domestic. But soon after, she found plenty of work as a soloist at churches and funerals after joining the Greater Salem Baptist Church choir. 
Her unique contralto voice caught the attention of many small churches from coast to coast. Larger, more formal churches frowned upon her energetic renditions of songs.

After performing with the Prince Johnson Singers, she began recording for Decca Records in 1937. When the records did not sell as well as expected, she became a beautician. However, after five years of touring with composer Thomas A. Dorsey at gospel tents and churches, Mahalia's popularity and success garnered her another record contract, this time with Apollo Records, from 1946 to 1954. She then switched to Columbia Records, from 1954 to 1967, where she attained broad recognition as a spiritual singer.


                               

Throughout the 1950s, Mahalia's voice was heard on radio, television and concert halls around the world. Her shows were packed in Europe, and her audience very enthusiastic at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, at a special all-gospel program she
Eddie Fisher with Mahalia
requested. In 1954, she began hosting her own Sunday night radio show for CBS. She performed on the Ed Sullivan show in 1956 where she catapulted gospel music into America's mainstream. She sang for President Dwight Eisenhower and at John F. Kennedy's inaugural ball in 1960.

From the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott until her death, Mahalia was very prominent in the Civil Rights Movement. Very close with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she often performed at his rallies--even singing an old slave spiritual before his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington in 1963. She also sang at his funeral five years later. 
She sang to crowds at the 1964 New York World's Fair and was accompanied by "wonderboy preacher" Al Sharpton She toured Europe again in 1961 (Recorded Live in Europe 1961), 1963–64, 1967, 1968 and 1969. In 1970, she performed for Liberian President William Tubman. At much the same time Jackson went through a messy and very public divorce, prompting a series of heart attacks and the rapid loss of over a hundred pounds.

Jackson's last album was What The World Needs Now (1969). The next year, in 1970, she and Louis Armstrong performed "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" and "When the Saints Go Marching In" together. She ended her career in 1971 with a concert in Germany, and when she returned to the U.S., made one of her final television appearances on The Flip Wilson Show.

She 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).


She died on January 27, 1972, at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, Illinois, of heart failure and diabetes complications.

 (Edited from info from Wikipedia &  Women In History).**(some sources  give October 16, and 1912 as birth date).


10 comments:

boppinbob said...

For “Mahalia Jackson - Just Over The Hill, There's A City Called Heaven” go here;

https://pixeldrain.com/u/wq-Nfks9

Disc 1

1 AMAZING GRACE
2 I HAVE A FRIEND
3 DO YOU KNOW HIM?
4 PRAYER CHANGES THINGS
5 A CHILD OF THE KING
6 GET AWAY JORDAN
7 WHAT COULD I DO?
8 GOD’S GONNA SEPARATE THE WHEAT FROM THE TARES
9 IT PAYS TO SERVE JESUS
10 HE’S THE ONE
11 I GAVE UP EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW HIM
12 BLESS THIS HOUSE
13 DIG A LITTLE DEEPER
14 I BOW ON MY KNEES
15 I CAN PUT MY TRUST IN JESUS
16 I WALKED INTO THE GARDEN
17 IN THE UPPER ROOMS Pts 1 & 2
18 JUST OVER THE HILL Pt 1
19 JUST OVER THE HILL Pt 2
20 CITY CALLED HEAVEN
21 THERE’S NOT A FRIEND LIKE JESUS
22 WALK WITH ME
23 I’M GETTING NEARER MY HOME
24 THE LAST MILE OF THE WAY
25 GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN

Disc 2

1 JESUS IS WITH ME
2 IT IS NO SECRET WHAT GOD CAN DO
3 BEAUTIFUL TOMORROW
4 HOW I GOT OVER
5 COME TO JESUS
6 CONSIDER ME
7 NO MATTER HOW YOU PRAY
8 SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT
9 HANDS OF GOD
10 WHAT THEN?
11 MOVE ON UP A LITTLE HIGHER Pt 1
12 MOVE ON UP A LITTLE HIGHER Pt 2
13 DIDN’T IT RAIN
14 I’M ON MY WAY TO CANAAN
15 JESUS MET THE WOMAN AT THE WELL
16 IT’S REAL
17 SAID HE WOULD
18 I’M GOING TO LIVE THE LIFE I SING ABOUT IN MY SONG
19 WHEN I WAKE UP IN GLORY
20 NOBODY KNOWS THE TROUBLE I’VE SEEN
21 JESUS
22 O LORD IS IT I?
23 WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN

A big thank you to acmmijas for original link

By popular demand Jasmine Records issued this superlative compilation which features 48 classic tracks including In The Upper Rooms pts 1 & 2, Bless This House and the magnificent Silent Night. Listen to the voice that was foremost in the emergence of the phenomenon that is Gospel Music, includes the record breaking Move On Up A Little Higher (8,000,000 copies sold) (Jasmine notes)

===========================================================

For “Mahalia Jackson - The Apollo Sessions 1946-1951” go here:


https://www.mediafire.com/file/13h99i2hj5ahhst/MhlJcksn-TAS94.zip/file


1 In The Upper Room
2 Hands Of God
3 Get Away Jordan
4 Said He Would
5 Didn't It Rain
6 Jesus Is With Me
7 Up In Jerusalem
8 God Spoke To Me
9 His Eye Is On The Sparrow
10 Amazing Grace
11 It Pays To Serve The Lord
12 I Will Move On Up A Little Higher
13 I Gave Up Everything To Follow Him
14 I Wonder If I Will Ever Rest
15 It's Real
16 How I Got Over
17 I Bowed On My Knees And Cried Holy
18 Come To Jesus
19 Just As I Am
20 The Lord's Prayer

Lead Vocals – Mahalia Jackson
Backing Vocals – Southern Harmonaires
Organ – Herbert J. Francis, Louise Overall
Piano – Mildred Falls

A big thank you to The Blues That Jazz for active link

boppinbob said...

For “Mahalia Jackson – Bless This House” go here:

https://mega.nz/#!8tQ3GTqI!3_0aa1VSmPdZd11CsyGtuP69ZGt2mPRjmki563XnzZ0


A1 Let The Church Roll On
A2 God Knows The Reason Why
A3 Standing Here Wondering Which Way To Go
A4 By His Word
A5 Trouble With The World
A6 Bless This House
B1 It Don't Cost Very Much
B2 Summertime And Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
B3 Just A Little While To Stay Here
B4 Precious Lord
B5 Down By The Riverside
B6 The Lord's Prayer


Bless This House was released in 1956 and features Mahalia Jackson and the Falls-Jones Ensemble. This LP is a favourite of the gospel purists who feel alienated by Jackson's collaborations with pop artists like Percy Faith and Harpo Marx. The songs on Bless This House feature great supporting performances by pianist Mildred Falls and organist Ralph Jones. Highlights include a jazzy, swinging "Let the Church Roll On," a dark, bluesy "Trouble With the Word," and energetic versions of "Down By the Riverside" and "It Don't Cost Very Much." Bless This House includes some of Jackson's most serious offerings and reflects the influence of blues singers Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey on her vocal style. A great introduction to Jackson's joyous, religious music and a good beginning for new listeners. - J.T. Griffith / AMG

A big thank you to poppachubby @ deepsouthernsoul blog for active link.

T.G. said...

For “Mahalia Jackson – Bless This House” the link icludes only Part 1, but do you have Part 2 Too? but, let me say, thanks for all, all the time and today!

boppinbob said...

Hello T.G.Yes i do have part 2. Sorry for omitting the link but here it is.....

https://mega.co.nz/#!U44AlR6S!pznL9-2okQ8u6XZpd2gN_uD_7Uyyt1EYODz7NQ3KNIo

T.G. said...

Thanks a lot, I got it now!

M. Fox said...

It is so exciting to have found a Mahalia Jackson offering. There is no such thing as too much Mahalia! Unfortunately, Trend Micro blocks access to PixelDrain. Would you possibly have another link? Thank you so much for featuring this magnificent singer. Lil'ol'lady

boppinbob said...

Hello MF, There are ways and means of stopping your anti virus for a brief period, but that's another story. It took me ages to get the download from the original source due to ad blockers popping up every second. I doubt if you would gain access to this if it's stopping PixelDrain. As I only have a limited window for the internet I may be able to post on Mediafire. Please let me know if that is OK. Regards. Bob

M. Fox said...

Thank you, Bobbinbob for the speedy reply and attention to my question. Mediafire is more than great.....At your discretion and if time permits you. Thanks also for your wonderful site. Fantastic posts! With gratitude......Lil'ol'lady.

boppinbob said...

Hello MF here she is.....

https://www.mediafire.com/file/apy8izf00fkys70/Mahalia_Jackson.rar/file

Regards, Bob

M. Fox said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you forever!