Gospel Singer

Gospel Singer

Mahalia

Jackson

Born: Oct

. 26, 1911

New Orleans

Orleans Parish

Louisiana,

USA

Death

: Jan. 27, 1972

Evergreen Park

Cook County

Illinois, USA

Third of six children Born in poverty in a three-room "shot-gun" shackShotgun houses consist of three to five rooms in a row with no hallways and have a narrow, rectangular structure.Father: John A. Jackson, was a stevedore, barber and ministerMother Charity Clark was a maid and laundress; she died when Mahalia was five

Shotgun shack

Early Life

Started

singing at 4 years old in the Mount

Moriah

Baptist Church.

Brought up in a devout Christian

family

I

nfluenced

by the secular sounds of blues artists like Bessie

Smith and

 Ma

Rainey

Teen and older

Moved to Chicago as a teen to study nursing

J

oined

the Greater Salem Baptist Church and

became

a member of the Johnson Gospel

Singers

T

hen

started working with Thomas A. Dorsey, a gospel composer; the two performed around the

U.S.

Had a number

of jobs -- working as a laundress, beautician and flower shop

owner

W

ed

Isaac

Hockenhull

in 1936, with the two later divorcing.

Making it Big

Made some

recordings in the

1930s

M

ajor

success with "Move On Up a Little Higher" in

1947

sold

millions of copies and became the highest selling gospel single in history. She

Made radio

and television appearances

and went on tour

Performed in Carnegie

Hall on October 4, 1950 to a racially integrated audience.

1952

tour

in Europe

H

ad

her own gospel program on the CBS television network in 1954 and scored a pop hit with "Rusty Old Halo."

International Star

1956: debut on The Ed Sullivan Show 1958 appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island, performing with Duke Ellington and his band. 1959 Jackson appeared in the film Imitation of Life. By the end of the decade, much of Jackson’s work featured crossover production styles; she was an international figure, with a performance itinerary that included singing at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration.

Civil Rights Work

Active supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. She Sang at the March on Washington at the request of her friend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963, performing “I Been ‘Buked and I Been Scorned.”

March on Washington

August

28, 1963, more than 200,000 Americans gathered in Washington, D.C., for a political rally known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Organized

by a number of civil rights and religious

groups

Designed

to shed light on the political and social challenges African Americans continued to face across the country.

March became

a key moment in the growing struggle for civil rights in the United

States

C

ulminated

in Martin Luther King

Jr.’s

"I Have a Dream" speech, a spirited call for racial justice and equality.

Later Years

King's death in 1968: sang at his funeral and then largely withdrew from public political activities. 1969, she published her autobiography Movin’ On Up.Hospitalizations for severe health problemsFinal concert in 1971 in Munich, GermanyDied of a heart attack on January 27, 1972. Remembered and loved for her impassioned delivery, her deep commitment to spirituality and her lasting inspiration to listeners of all faiths.