Mahala Jackson was a gospel singer from the United States. As a teenager, Jackson moved to Chicago and joined the Johnson Singers, one of the first gospel groups.
Jackson was heavily influenced by blues singer Bessie Smith and musician-composer Thomas Dorsey, adapting Smith’s style to traditional Protestant hymns and contemporary songs. Jackson was hired to sing at funerals, political rallies, and revivals after making an impression in Chicago churches. For 15 years, Jackson worked as a “fish and bread singer,” doing odd jobs in between performances to make ends meet.
Jackson achieved national acclaim in 1947 with the release of “Move On Up a Little Higher,” which sold two million copies and peaked at number two on the Billboard charts, both of which were firsts for gospel music. Jackson’s recordings piqued the interest of jazz fans in the United States and France, and Jackson went on to become the first gospel recording artist to tour Europe.
What happened to Mahalia Jackson?
Mahalia Jackson died of heart disease on January 27, 1972, in a Chicago hospital. Jackson was only 60 years old. Jackson’s funeral was unlike any other in New Orleans.
