Mahalia Jackson viewed as pinnacle of gospel music
By: Lucille Kline
Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: Features
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 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.
Despite her docters ordering her to slow down, Mahalia refused and collapsed while on tour in Munich in 1971. She died of heart failure on January 27, 1972, at her home in Evergeen Park, IL. Though years have passed and she is no longer on the land of living, Mahalia's music will live on forever.
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.
Despite her docters ordering her to slow down, Mahalia refused and collapsed while on tour in Munich in 1971. She died of heart failure on January 27, 1972, at her home in Evergeen Park, IL. Though years have passed and she is no longer on the land of living, Mahalia's music will live on forever.
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