Mahalia Jackson (1911 – 1972) was the preeminent gospel singer of the 20th century, her career spanning from about 1931 to 1971. She began singing in church as a child in New Orleans, then moved to Chicago as an adolescent and joined Chicago's first gospel group, the Johnson Singers. By demand, she began to sing solo at funerals and political rallies. For about 15 years, Jackson toured a circuit of churches and revivals spreading gospel blues throughout the U.S. working odd jobs to make a living. Her first recordings were made in 1931, produced by the owner of a funeral parlor in Chicago where Jackson often sang, although these have been lost.
In 1937, Jackson recorded four singles for Decca Records, a company focusing on blues and jazz. The sales were weak and she was asked to record blues and she refused, a decision she made repeatedly throughout her life. Nine years later, she attracted the attention of Apollo Records, a small company catering to black artists and audiences. She recorded four singles for them and again they did not perform well, but the fifth one, "Move On Up a Little Higher", sold two million copies and reached the number two spot on the Billboard charts in 1947, new achievements for gospel music. Based on that success, Jackson released 71 singles in total with Apollo between 1946 and 1954. Her recordings with Decca and Apollo are widely considered defining of gospel blues: they consist of traditional Protestanthymns, spirituals, and songs written by contemporary songwriters such as Thomas A. Dorsey and W. Herbert Brewster. The earliest are sparsely accompanied by piano and organ although Apollo added acoustic guitar, bass, drum, and backup vocalists in the early 1950s.
Jackson was the first gospel artist to sign with Columbia Records, then the largest recording company in the U.S., in 1954. At Columbia, Jackson released 28 albums between 1955 and 1972, the year of her death. Columbia expanded her repertoire to include songs considered generally inspirational and patriotic which were interspersed with the hymns and gospel songs similar to the ones she sang at Apollo. Though her early records at Columbia had a sound similar to her Apollo records, the music accompanying Jackson at Columbia later included orchestras, electric guitars, backup singers, and drums, the overall effect of which was more closely associated with light pop music. She was marketed similarly to jazz musicians, but her music at Columbia ultimately defied categorization. Nonetheless, Jackson won the first Grammy Award for gospel music in 1961 and the second in 1962. Three of her songs have been included in the Grammy Hall of Fame, including "Move On Up a Little Higher" which was also added to the National Recording Registry in 2005. Jackson received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972. She was a staple on American television in the 1950s and 1960s. She hosted The Mahalia Jackson Show that ran locally in Chicago for a few months in 1955, and appeared as a guest on many national programs. She sang in four films between 1958 and 1964 and appeared in concert halls around the world while making regular appearances at black churches in the U.S. She estimated that she sold 22 million records in her lifetime.[1] Jackson's success ushered the "Golden Age of Gospel" between 1945 and 1965, allowing dozens of gospel music acts to tour and record.
No Label
Unknown / No Label
Date
Song titles
Accompaniment
Notes
1931
"You Better Run, Run, Run"
Others unknown
If any, unknown
Jackson's agent, a funeral director named Bob Miller, arranged for her to record at a studio on Jackson Boulevard in Chicago with the intention of selling copies at National Baptist Convention meetings. According to Miller, "We'd take our bundle and the master, so we could get additional ones pressed--I don't think we ever did, but we could have. We cut quite a few." Biographer Laurraine Goreau only mentions the title "You Better Run, Run, Run" from this session. No copies of these recordings have been found.[2]
Decca
Decca Records recording session
Date
Song titles
Accompaniment
Notes
May 21, 1937
"God's Gonna Separate the Wheat From the Tares"
"Oh My Lord"
"Keep Me Every Day"
"God Shall Wipe All Tears Away"
Estelle Allen, piano and organ
Decca declined to record Jackson after this session when the records sold poorly and Jackson refused to consider recording secular songs
Bless This House (as Mahalia Jackson and the Falls-Jones Ensemble) CL 899 (Vinyl)
You'll Never Walk Alone CL 2552 (Vinyl)
Bless This House includes "Take My Hand, Precious Lord", inducted into Grammy Hall of Fame in 2012[5]
1959
Great Gettin' Up Morning CL 1343 (Vinyl)
1960
Come On Children Let's Sing (as Mahalia Jackson with the Falls-Webb Ensemble) CS 8225 (Vinyl)
I Believe CL 1549 (mono) CS 8349 (stereo) (Vinyl)
The Power and the Glory CS 8264 (Vinyl)
1961
Everytime I Feel the Spirit CL1743 (Vinyl)
Album wins first ever Grammy Award for Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording category;[11] re-released as Best Loved Spirituals CS 8443 in 1995 (CD)
1962
Great Songs of Love and Faith CL 1824 (mono) CL 8624 (stereo) (Vinyl)
Silent Night – Songs For Christmas CL 1903 (Vinyl)
Great Songs of Love and Faith receives Grammy Award for Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording[11]
1963
Mahalia Jackson's Greatest Hits CS 8804 (Vinyl)
Make A Joyful Noise Unto the Lord CS 8736 CL 1936 (Vinyl)
Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord nominated for Grammy Award;[11] re-released in 1972 as Lord Don't Let Me Fall Harmony KH 31111 (Vinyl)
1964
Let's Pray Together CL 2130 (Vinyl)
1966
Mahalia Sings CS 9252 (Vinyl)
1967
My Faith CS 9405 (Vinyl)
1968
A Mighty Fortress CS 9659 (Vinyl)
Christmas with Mahalia CS 9727 (Vinyl)
Garden of Prayer CL 2546 (Vinyl)
Mahalia Jackson Sings the Best-Loved Hymns of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. CS 9686 (Vinyl)
1969
Mahalia! Sings the Gospel Right out of Church CS 9813 (Vinyl)
What the World Needs Now CS 9950 (Vinyl)
1971
Mahalia Jackson Sings America's Favorite Hymns G 30744 (Vinyl)
Silent Night – Songs for Christmas LE 10165 (Vinyl)
1972
The Great Mahalia Jackson KG 31379 (Columbia) (Vinyl)
Live albums
Live albums
Date
Album title
Notes
1958
Newport 1958 Columbia CL 1244 (mono) 8071 (stereo) (Vinyl)
In the Upper Room with Mahalia Jackson Apollo LP 474 (Vinyl)
No Matter How You Pray Apollo LP 482 (Vinyl)
Mahalia Apollo LP 486 (Vinyl)
1961
Command Performance, Volume 1 Apollo ALP 1001 (Vinyl)
Command Performance, Volume 2 Apollo ALP 1002 (Vinyl)
Formally titled Apollo Records Requests the Honor Of Your Presence At the Command Performance Of Mahalia Jackson Re-Creating Her European Concert Tour although the tracks included Jackson's Apollo recordings up to 1954 as opposed to material from her 1961 European tour
1962
Christmas With Mahalia Jackson Apollo ALP 499
1968
You'll Never Walk Alone Harmony HS 11279 (Vinyl)
1972
Mahalia Jackson 1911 – 1972 Kenwood/Nashboro LP 506 (Vinyl)
1973
God Answers Prayers Nashboro 508, Kenwood 508 (Vinyl)
The Life I Sing About Caedmon TC 1413 (Vinyl)
The Life I Sing About includes four music tracks and spoken word interviews of Jackson recalling her childhood in New Orleans
1976
How I Got Over Columbia KC 34073 (Vinyl)
The Best Of Mahalia Jackson - Hymns, Spirituals & Songs Of Inspiration Columbia P3-14028 (Vinyl)
How I Got Over receives Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance[11]
1977
Amazing Grace Sony Special Music WK 75041WK (Vinyl)
Re-released in 1989 as a CD Columbia P 14358
1979
I Sing Because I'm Happy Folkways Records FTS 31102 (Vinyl)
1981
Christmas With Mahalia Jackson Holiday HDY-1948 (Vinyl)
1991
Gospels, Spirituals & Hymns Columbia C2T 47083 (Cassette)
1992
I'm Going To Tell God MCA Special Products MCAC-20719 (Cassette)
1993
Go Tell It On the Mountain Arrival 3149-4 (Cassette) 3149-2 (CD)
Best Loved Spirituals Sony BT 13582 (Cassette) A 13582 (CD)
1994
The Apollo Sessions 1946-1951 Pair Records PCD-2-1332 (CD)
1995
The Best of Mahalia Jackson Legacy/Columbia CT 66911 (CD)
1996
16 Most Requested Songs Legacy/Columbia CK 64991 (CD)
1997
In the Upper Room 601 Music SXCD 3117 (CD)
1998
Silent Night – Gospel Christmas LaserLight Digital 15 300 (CD);
Re-released in 2002 as Gospel Christmas With Mahalia Jackson – Silent Night
2004
The Essential Mahalia Jackson Columbia C2K 89067 (CD)
2016
Mahalia Jackson Sings: The Great Television Performances Real Gone Music RGM-0508 (CD)
Moving On Up A Little Higher Shanachie 6066 (CD)
Unknown dates
Best of Mahalia Jackson Apollo LP 500 (Vinyl)
Gospel World of Mahalia Jackson Apollo Kenwood SLP 501 (Vinyl)
I Lift My Voice Kenwood LP 503 (Vinyl)
Mahalia Jackson Sings Brigade Records P1303S (Vinyl)
