Mahalia Jackson, photographed by Carl Van Vechten in 1962
Elvis was the King of Rock ‘ n Roll and Aretha was the Queen of soul. But Mahalia Jackson, Queen of Gospel came before them.
Mahalia Jackson (October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer. She possessed a powerful contralto voice and 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. Entertainer Harry Belafonte described her as “the single most powerful black woman in the United States”.
Jackson once said about her choice of gospel,” I sing God’s music because it makes me feel free”. “It gives me hope. With the blues, when you finish, you still have the blues.”
Performing with Martin Luther King, Jr.
Indeed, if Martin Luther King, Jr., had a favorite opening act, it was Mahalia Jackson. In fact she performed by his side many times. She took to the podium on August 28, 1963, before an audience of 250,000. Here she gave the last musical performance before Dr. King’s speech, Dr. King himself requested that she sing the gospel classic “I’ve Been ‘Buked, and I’ve Been Scorned.”
Per history.com, Mahalia Jackson intervened at a critical junction when she decided King’s speech needed a course-correction. Recalling a theme she had heard him use in earlier speeches, Jackson said out loud to Martin Luther King, Jr., from behind the podium on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” And at that moment, as can be seen in films of the speech, Dr. King leaves his prepared notes behind to improvise the entire next section of his speech—the historic section that famously begins “And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream….”
I agree. She was the Queen of gospel. I also agree with her about the blues!