Mahalia Jackson (1911 - 1972)

Born 26 Oct 1911 in New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Isaac Lane Hockenhull — married 8 Dec 1941 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Wife of Minters Sigmond Galloway — married 2 Jul 1964 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States

Died 27 Jan 1972 at age 60 in Evergreen Park, Cook, Illinois, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: US Black Heritage Project WikiTree [send private message]

Mahalia Jackson is a part of US Black history. Join: US Black Heritage Project Discuss: black_heritage

Biography

Mahalia Jackson lived in Louisiana.

Mahalia Jackson is Notable.

Mahalia Jackson was a pioneering singer of gospel music whose fervent contralto was one of the great voices of the 20th century.

Mahalia Jackson, daughter of Johnny Jackson and Charity Clark, was born in New Orleans in 1911. ^[1] Her mother died when she was five years old.

She carried the rich musical heritage of her native city with her when she moved to Chicago. Jackson labored as a domestic but soon found abundant work as a soloist at churches and funerals throughout Chicago. After performing with the Prince Johnson singers, she first recorded as a soloist in the mid-Thirties. She spent five years touring with composer Thomas A. Dorsey, singing at gospel tents and churches. Jackson recorded for Decca in 1937 and for Apollo from 1946 to 1954. She then moved to Columbia Records, where she achieved broad recognition as a singer of spirituals. She also lent her powerful voice and imprimatur to the Civil Rights movement of the Fifties and Sixties.

Singing in a grainy, full-throated soprano that employed slurs and blue notes, Jackson brought a heightened drama and syncopated bounce to her readings of such gospel classics as “Move On Up a Little Higher,” “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” (a Top 100 pop single) and “How I Got Over.” She sang for Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy, performing at the latter’s inaugural. A favorite of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson sang at his request immediately before his “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington in August 1963. Jackson recorded for Columbia from 1954 until 1967.

In Jackson’s own words, “Rock and roll was stolen out of the sanctified church!” Certainly, in the unleashed frenzy of the “spirit feel” style of gospel epitomized by such singers as Mahalia Jackson, Marion Williams and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, one can hear the rousing roots of rock and roll. One of Jackson’s accompanists was keyboardist Billy Preston, who went on to great fame as a rock and R&B star. But religious passion was paramount in Jackson’s life, and no sacred-to-secular transformation would mark her career as it did so many others. “Her voice is a heartfelt express of all that is most human about us—our fears, our faith, our hope for salvation,” David Ritz wrote in his liner notes for Mahalia Jackson: 16 Most Requested Songs (1996). “Hope is the hallmark of Mahalia Jackson and the gospel tradition she embodies.”

She died of heart failure outside Chicago in 1972 ^[2][3] and is buried in Providence Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Metairie, Louisiana. ^[4]

She was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame in 1997. ^[5] In 1998, the US Postal Service honored her with a 32¢ postage stamp. ^[6]

Relationships

• Isaac "Ike" Hockenhull - They married in 1936 when she was 24, and divorced in 1943 due to her hectic traveling schedule and his excessive gambling.
• Rev. Russell Roberts - She loved him dearly, but he died of cancer before their wedding in February 1959.
• Sigmond Galloway - Married in 1964. ^[7] She discovered that all he wanted was the guide to a glamorous world that she was not willing to give him. They divorced in 1969.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ "Louisiana, Orleans Parish Vital Records, 1900-1964," database with images, FamilySearch (4 March 2021), Mahala Jackson, 26 Oct 1911; citing Birth 26 Oct 1911, New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, United States, certificate ; Louisiana State Archives, Baton Rouge.
2. ↑ "Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1871-1998," database, FamilySearch (18 March 2018), Mahalia Jackson, 27 Jan 1972; citing Evergreen Park, Cook, Illinois, United States, source reference , record number , Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm
3. ↑ Social Security: "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007"
   Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007
   Ancestry Record 60901 #806564451
   Name: Mahalia Jackson; Gender: Female; Birth Date: 26 Oct 1911; Death Date: Jan 1972; Claim Date: 30 Oct 1972.
4. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #535 - Metairie, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States of America, Providence Memorial Park and Mausoleum; citing record ID 535, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
5. ↑ David McGee, "Mahalia Jackson, Hall of Fame Essay," Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
6. ↑ Women on Stamps Part 4: Prominent Female Singers, from Gospel to Secular, Smithsonian National Postal Museum.
7. ↑ Singer Marries (Mahalia Jackson and Minters Galloway), Journal Gazette in Mattoon, Illinois. 06 Jul 1964, Mon • Page 9. Newspapers.com
8. ↑ https://app.emaze.com/@AOWIZLRO#8

• 1920 Census: "1920 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1920; Census Place: New Orleans Ward 16, Orleans, Louisiana; Roll: T625_625; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 263
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6061 #44765784
  Hiley Jackson (8), single adopted son, in household of Manuel Paul (39) in New Orleans Ward 16, Orleans, Louisiana. Born in Louisiana.
• 1930 Census: "1930 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1930; Census Place: New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana; Page: 38A; Enumeration District: 0268; FHL microfilm: 2340548
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6224 #35452394
  Mahaly Jackson (18), single niece, Chamber Maid, in household of Manuel Paul (60) at 7467 Pitt Street, New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Born in Louisiana.

See also:

• Sonari Glinton, "Mahalia Jackson: Voice Of The Civil Rights Movement," All Things Considered, National Public Radio. February 8, 2010.
• Tricia Williams Jacson (2016). "Women in Black History - Stories of Courage, Faith, and Resilience", "Mahalia Jackson" page 101. Grand Rapids, MI:Published by Revell
• FamilySearch Person: KZG3-WCZ