Mahalia Jackson
October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972
Mahalia Jackson was a powerful gospel singer who many consider to be the most influential of the genre. After a childhood that consisted of living in a three-room home with twelve other family members, Jackson moved to Chicago at the age of sixteen. Two years later, she met Thomas A. Dorsey, the so-called Father of Gospel Music, who helped launch her career. Over the course of her career, Jackson record upwards of thirty-five albums, and a string of million-selling singles, including “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” her signature song written by Dorsey. Mahalia Jackson died of diabetes and heart failure at the age of 60.
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