Mahalia Jackson

Mahalia Jackson was an American gospel singer. Possessing a powerful contralto voice, she 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. She was described by entertainer Harry Belafonte as the single most powerful black woman in the United States. She recorded aboutalbums during her career, and her 45 rpm records included a dozen goldsmillionsellers.

She was born on October 26, 1911 as Mahala Jackson and nicknamed Halie. Jackson grew up in the Black Pearl section of the Carrollton neighborhood of uptown New Orleans. The threeroom dwelling on Pitt Street housed thirteen people and a dog. This included Little Mahala her brother Roosevelt Hunter, whom they called Peter and her mother Charity Clark, who worked as both a maid and a laundress. Several aunts and cousins lived in the house as well. Aunt Mahala was given the nickname Duke after proving herself the undisputed boss of the family. The extended family consisted of her mothers siblings Isabell, Mahala, Boston, Porterfield, Hannah, Alice, Rhoda, Bessie, their children, grandchildren, and patriarch Rev. Paul Clark, a former slave. Jacksons father, John A. Jackson, Sr. was a stevedore and a barber who later became a Baptist minister. He fathered four other children besides Mahalia Wilmon and then Yvonne, Edna, Pearl, and Johnny, Jr. . Her fathers sister, Jeanette JacksonBurnett

Source: Wikipedia