Mahalia

The life and soulful sounds of the “Queen of Gospel Music” come alive in Mahalia. Mahalia Jackson was born in New Orleans, Louisiana October 26, 1911. She grew up singing gospel music at the Plymouth Rock Baptist Church where her father preached. At age sixteen, she moved to Chicago and worked as a domestic. She began recording in the mid-1930s and in the 1950’s she began collaborating with Thomas Dorsey, “The Father of Gospel Music.” In addition to her fame as a singer, she was a wise business woman and was active in the Civil Rights Movement. Mahalia Jackson preceded Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the momentous rally at the Washington Monument ending the 1963 March on Washington.