馬哈利亞．傑克森 / 奇異恩典 Mahalia Jackson / In the upper room, Amazing Grace

馬哈利亞．傑克森 / 奇異恩典

Born in New-Orleans on October 26th, 1911, Mahalia Jackson lost her
mother at the age of five. She will be raised by her aunt. Halie (his nickname) suffers
from a congenital leg deformity which handicaps her considerably. She is mistreated by
her entourage. Her only moments of joy are when she sings in church where his father
officiates as a preacher. Her first models are blues singers, Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, Gertrude
Ma Rainey, she discovers through their first 78 rpm. She went to Chicago in 1927, where she
began to tour the churches with her favorite song ‘Hand Me Down My Favorite Trumpet,
Gabriel'. In 1929, she met the composer Thomas A. Dorsey. Considered ‘the father of the
Gospel' Dorsey initially experienced fame as a blues singer under such diverse identities
as Georgia Tom, Barrelhouse Tom or Texas Tommy. He made a team time with guitarist
Tampa Red with whom he recorded It's Tight Like That in 1928 (Sold over seven million
copies). Dorsey, on piano or guitar will accompany Mahalia for five years (1939~1944).
Her song ‘Take My Hand, Precious Lord' will make her known throughout the country.
From 1946 she was considered the Queen of Gospel. She engraved her first tracks for
Apollo in 1947. Accompanied by the pianist Estelle Allen she records in 1948 Move On Up A
Little Higher which will be such a success that many stores cannot be supplied. It will sell
eight million copies, and will allow her to make herself known and to tour in Europe. She
accumulates hits Amazing Grace (1947), Jesus is with Me (1951), In The Upper Room (1952),
Hands Of God (1953), Didn't It Rain (1954), which are among its greatest successes, both
in America and abroad. At the end of 1954 she joined the Falls-Jones Ensemble (Mildred
Falls et Ralph Jones) with which she records for Columbia. In 1958 she was chosen by
Duke Ellington for the recording of his famous suite ‘Black, Brown & Beige'. She made an
appearance in 1959 in the movie ‘Imitation of Life' made by Douglas Sirk. Very involved in
civil rights movements she is found next to Martin Luther King of whom she is one of the
most fervent supporters. She will continue to tour churches and concert halls all over the
world, until her death, on January 27th, 1972. She suffers from a heart failure following a
strong diabetes in Evergreen Park, Illinois.