Mahalia Jackson
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Mahalia Jackson. the greatest gospel singer of all time. was one of six children born in a shack on Water Street. overlooking the River in New Orleans. By the time she was five. Mahalia was singing every Sunday in her fathers church choir.Mahalia Jackson sang only songs she believed in. positive anthems that uplifted the spirit. The first gospel song she wrote and recorded was her personal statement: Im Going to Move on Up a Little Higher. She moved up to Chicago when she was sixteen. Weekdays. Mahalia labored as a domestic. Weekends. she was the featured singer at the South Side Greater Baptist Church. Her following within the black community was immense and it grew as she traveled throughout the Midwest. singing at other Baptist churches.