Jackson, Mahalia (26 October 1911–27 January 1972), gospel singer, was born in New Orleans, the daughter of John Jackson, a dockworker, barber, and preacher, and Charity Clark, a maid. Her mother died when Jackson was five, and she moved in with her mother’s sister, Mahalia Paul, also known as Aunt Duke. She worked both for her aunt and for a local white family from an early age, and during the eighth grade (the last grade she attended before quitting school), she also worked as a laundress for five hours after school. She began to sing as a young child, particularly at the Mount Moriah Baptist Church, but she was also profoundly influenced by the ...
Article
Jackson, Mahalia (1911-1972), gospel singer
Ronald P. Dufour
Image
Jackson, Mahalia (1911-1972)
Maker: Carl Van Vechten
In
Mahalia Jackson Photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1962. Courtesy of the Library of Congress (LC-USZ62-102162).
Article
Martin, Roberta (1907-1969), gospel pianist, composer/arranger, and singer
Mary Frances Early
Martin, Roberta (12 February 1907–18 January 1969), gospel pianist, composer/arranger, and singer, was born Roberta Evelyn Winston in Helena, Arkansas, the daughter of William Winston and Anna (maiden name unknown). One of six children in the Winston household, Roberta showed an early proclivity for music. When only a toddler, she climbed onto the piano bench and picked out melodies that she had heard. This interest and talent was nurtured by her oldest brother’s wife, who became her first piano teacher....
Article
Tharpe, Sister Rosetta (1915-1973), gospel singer and guitarist
Howard Rye
Tharpe, Sister Rosetta (20 March 1915–09 October 1973), gospel singer and guitarist, was born Rosetta Nubin in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, the daughter of Willis Nubin and Katie Bell (maiden name unknown). Her parents were divorced when Tharpe was very young, and her mother, who sang in a local church choir, became a traveling missionary. By the time Rosetta was six, she had learned to play guitar and she and her mother had moved to Chicago. They began to make public appearances from a base at the 40th Street Church of God in Christ, with Rosetta billed as “Little Sister” because of her small stature. In the early 1930s she married Pastor Thorpe, an elder in the Holiness church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and began touring in Florida in a trio with her mother and husband. After her separation from her husband, she retained his name as her professional name, changing one letter. They were appearing in Rev. Cohen’s church in Miami in 1938 when Tharpe came to the attention of the management of New York City’s Cotton Club and later auditioned at the club....
Article
Williams, Marion (29 Aug. 1927–2 July 1994), gospel singer
Tammy Kernodle
Williams, Marion (29 Aug. 1927–2 July 1994), gospel singer, was born the youngest of eleven children in Miami, Florida. Her Bahamian father (name unknown) worked as a barber, butcher, and music teacher. Her mother, Ethel Williams, was born in South Carolina. She was religiously devout and worked as a laundress, despite a number of health challenges....
