Mahalia Jackson papers

  • Creator Names Jackson, Mahalia, 1911-1972.
  • Title Mahalia Jackson papers [manuscript], 1950-1977.
  • Physical description
    • 2.0 linear feet, (2 HB, 1 flat box, 4 oversized folders)
    • 5 phonograph records
  • Access and usage restrictions
    • Advance appointment with special permission required to view a portion of the collection. Photocopies are available for research use for many of these items.
    • For listening purposes, it is necessary to use a copy, not the original (and to have a listening copy made if one is not available).
    • Some items from this collection are currently on exhibit and are not accessible to researchers at this time. Please see the Exhibitions Note for more details.
  • Collection summary Correspondence, newspaper clippings, performance programs, and awards. The materials generally pertain to Jackson's professional life as a vocalist and recording artist. Included are programs and accolades received in the form of letters and awards from singing performances. Of note in the collection is a program from Washington's Salute to President Lyndon B. Johnson dinner and a television script from her appearance on the Gary Moore Show. Also present in the collection are clippings of newspaper and magazine articles written about Jackson and her performances in the United States, India, Europe and Japan. The collection contains programs and newspaper clipping in German, Sanskrit, French and Japanese. Also included in the collection are honorary degrees, legislation expressing regret at her death, a Grammy award notification and other accolades. Various oversize materials including newspaper clippings, awards, and pages from an unbound scrapbook are included in the collection. The papers include a signed letter by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., dated April 30, 1964 thanking Mahalia Jackson for her performance at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
  • Location of Other Archival Materials Note Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the Mahalia Jackson photographs (1985.0016), Louise Overall Weaver papers and the Black Women in the Middle West Project collection [manuscript].
  • Biographical or Historical Note Mahalia Jackson was born in New Orleans on October 11, 1911, the third of six children. Jackson moved to Chicago at the age of 16 where she began singing in church choirs. She first began recording in 1934 with "God Gonna Separate Wheat from Tares," but she did not garner national attention until her breakout song "Move on Up a Little Higher" in 1946 which went on to sell millions of copies. Due to her prominence as the country's leading gospel singer, Jackson helped the Truman presidential campaign in 1948 and was eventually invited to perform at the White House following his election. In 1961, she won a Grammy for Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording for the song "Every Time I Feel the Spirit." Jackson again won the Grammy the following year in 1962 for the Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording for "Great Songs of Love and Faith." In 1963 she was nominated for the Grammy for Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording for "Make a Joyful Noise unto the Lord" and was again nominated for Best Soul Gospel Performance for "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah." In 1972, she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award Grammy and again was nominated for Best Soul Gospel Performance for "How I Got Over." Later in Jackson's career, she remained active in politics and became heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movement forming close relationships with civil rights activists such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jackson performed in Montgomery in support of the bus boycott as well as the march in Selma. She also sang during the Washington March for Jobs right before King took the stage to deliver his "I Have a Dream" speech and was invited to perform at his funeral following his assassination in 1968. Jackson performed throughout the world with trips to India and across Europe. While in India she performed for Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, closed the 1956 Democratic National Convention, and sang at the 1959 White House Correspondents Dinner for President Eisenhower. Jackson also performed at President John F. Kennedy's inauguration, was invited to sing at Washington's Salute to President Lyndon B. Johnson, and performed for the King and Queen of Denmark during their visit to Chicago. Later in life her health began to fail and on January 27, 1972, Jackson died from heart failure. She had married and been divorced twice in her life and had no children. Mahalia Jackson's success as a gospel singer in her lifetime earned her the nicknames "The Queen of Gospel" and the "World's Greatest Gospel Singer" and she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 for her influence on music.
  • Acquisition information Purchased (1985.0822). Collecting activity of the NEH Black Women in the Middle West Project assisted in the acquisition of this collection.
  • Names
    • Jackson, Mahalia, 1911-1972 Archives.
    • Chicago History Museum. Remembering Dr. King: 1929-1968 (Exhibition) 2018-
    • Chicago Historical Society. Curators' Choice (Exhibition) 1993-1994.
    • Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
    • King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968.
  • Subjects
    • African American women singers Illinois Chicago 20th century.
    • African American women singers United States 20th century.
    • Gospel music United States 20th century.
    • Gospel musicians Illinois Chicago 20th century.
    • Gospel musicians United States 20th century.
  • Geographic coverage
    • Chicago (Ill.) Social life and customs 20th century.
    • United States Social life and customs 20th century.
  • Genre
    • Awards. aat
    • Clippings. aat
    • Correspondence. aat
    • Programs (documents. aat
  • Geographic name United States Illinois Cook County Chicago.