. . . or click on the link here for Audio Player – Mahalia Jackson – in concert from Stockholm 1961 – Sveriges Radio
Something special this week. Since we’re celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King‘s birthday tomorrow, I thought I would run a concert from one of the leading figures in Gospel singing in the 1950s and 60s. Mahalia Jackson was known all over the world for her powerful contralto voice and her staunch activism in the area of Civil Rights. Hailed as The Queen of Gospel she sang at rallies and marched alongside Dr. King and DR. Ralph Abernathy and appeared everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the great March on Washington, singing just before Dr. King gave his memorable I Have A Dream Address.
Fellow singer and activist Harry Belafonte once referred to her as “The most powerful Black woman in the United States” and she was heavily involved in the civil Rights movement all the way up to the time of her death in 1972. During her career, she recorded some 30 albums and dozens of her singles were certified Million sellers.
To give you some idea of the International appeal Mahalia Jackson had, here is a broadcast concert given in Stockholm in 1961 and recorded by the venerable Sveriges Radio in Sweden.
Give a listen and enjoy.
