When Aretha's mother died, she and her siblings were share raised by members of the community led by her grandmother Rachel and gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. Active since the age of sixteen in the late twenties, Mahalia Jackson sang gospel purely and powerfully. She refused to sing secular songs and didn't touch the blues ("When you sing the blues, you still have the blues"). That said, the influence of the blues is a very clear influence on her style and backup instrumentation. Whether it was just a piano or everything and a back up doo-wop group, Mahalia soared above it all. Her career took off when she signed with Apollo Records when her 1948 single "Move on Up a Little Higher" sold over 8 million copies with a particular high demand from Europe. She'd continue to sell out singles and firmly solidified her reputation as the greatest spiritual singer, or the Queen. Apollo never released any compilation albums, but did release Mahalia's first LP of material Queen of the Gospel Singers in 1954.
Here is the discography surrounding Mahalia Jackson's debut album:
The Ultimate Collection (compilation of pre-1949 material)
The Apollo Sessions 1946-1951 (compilation of pre-1951 material)
How I Got Over: The Apollo Records Sessions 1946-1954 (compilation of pre-1954 material)
Queen of the Gospel Singers
"Dig a Little Deeper" by Mahalia Jackson
Pass the Headphones!!
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