Mahalia Jackson carried the sound of the Black church out of New Orleans and into the American mainstream, becoming gospel music's first great crossover star on the strength of a voice built for testimony rather than entertainment. She refused to sing secular music for money, insisting gospel alone could carry her, and in doing so proved a gospel record could still top the charts. Her 1963 performance beside Martin Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington sealed her place as gospel's conscience as much as its greatest voice.

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1947

Move On Up a Little HigherMahalia Jackson