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Fiery Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer, turns gospel critic

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Photograph was edited for publication purposesMahalia Jackson, was born Mahala Jackson on October 26, 1911 in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was an American gospel singer with a powerful contralto voice, often referred to as "The Queen of Gospel." She was one of the most influential gospel singers in the world and was also a civil rights activist. In 1950, she was the first gospel singer to perform at Carnegie Hall. Jackson often traveled with Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights struggle in the 1950s and 60s. She died on January 27, 1972.Photograph caption dated June 12, 1963 reads "The jazz of pop gospel, she says 'Just hurts my soul; it hurts me.'" The article partially reads "Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson stormed into Hollywood Tuesday sternly denouncing 'pop gospel' as blasphemy -- music 'that's like a skunk passing -- the odor is getting bigger and bigger.'"
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This project was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State LibrarianMade accessible through a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation and Photo Friends
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California Digital Library