mahalia jackson estate heirs
[150] She was featured on the album's vocal rendition of Ellington's composition "Come Sunday", which subsequently became a jazz standard. Mahalia Jackson is heralded as one of the most influential singers of the 20th century. "[91] Other singers made their mark. Indeed, if Martin Luther King Jr., had a favorite opening act, it was Mahalia Jackson, who performed by his side many times. This National Association of Realtors designation is a testament to our professionalism. Fifty thousand people paid their respects, many of them lining up in the snow the night before, and her peers in gospel singing performed in her memory the next morning. This time, the publicly disclosed diagnosis was heart strain and exhaustion, but in private Jackson's doctors told her that she had had a heart attack and sarcoidosis was now in her heart. 248256. Her records were sent to the UK, traded there among jazz fans, earning Jackson a cult following on both sides of the Atlantic, and she was invited to tour Europe. [105][106] When the themes of her songs were outwardly religious, some critics felt the delivery was at times less lively. The day she moved in her front window was shot. [92], Improvisation was a significant part of Jackson's live performances both in concert halls and churches. [12][20][21][e], Steadily, the Johnson Singers were asked to perform at other church services and revivals. Newly arrived migrants attended these storefront churches; the services were less formal and reminiscent of what they had left behind. When she returned, she realized he had found it and used it to buy a race horse. The show that took place in 1951 broke attendance records set by Goodman and Arturo Toscanini. To hide her movements, pastors urged her to wear loose fitting robes which she often lifted a few inches from the ground, and they accused her of employing "snake hips" while dancing when the spirit moved her. [88] Bucklin Moon was enamored with her singing, writing that the embellishments Jackson added "take your breath away. She dutifully joined the children's choir at age four. American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. She was an actress, known for Mississippi Burning (1988), Glory Road (2006) and An American Crime (2007). [113] Similarly, television host Dinah Shore called Falls' left hand "the strongest thing in the whole world", giving Jackson's music a prominent beat usually missing from religious music. [69] She appeared in the film The Best Man (1964), and attended a ceremony acknowledging Lyndon Johnson's inauguration at the White House, becoming friends with Lady Bird. The highlight of her trip was visiting the Holy Land, where she knelt and prayed at Calvary. Douglas Ellimans office is located in Old Town Monrovia at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. She died on 27 January 1972 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. [23] Gradually and by necessity, larger churches became more open to Jackson's singing style. [7][8][3], Jackson worked, and she went to church on Wednesday evenings, Friday nights, and most of the day on Sundays. "Two Cities Pay Tribute To Mahalia Jackson". It was almost immediately successful and the center of gospel activity. [95] Her four singles for Decca and seventy-one for Apollo are widely acclaimed by scholars as defining gospel blues. Mavis Staples justified her inclusion at the ceremony, saying, "When she sang, you would just feel light as a feather. At the beginning of a song, Falls might start in one key and receive hand signals from Jackson to change until Jackson felt the right key for the song in that moment. Berman set Jackson up for another recording session, where she sang "Even Me" (one million sold), and "Dig a Little Deeper" (just under one million sold). Michael Jackson's Mother, Katherine, Has Inherited Most of His Estate In October 2009, four months after Jackson's death, it was first reported that Jackson's mother, Katherine will inherit 40% of his estate. But she sang on the radio and on television and, starting in 1950, performed to overflow audiences in annual concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York City. White and non-Christian audiences also felt this resonance. [37] Falls accompanied her in nearly every performance and recording thereafter. As a black woman, Jackson found it often impossible to cash checks when away from Chicago. Heilbut writes, "With the exception of Chuck Berry and Fats Domino, there is scarcely a pioneer rock and roll singer who didn't owe his stuff to the great gospel lead singers. Mahalia began singing at the age of four, starting at the Moriah Baptist Church before going on to become one of America's greatest gospel . [1][2][4] Next door to Duke's house was a small Pentecostal church that Jackson never attended but stood outside during services and listened raptly. Neither did her second, "I Want to Rest" with "He Knows My Heart". "[97], Columbia Records, then the largest recording company in the U.S., presented Jackson as the "World's Greatest Gospel Singer" in the 28 albums they released. [59][60], As gospel music became more popular primarily due to her influence singers began appearing at non-religious venues as a way to spread a Christian message to nonbelievers. [1][2][3], The Clarks were devout Baptists attending nearby Plymouth Rock Baptist Church. Berman asked Jackson to record blues and she refused. Sometimes they had to sleep in Jackson's car, a Cadillac she had purchased to make long trips more comfortable. I mean, she wasn't obsequious, you know; she was a star among other stars. For 15 years she functioned as what she termed a "fish and bread singer", working odd jobs between performances to make a living. Jackson was the final artist to appear that evening. She checked herself into a hospital in Chicago. After two aunts, Hannah and Alice, moved to Chicago, Jackson's family, concerned for her, urged Hannah to take her back there with her after a Thanksgiving visit. Jackson's recordings captured the attention of jazz fans in the U.S. and France, and she became the first gospel recording artist to tour Europe. See the article in its original context from. (Goreau, pp. They had a stronger rhythm, accentuated with clapping and foot-tapping, which Jackson later said gave her "the bounce" that carried with her decades later. As her schedule became fuller and more demands placed on her, these episodes became more frequent. According to jazz writer Raymond Horricks, instead of preaching to listeners Jackson spoke about her personal faith and spiritual experiences "immediately and directly making it difficult for them to turn away". [29][30], The Johnson Singers folded in 1938, but as the Depression lightened Jackson saved some money, earned a beautician's license from Madam C. J. Walker's school, and bought a beauty salon in the heart of Bronzeville. Aretha would later go . The broadcast earned excellent reviews, and Jackson received congratulatory telegrams from across the nation. Instantly Jackson was in high demand. 5 Photos Mahalia Jackson was born on 26 October 1911 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. With this, Jackson retired from political work and personal endorsements. When you sing gospel you have a feeling there's a cure for what's wrong. (Burford, Mark, "Mahalia Jackson Meets the Wise Men: Defining Jazz at the Music Inn", The song "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" appears on the Columbia album. He accused her of blasphemy, bringing "twisting jazz" into the church. Clark and Jackson were unmarried, a common arrangement among black women in New Orleans at the time. As demand for her rose, she traveled extensively, performing 200 dates a year for ten years. In New Delhi, she had an unexpected audience with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who declared, "I will never hear a greater voice; I will never know a greater person. [109] Anthony Heilbut writes that "some of her gestures are dramatically jerky, suggesting instant spirit possession", and called her performances "downright terrifying. Scholar Johari Jabir writes that in this role, "Jackson conjures up the unspeakable fatigue and collective weariness of centuries of black women." The day after, Mayor Richard Daley and other politicians and celebrities gave their eulogies at the Arie Crown Theater with 6,000 in attendance. Dorsey preferred a more sedate delivery and he encouraged her to use slower, more sentimental songs between uptempo numbers to smooth the roughness of her voice and communicate more effectively with the audience. "[128], Jackson's influence was greatest in black gospel music. Her older cousin Fred, not as intimidated by Duke, collected records of both kinds. Jackson found an eager audience in new arrivals, one calling her "a fresh wind from the down-home religion. Jackson met Sigmond, a former musician in the construction business, through friends and despite her hectic schedule their romance blossomed. Passionate and at times frenetic, she wept and demonstrated physical expressions of joy while singing. [34][35], Meanwhile, Chicago radio host Louis "Studs" Terkel heard Jackson's records in a music shop and was transfixed. "[22] Black Chicago was hit hard by the Great Depression, driving church attendance throughout the city, which Jackson credited with starting her career. Falls played these so Jackson could "catch the message of the song". He recruited Jackson to stand on Chicago street corners with him and sing his songs, hoping to sell them for ten cents a page. Apollo added acoustic guitar, backup singers, bass, and drums in the 1950s. [100] Compared to other artists at Columbia, Jackson was allowed considerable input in what she would record, but Mitch Miller and producer George Avakian persuaded her with varying success to broaden her appeal to listeners of different faiths. She regularly appeared on television and radio, and performed for many presidents and heads of state, including singing the national anthem at John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Ball in 1961. "[141] Franklin, who studied Jackson since she was a child and sang "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" at her funeral, was placed at Rolling Stone's number one spot in their list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, compiled in 2010. Author Anthony Heilbut called it a "weird ethereal sound, part moan, part failed operatics". Yet the next day she was unable to get a taxi or shop along Canal Street. Her phone number continued to be listed in the Chicago public telephone book, and she received calls nonstop from friends, family, business associates, and strangers asking for money, advice on how to break into the music industry, or general life decisions they should make. Completely self-taught, Jackson had a keen sense of instinct for music, her delivery marked by extensive improvisation with melody and rhythm. Eskridge, her lawyer, said that Miss Jackson owned real estate and assets worth $500,000 and had another $500,060 in cash bank deposits. [132][129][133][33], The Cambridge Companion to Blues and Gospel Music identifies Jackson and Sam Cooke, whose music career started when he joined the Soul Stirrers, as the most important figures in black gospel music in the 1950s. [42] During the same time, Jackson and blues guitarist John Lee Hooker were invited to a ten-day symposium hosted by jazz historian Marshall Stearns who gathered participants to discuss how to define jazz. "[103] Specifically, Little Richard, Mavis Staples of the Staple Singers, Donna Summer, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Della Reese, and Aretha Franklin have all named Jackson as an inspiration. [18] Enduring another indignity, Jackson scraped together four dollars (equivalent to $63 in 2021) to pay a talented black operatic tenor for a professional assessment of her voice. [107][85], She roared like a Pentecostal preacher, she moaned and growled like the old Southern mothers, she hollered the gospel blues like a sanctified Bessie Smith and she cried into the Watts' hymns like she was back in a slave cabin. "[80] Television host Ed Sullivan said, "She was just so darned kind to everybody. His background as a blues player gave him extensive experience improvising and he encouraged Jackson to develop her skills during their performances by handing her lyrics and playing chords while she created melodies, sometimes performing 20 or more songs this way. Omissions? He saw that auditions for The Swing Mikado, a jazz-flavored retelling of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera, were taking place. "[5][3], When Jackson was five, her mother became ill and died, the cause unknown. The band, the stage crew, the other performers, the ushers they were all rooting for her. 259.) Jackson was intimidated by this offer and dreaded the approaching date. In black churches, this was a regular practice among gospel soloists who sought to evoke an emotional purging in the audience during services. She did not invest in the Mahalia Jackson Chicken System, Inc., although she received $105,000 in royalties from the company, in which black businessmen held controlling interest, Mr. Eskridge said. Mahalia Jackson ( / mheli / m-HAY-lee-; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 - January 27, 1972) [a] was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. They say that, in her time, Mahalia Jackson could wreck a church in minutes flat and keep it that way for hours on end. In the name of the Lord, what kind of people could feel that way? [1][2][b] Charity's older sister, Mahala "Duke" Paul, was her daughter's namesake, sharing the spelling without the "I". Her first release on Apollo, "Wait 'til My Change Comes" backed with "I'm Going to Tell God All About it One of These Days" did not sell well. She was marketed to appeal to a wide audience of listeners who, despite all her accomplishments up to 1954, had never heard of her. [38] John Hammond, critic at the Daily Compass, praised Jackson's powerful voice which "she used with reckless abandon". Others wrote of her ability to give listeners goosebumps or make the hair on their neck tingle. Monrovia, CA. All of these were typical of the services in black churches though Jackson's energy was remarkable. They wrote and performed moral plays at Greater Salem with offerings going toward the church. "[127] Anthony Heilbut explained, "By Chicago choir standards her chordings and tempos were old-fashioned, but they always induced a subtle rock exactly suited to Mahalia's swing. When you're through with the blues you've got nothing to rest on. The final confrontation caused her to move into her own rented house for a month, but she was lonely and unsure of how to support herself. [32] She played numerous shows while in pain, sometimes collapsing backstage. [101] Scholar Mark Burford praises "When I Wake Up In Glory" as "one of the crowning achievements of her career as a recording artist", but Heilbut calls her Columbia recordings of "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "The Lord's Prayer", "uneventful material". She recorded four singles: "God's Gonna Separate the Wheat From the Tares", "You Sing On, My Singer", "God Shall Wipe Away All Tears", and "Keep Me Every Day". [i] Three months later, while rehearsing for an appearance on Danny Kaye's television show, Jackson was inconsolable upon learning that Kennedy had been assassinated, believing that he died fighting for the rights of black Americans. "[111][k], In line with improvising music, Jackson did not like to prepare what she would sing before concerts, and would often change song preferences based on what she was feeling at the moment, saying, "There's something the public reaches into me for, and there seems to be something in each audience that I can feel. The Acadmie Charles Cros awarded Jackson their Grand Prix du Disque for "I Can Put My Trust in Jesus"; Jackson was the first gospel singer to receive this award. Decca said they would record her further if she sang blues, and once more Jackson refused. Jackson later remembered, "These people had no choir or no organ. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Jackson often sang to support worthy causes for no charge, such as raising money to buy a church an organ, robes for choirs, or sponsoring missionaries. In attendance was Art Freeman, a music scout for Apollo Records, a company catering to black artists and audiences concentrating mostly on jazz and blues. [7][8][3], Jackson's legs began to straighten on their own when she was 14, but conflicts with Aunt Duke never abated. Evelyn Cunningham of the Pittsburgh Courier attended a Jackson concert in 1954, writing that she expected to be embarrassed by Jackson, but "when she sang, she made me choke up and feel wondrously proud of my people and my heritage. Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early influence category in 1997. Gospel had never been performed at Carnegie. [146] Known for her excited shouts, Jackson once called out "Glory!" As a Century 21 Regional Office, we can serve your needs anywhere in Southern California. She often asked ushers to allow white and black people to sit together, sometimes asking the audiences to integrate themselves by telling them that they were all Christian brothers and sisters. Through her music, she promoted hope and celebrated resilience in the black American experience. Nationwide recognition came for Jackson in 1947 with the release of "Move On Up a Little Higher", selling two million copies and hitting the number two spot on Billboard charts, both firsts for gospel music. When at home, she attempted to remain approachable and maintain her characteristic sincerity. In interviews, Jackson repeatedly credits aspects of black culture that played a significant part in the development of her style: remnants of slavery music she heard at churches, work songs from vendors on the streets of New Orleans, and blues and jazz bands. He lived elsewhere, never joining Charity as a parent. Marovich explains that she "was the living embodiment of gospel music's ecumenism and was welcomed everywhere". A few months later, Jackson appeared live on the television special Wide Wide World singing Christmas carols from Mount Moriah, her childhood church in New Orleans. Jackson, Mahalia, and Wylie, Evan McLeod, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 20:07. True to her own rule, she turned down lucrative appearances at New York City institutions the Apollo Theater and the Village Vanguard, where she was promised $5,000 a week (equivalent to $100,000 in 2021). Mahalia was born with bowed legs and infections in both eyes. [98][4][99] The New Grove Gospel, Blues, and Jazz cites the Apollo songs "In the Upper Room", "Let the Power of the Holy Ghost Fall on Me", and "I'm Glad Salvation is Free" as prime examples of the "majesty" of Jackson's voice. She answered questions to the best of her ability though often responded with lack of surety, saying, "All I ever learned was just to sing the way I feel off-beat, on the beat, between beats however the Lord lets it come out. He tried taking over managerial duties from agents and promoters despite being inept. In the final years of her life, Mahalia suffered many health problems. 808 S. Magnolia Ave., Monrovia - Feb. 18th & 19th from 9:00 am - 4:00 p.m., Feb. 20th from 9:00 am - 12 noon. Miller, who was in attendance, was awed by it, noting "there wasn't a dry eye in the house when she got through". Her house had a steady flow of traffic that she welcomed. And the last two words would be a dozen syllables each. She would also break up a word into as many syllables as she cared to, or repeat and prolong an ending to make it more effective: "His love is deeper and deeper, yes deeper and deeper, it's deeper! Her contracts therefore demanded she be paid in cash, often forcing her to carry tens of thousands of dollars in suitcases and in her undergarments. Jackson was momentarily shocked before retorting, "This is the way we sing down South! At 58 years old, she returned to New Orleans, finally allowed to stay as a guest in the upscale Royal Orleans hotel, receiving red carpet treatment. "[112] She had an uncanny ability to elicit the same emotions from her audiences that she transmitted in her singing. Some places I go, up-tempo songs don't go, and other places, sad songs aren't right. After hearing that black children in Virginia were unable to attend school due to integration conflicts, she threw them an ice cream party from Chicago, singing to them over a telephone line attached to a public address system. Other people may not have wanted to be deferential, but they couldn't help it. God, I couldn't get enough of her. Jackson refused to sing any but religious songs or indeed to sing at all in surroundings that she considered inappropriate. https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/01/archives/iss-jackson-left-1million-estate.html. Jackson's autobiography and an extensively detailed biography written by Laurraine Goreau place Jackson in Chicago in 1928 when she met and worked with, Dorsey helped create the first gospel choir and its characteristic sound in 1931. She later stated she felt God had especially prepared King "with the education and the warmth of spirit to do His work". Beginning in the 1930s, Sallie Martin, Roberta Martin, Willie Mae Ford Smith, Artelia Hutchins, and Jackson spread the gospel blues style by performing in churches around the U.S. For 15 years the genre developed in relative isolation with choirs and soloists performing in a circuit of churches, revivals, and National Baptist Convention (NBC) meetings where music was shared and sold among musicians, songwriters, and ministers. Her only stock holding was in Mahalia Jackson Products, a Memphis based canned food company. [39] The revue was so successful it was made an annual event with Jackson headlining for years. She laid the stash in flat bills under a rug assuming he would never look there, then went to a weekend performance in Detroit. Mr. Eskridge said Miss Jackson owned an 18unit apartment complex, in California, two condominium apartments and a threefiat building in Chicago. I can feel whether there's a low spirit. This turned out to be true and as a result, Jackson created a distinct performing style for Columbia recordings that was markedly different from her live performances, which remained animated and lively, both in churches and concert halls. Members of these churches were, in Jackson's term, "society Negroes" who were well educated and eager to prove their successful assimilation into white American society. Along with that, another 40% would go to his children, and the remaining 20% would be donated to charities. [97] Although hearing herself on Decca recordings years later prompted Jackson to declare they are "not very good", Viv Broughton calls "Keep Me Every Day" a "gospel masterpiece", and Anthony Heilbut praises its "wonderful artless purity and conviction", saying that in her Decca records, her voice "was at its loveliest, rich and resonant, with little of the vibrato and neo-operatic obbligatos of later years". She attended McDonough School 24, but was required to fill in for her various aunts if they were ill, so she rarely attended a full week of school; when she was 10, the family needed her more at home. "[136] Because she was often asked by white jazz and blues fans to define what she sang, she became gospel's most prominent defender, saying, "Blues are the songs of despair. The bulk of the estate was left to a number of relatives - many of whom cared for Mahalia during her early years. One early admirer remembered, "People used to say, 'That woman sing too hard, she going to have TB!'" "[85] So caught up in the spirit was she while singing, she often wept, fell on her knees, bowed, skipped, danced, clapped spontaneously, patted her sides and stomach, and particularly in churches, roamed the aisles to sing directly to individuals. The breathtaking beauty of the voice and superbly controlled transitions from speech to prayer to song heal and anneal. This woman was just great. Corrections? Gospel singer Evelyn Gaye recalled touring with her in 1938 when Jackson often sang "If You See My Savior Tell Him That You Saw Me", saying, "and the people, look like they were just awed by it, on a higher plane, gone. [113] Jackson was often compared to opera singer Marian Anderson, as they both toured Europe, included spirituals in their repertoires, and sang in similar settings. "Move On Up a Little Higher" was recorded in two parts, one for each side of the 78 rpm record. A compulsive gambler, he took home a large payout asking Jackson to hide it so he would not gamble it. Mahalia Jackson Sofia Masson Cafe Waitress Richard Whiten Sigmond Galloway Richardson Cisneros-Jones Lead Usher Carl Gilliard John Jackson Danielle Titus Audience Member Omar Cook Concert Goer Bo Kane Ed Sullivan Director Denise Dowse Writer Ericka Nicole Malone All cast & crew Production, box office & more at IMDbPro More like this 7.3 132. Director Kenny Leon Writers Bettina Gilois (story) Todd Kreidler (teleplay) Stars Amira Anderson Max Boateng Cassandra Bolinski As she prepared to embark on her first tour of Europe, she began having difficulty breathing during and after performances and had severe abdominal cramping. Jacksons first great hit, Move on Up a Little Higher, appeared in 1945; it was especially important for its use of the vamp, an indefinitely repeated phrase (or chord pattern) that provides a foundation for solo improvisation. "[53] Jackson began to gain weight. Jackson was accompanied by her pianist Mildred Falls, together performing 21 songs with question and answer sessions from the audience, mostly filled with writers and intellectuals. She moaned, hummed, and improvised extensively with rhythm and melody, often embellishing notes with a prodigious use of melisma, or singing several tones per syllable. "[80] When pressed for clearer descriptions, she replied, "Child, I don't know how I do it myself. If they're Christians, how in the world can they object to me singing hymns? M ahalia Jackson, the New Orleans-born gospel singer and civil rights activist, spent the later part of her life living in Chatham, in a spacious 1950s brick ranch house complete with seven rooms, a garage, a large chimney, and green lawns, located at 8358 South Indiana Avenue. Falls remembered, "Mahalia waited until she heard exactly what was in her ear, and once she heard it, she went on about her business and she'd tear the house down. For three weeks she toured Japan, becoming the first Western singer since the end of World War II to give a private concert for the Imperial Family. Their mortgages were taken over by black congregations in good position to settle in Bronzeville. Berman told Freeman to release Jackson from any more recordings but Freeman asked for one more session to record the song Jackson sang as a warmup at the Golden Gate Ballroom concert. Mahalia Jackson was born on October 26, 1911, in New Orleans, Louisiana. In the church spirit, Jackson lent her support from her seat behind him, shouting, "Tell 'em about the dream, Martin!" She's the Empress! I lose something when I do. When she came out, she could be your mother or your sister. Jackson was mostly untrained, never learning to read or write musical notation, so her style was heavily marked by instinct. They toured off and on until 1951. Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 20:07, campaign to end segregation in Birmingham, Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CSN, Jackson 5 Join Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Frequently Asked Questions: National Recording Registry, Significance of Mahalia Jackson to Lincoln College remembered at MLK Breakfast, The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mahalia_Jackson&oldid=1142151887, Features "Noah Heist the Window" and "He That Sows in Tears", The National Recording Registry includes sound recordings considered "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the, Doctorate of Humane Letters and St. Vincent de Paul Medal given to "persons who exemplify the spirit of the university's patron by serving God through addressing the needs of the human family". A position as the official soloist of the National Baptist Convention was created for her, and her audiences multiplied to the tens of thousands. enlisted several women to help raise Aretha while he was away on the lucrative church revival circuit, including Jackson, who lived near the family's home in Detroit. When this news spread, she began receiving death threats. Mahalia Jackson, (born October 26, 1911, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.died January 27, 1972, Evergreen Park, near Chicago, Illinois), American gospel music singer, known as the "Queen of Gospel Song." Jackson was brought up in a strict religious atmosphere. [54][55][h], While attending the National Baptist Convention in 1956, Jackson met Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy, both ministers emerging as organizers protesting segregation. Toward the end, a participant asked Jackson what parts of gospel music come from jazz, and she replied, "Baby, don't you know the Devil stole the beat from the Lord? When looking for a house in the Illinois neighborhood called Chatham,. As many of them were suddenly unable to meet their mortgage notes, adapting their musical programs became a viable way to attract and keep new members. ", In live performances, Jackson was renowned for her physicality and the extraordinary emotional connections she held with her audiences. Price, Richard, "Mahalia Jackson Dies: Jackson: Praise for Her God". She embarked on a tour of Europe in 1968, which she cut short for health reasons, but she returned in 1969 to adoring audiences. Bostic spoke of her abiding faith: "Mahalia never became so sophisticated that she lost her humility, her relationship with God as a divine being.