The woman who would one day be called the greatest gospel singer in the world was born in New Orleans on October 26, 1911. Her childhood home was a three-room house in the Black Pearl section of the city. It was a tiny space, home not only to little “Halie,” and her mother and brother, but to assorted aunts and cousins, too. In total, thirteen people and a dog shared that home.
Mahalia’s mother died when she was five, adding more hardship to her young life. She was raised by her Aunt “Duke,” who allowed no secular records in the home and who treated Mahalia and her cousins harshly when they failed to keep the family home immaculate.
Mahalia began singing in church as a child. Quickly it became apparent that she had a tremendous talent and possessed a voice that was rich, strong and impressive. One family member said Mahalia would one day sing before royalty. Eventually, that came true.
After moving to Chicago in 1927 as a teenager during the Great Migration north, word of her amazing voice began to spread — first in local churches, and soon in churches across America. In 1948, she recorded “Move On Up a Little Higher” for Apollo records.
It was a spectacular success — groundbreaking, in fact, because no gospel song ever achieved such sales on the secular side of the music industry.
