Last week, on the 50th anniversary of the
March on Washington, NPR ran a stirring story about Martin Luther King Jr. and
the great gospel singer Mahalia Jackson.
Michele Norris interviewed Clarence B. Jones, who was an adviser to King
during the Civil Rights movement. He
shared the following reminiscence.
It seems that whenever King had a difficult day he would
call Mahalia Jackson and ask her to sing for him. He would say, “Please sing to me,
Mahalia. I’m havin’ a rough day.” She would sing his favorite songs to him over
the phone, and he would close his eyes, and sometimes tears would course down
his cheek. When she was through he would
tell her, “Mahalia, you have given me the Lord’s voice this morning’.” Then he would pick up the burden and keep on
leading the way.
This is a remarkable instance of what singing does for
body and soul.
You can hear the entire story here, including her part on
that memorable day in August 1963, when she shouted out and encouraged him to
depart from the end of his written speech and launch into his unforgettable
“dream” speech:
And for your own soul refreshment, here is a Mahalia
Jackson moment.
She was a remarkable, one-of-a-kind singer, with a
velvety rich voice brimming with emotion and soul power. I have vivid memories of my mother’s deep,
deep enjoyment of Mahalia’s singing; it influenced my own response to her
music. And as I grew up and expanded my
musical education, my appreciation for her vocal ability, musicianship, and way
with a song only increased. She was, in
the best and old-fashioned sense of the word, awesome.
These are indeed soul matters. And soul does indeed matter!
Dr. Linda Gingrich
Artistic director and conductor
Master Chorus Eastside
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