Greatest Hits - Mahalia Jackson

  Although many pressed her, Mahalia Jackson flatly refused to perform anything except gospel. It was a decision that cost her dearly: she would spend the first four decades of her life in poverty and near-poverty, shoring up various business ventures with work as a laundress, singing whenever she could, and recording music that didn't sell. But when success at last came, not only did it come in a big way, it came on her own terms.
  In the 1950s a series of radio and television appearances launched her to international fame, and over the next two decades she would release some thirty albums, tour extensively in both America and Europe, and even appear in a handful of motion pictures--most notably IMITATION OF LIFE. In the 1960s she also became a tireless worker in the Civil Rights movement, appearing frequently in support of the cause. By the time of her death in 1972, her soulful voice had had tremendous impact on numerous other vocalists (including Aretha Franklin) and she was regarded as the single finest gospel singer of the 20th century. And some thirty years after her death, her work remains tremendously influential and her reputation stands unchallenged.