Song Title: He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
Song by: Mahalia Jackson

Podcast Vocals: Gail Nobles
Keyboard: Gail Nobles
Info: Wikipedia

Hello! I'm Gail Nobles and today's topic is Mahalia Jackson on The Gospel Greats. A show about great gospel singers. Did you know Mahalia Jackson once appeared on Sesame Street? It was 1969 when she sung the gospel "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands". (singing) ....

..... Mahalia would sing something like that, and she would never sing a song the same way all the time. Mrs. Jackson was a great gospel singer, and I was surprised to find out that she had appeared on Sesame Street.

Mahalia would refuse to sing any but religious songs or indeed to sing at all in surroundings that she considered inappropriate. But she sang on the radio and on television.

With her mainstream success, Jackson was criticized by some gospel purists she complained about her hand-clapping and foot-stomping and about her bringing "Jazz into the church". She had many notable accomplishments during this period, including her performance of many songs in the 1958 film St. Louis Blues, singing "Trouble of the World" in 1959's Imitation of Life, and recording with Percy Faith.

At the March on Washington in 1963, Jackson sang in front of 250,000 people "How I Got Over" and "I Been Buked and I Been Scorned". Martin Luther king Jr. made his I Have a Dream speech there. She also sang "Take My Hand Precious Lord" at his funeral after he was assassinated in 1968. Mahalia made many performances and recorded about 30 albums (mostly for Columbia Records) during her career, and her 45 rpm records included a dozen "gold" - million sellers.

Jackson's last album was What The World Needs Now (1969). The next year, in 1970, she and Louis Armstrong performed "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" and "When the Saints Go Marching In" together. She ended her career in 1971 with a concert in Germany and the she returned to the U.S., she made ne of her final television appearances on The Flip Wilson Show.

There is a quote left from Mahalia Jackson. She said, "I sing God's music because it makes me feel free. It gives me hope. With the blues, when you finish, you still have the blues."

When I hear Mahalia Jackson sing, I'm reminded to remember this song ......