Mahalia Jackson - Silent Night

I thought it would be better to put some Christmas music up early enough for it to be a part of your holiday. This first one is a poppachubby request.

One of these days someone will finally compile all the Christmas related music Mahalia did in the 50's onto one magnificent disc at least twice as long as this one but it hasn't happened yet so here are the 10 tracks on my disc.

While these recordings certainly capture Mother Mahalia in fine voice, they are somewhat marred by the addition of a white orchestra and chorus. I really wish they had at least used a black choir for crying out loud! The recordings were done during the period that white folks had "discovered" and crowned Mahalia the Queen of Gospel (a title which caused her much embarrassment in the Gospel world) and so they assumed that the same sterile packaging used on Bing Crosby would "improve" Mother's appeal (wretch!). Thankfully the majesty of her voice is able to triumph over the dreck foisted upon her.