Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'A City Called Heaven' by Mahalia Jackson

Mahalia Jackson, properly and respectfully called “The Queen of Gospel Music,” is the voice and face of gospel music for most people around the world – even decades after her death. No artist before or since has commanded the stage and the public’s imagination like Halie. Her classic recordings for the tiny Apollo label, with Mildred Falls on organ or piano, comprise the pinnacle of traditional gospel music... “Moving On Up,” “In the Upper Room,” “How I Got Over,” “I’ve Been ‘Buked and I’ve Been Scorned” ... friends, there is nothing like them.

So let me add one more: her majestic reading of “City Called Heaven” from 1951 – it’s a master class on tension and release, of piety and power, and a majestic voice for the ages.

I’m Robert Darden … “Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments” is produced by KWBU and the Black Gospel Music Preservation Program at Baylor University Libraries.

RECENT EPISODES OF SHOUT! BLACK GOSPEL MUSIC MOMENTS

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "Reflections of the Man Inside" by Eddie Robinson

Bariton Eddie Robinson’s “Reflections of the Man Inside” also features top Motown producers, arrangers and musicians.

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - "I'm Saved" by J.C. White Singers

Some of New York’s finest musicians accompany the J.C. White Singers on the funky, jazzy gospel hit, “I’m Saved.”

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'Mountain Railroad' by The Rev. June Cheeks

The Rev. June Cheeks was one of the greatest shouters and testifiers in the history of gospel music – as his rendition of “Mountain Railroad” will surely prove!

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'I Belong to the Band, Hallelujah' by The Rev. Gary Davis

The legendary guitarist the Rev. Gary Davis recorded 14 stunning gospel tracks in New York City in 1935, including “I Belong to the Band, Hallelujah.”

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'I Made a Vow' by The Supreme Voices

The Supreme Voices never quite broke through during the Golden Age of Gospel Music, but with great tracks like “I Made a Vow,” it’s clear they probably should have been stars.

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'I'll be Welcomed' by The Sweet Brothers

The Sweet Brothers of Vero Beach, Florida, deserved wider recognition for their soulful, slow burn gospel songs, including “I’ll Be Welcomed.”

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - Alright, Alright by The Cotton Brothers

The Cotton Brothers of Macon, Georgia, excelled at a particularly exciting brand of gospel soul, including the rave-up, “Alright, Alright.”

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'One of These Mornings' by The Rev. J.R. Lockley and His Original Gospel Clefs

The Rev. J.R. Lockley and His Original Gospel Clefs, featuring big-voiced Ann Moncrief, deliver a killer version of the spiritual, “One of These Mornings.”

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'You’ve Got to Live the Life' by The Echoes of Life

New York City’s Echoes of Life turn Thomas Dorsey’s beloved “You’ve Got to Live the Life” into a rough and raspy old school gospel shout.

SHOUT! Black Gospel Music Moments - 'You've Got to Move' by Abbysinnia Baptist Church Young People’s Choir

In 1959, the Abbysinnia Baptist Church Young People’s Choir recorded a cheerfully up tempo version of the old spiritual “You’ve Got to Move” for the famed Gotham Record label.