I did not know much about Mahalia Jackson when I began to write this review.  I knew of her as a Gospel singer, and I had only heard her sing on the two Christmas CDs I have from her.  Although reading her Wikipedia page took some time, it was worth it.  I suggest you do the same because I am leaving a lot of stuff out.  Mahalia Jackson was a remarkable woman.

Mahalia Jackson was born in 1911 in New Orleans and grew up very poor.  Early on, Mahalia Jackson found solace in her local church singing the praises of Jesus.  She discovered passion and gratitude in singing Gospel hymns.  As a teen, she moved to Chicago and began singing with one of the earliest Gospel groups, The Johnson Singers.  At her local church in Chicago, she would sing from the congregation, just as all the parishioners did.  But her style was quite different from the rest of the congregation.  Because of her Southern roots, she was more authentic to the spirituals she was raised on, and most Northerners had never heard Gospel sung the way Mahalia Jackson sang.

Success came slowly, but eventually she received a recording contract from Apollo Records, a label that specialized in music performed by Black artists, targeting Black listeners.  After 10 years at Apollo Records, Mahalia Jackson was offered a recording contract at Columbia Records in 1954.

Mahalia Jackson enjoyed an amazing, successful career.  After being exposed to White listeners through Studs Terkel’s daily radio show in Chicago, she became in large demand from Black and White audiences alike.  Her fame rose quickly, and she toured the world.  Everywhere Mahalia Jackson performed, audiences were amazed and taken aback by her performances.

Mahalia Jackson credits Bessie Smith as an influence.  Also, the Pentecostal church she used to stand out front of in New Orleans.  She also would listen to other Blues and Jazz singers of the 1920s.  She combined all the influences of Blues, Jazz, Gospel and her devotion to God to create a unique vocal styling never heard before in Gospel music.

Mahalia Jackson was of the Baptist faith, and she was raised in strict adherence of the faith.  After her grandfather suffered a stroke, she prayed to God that if He would let him live, she would never sing in theatres or in vaudeville anymore, and she would never sing secular songs.  She stood by that conviction for the rest of her life.  Mahalia Jackson’s success brought national attention to Gospel music all around the world.

Later in life, Mahalia developed health problems.  She suffered from a few illnesses, but they were all treated successfully except sarcoidosis.  In late 1971, while on tour in Germany, Mahalia Jackson became ill and had to fly home.  In Chicago, while having an operation to remove a bowel obstruction, she did not survive the operation.  Mahalia Jackson died in January of 1972.

Mahalia Jackson’s first album for Columbia Records was the first full length Christmas album she ever recorded.  It was also this Christmas album, released under the title, Sweet Little Jesus Boy, in 1955.  This CD reissue contains all the original 10 songs from the album, and in their original order.  For the life of me, because this is a Sony Music Special Products release and manufactured by Columbia Records, I don’t know why they changed the title.  And the cover artwork too.

The cover artwork for the CD shows a picture of Mahalia Jackson from the shoulder up, wearing a white choir robe.  She is looking reverently upwards.  There are two gold candles burning off her left shoulder.  Her name appears at the top of the CD in a white script and the CD title appears directly below in green letters.  Below are the song titles in red lettering.  All is presented on a black background.

The back of the CD is quite plain.  It features a green background with Mahalia Jackson’s name and the CD title in black block letters.  Below, and taking up most of the space, is a numerical track listing featuring time signatures.  Also included are total CD length, the original release catalog number, and some remastering notes.

Also present are the letters AAD.  Regular readers of this blog know that I like to see AAD.  It means that these are not re-recordings, rather they are the original Analog recordings that were also mastered on an Analog tape deck, and they are now presented in a Digital format.

As is typical of Sony Music Special Products, inside the front cover, which opens along a single fold-out, is blank.  Bummer.  What a missed opportunity to include a biography of Mahalia Jackson’s life.  The back of the CD cover is an exact duplicate of the back of the CD.  Bummer again.

I don’t know if it needs to be stated, but all the original 10 songs are Christmas hymns, except one.  The album does contain White Christmas, which I find odd because Mahalia declared to never sing secular songs.  Taking a quick look through the track listing on most of her albums, I can only find one other album that includes songs not of the Gospel kind, but they are traditional folk songs.

Throughout most of her career, Mahalia Jackson was accompanied by a pianist, or organ player.  Sometimes both, but most often, piano was the only instrument used.  For most of her career, her regular piano player was Mildred Falls.  Once her career took off and she spent most of her time touring, Mahalia Jackson would travel with a large ensemble of musicians, singers and assistants.  Many times, while touring in the South of the United States, due to her race, her and her entourage would be denied places to stay or places to eat, even though she was well known around the world.

The CD begins with Silent Night, Holy Night.  All the songs are Gospel influenced Christmas songs.  Some are more solemn than others, such as Silent Night, Holy Night, and others are like attending a revival, such as No Room At The Inn.

Silent Night, Holy Night starts with an organ.  A piano comes along to play the rhythm as Mahalia begins her vocals.  For 4 ½ minutes, Mahalia Jackson sings this most recorded Christmas hymn.  Her vocals are filled with passion and grief at the same time.  This IS Mahalia Jackson at her best.

No Room At The Inn is a Gospel shouter that really rocks.  This is why Mahalia Jackson was so popular.  She had the God-fearing, church-going crowd due to her passionate hymns, and she had the Blues fans due to songs like No Room At The Inn.  Yea, it’s a Christmas song, but I bet you’ve never heard a Christmas song like this before.  Rolling piano, and xylophone deliver this Jazz influenced shouter.  Incredible.  And I like the song title.  It tells you what the song is going to be about, but once the song starts, the rhythm takes center stage, but there is no denying the message.  This too, IS Mahalia Jackson!

All the arrangements and orchestrations are by Sid Bass & his Orchestra.  I’m familiar with him as an orchestra leader, but this orchestra is not your typical 1955 studio orchestra.  At Columbia, Mahalia Jackson was given a lot of creative control over her recordings.  The principle instruments performing on this CD reissue are mainly piano, organ, xylophone and mixed chorus.

Strings do make an appearance on the 3^rd song, Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem.  The pace is slow and deliberate, and the melody is delivered by piano, organ and strings.  Mahalia’s vocals are arranged traditionally, but her style of pronouncing every syllable makes this song extremely personal.

The 4^th song, The Holy Babe, picks up the pace again and is another heavily Gospel influenced Christmas hymn.  It is a variation of the hymn Children, Go Where I Send Thee.  Again, the rhythm features the piano and xylophone only.

The 5^th song, Joy To The World, is a pretty straight forward traditional arrangement of this familiar Christmas hymn.  The melody is supplied by piano, organ and bells.  Here, Mahalia Jackson is joined by a mixed choir for the harmonies’s.  I think the choir, especially the bass, really pulls this song together.

O Come, All Ye Faithful begins triumphantly with bells ringing and the organ accompanying.  Once more, from the start, Mahalia Jackson is joined in unison with a mixed chorus.  The bass singers provide great texture to this song.  The vocals, although slow and deliberate, are traditional.

The 7^th song, Mahalia’s rendition of Go Tell It On The Mountain, is so great a Christmas song that it’s in my Top 500 Classic Christmas Recordings.  It’s an old Negro Spiritual song from the mid-1800s.  The only accompaniment is piano and xylophone.  I like this song, no matter who sings it.  Mahalia’s vocals are deliberate and passionate.

White Christmas is the 8^th song.  Bells tolling open the song.  You would expect a more solemn Christmas hymn with that kind of opening, and it catches you off guard a little when you realize it’s the Irving Berlin classic.  It’s Mahalia Jackson’s singing style that makes every song sound like a Gospel hymn.  The melody is performed by piano, xylophone and organ.  The vocals are slow paced and passionate.  This song is a good example of the way Mahalia Jackson bends the notes and switches between octaves while singing the same syllable.  Traditional church pastors found this distracting.  Jazz and Blues aficionados found it infectious.

The 9^th song is another personal favorite.  I Wonder As I Wander is perhaps my second favorite Christmas song.  (You must keep checking in daily to find out what my # 1 favorite Christmas song is 😊).  After a brief piano interlude at the beginning, a string orchestra begins the song.  As Mahalia starts her vocals, the mixed chorus is there to offer deep tones of oohs and aahs.  The strings fall back slightly, and the piano takes more of the melody.

The final song on this incredible Christmas album from the world’s greatest Gospel singer, and one of the greatest singers of all time, is the original album title, Sweet Little Jesus Boy.  I am not familiar with this as a Christmas song, although I have many versions of it.  The melody relies on piano and organ while the mixed chorus provides most of the rhythm.  Mahalia’s vocals are passionate and reverent.  By listening to this song, you become mesmerized by Mahalia Jackson’s talent.

This is a terrific Christmas album recorded and released in 1955 by a terrific singer.  There are many kinds of Christmas albums.  I think most are created to entertain while occasionally reminding the listener of what the true meaning of Christmas is about.  Mahalia Jackson reminds you of that in every song.

This should appeal to anyone who likes Christmas and should be a special treat for anyone who likes Christmas music.  It doesn’t sound dated.  I guess you could still make Christmas music like this as long as you don’t go near anything digital, including synthesizers.  Other than that, the melodies are supplied by just a handful of instruments and it’s Mahalia Jackson’s vocal delivery that gets you hooked.

This is a Christmas CD that should be purposely seeked out during the Christmas season.  Half the songs are upbeat Gospel influenced Christmas songs that will keep the mood jubilant, and all are in the true spirit of Christmas.

I give this CD :

*****