Subscribe
Mahalia Jackson talks to a reporter 

(Raymond J. Denis/Stars and Stripes)

Tokyo, April, 1971: Mahalia Jackson, considered by many to be the best American gospel singer ever, talks to a reporter at her hotel a few hours after she performed for Empress Nagako and other members of the Japanese imperial family. Jackson sang at many important events in American history, including the Kennedy inauguration, the 1963 March on Washington, and the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. At the March on Washington, she preceded Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech with the spiritual, “I Been ‘Buked and I Been Scorned.”

Read Stars and Stripes’ full 1971 interview with Mahalia Jackson here.

Want to read Stars and Stripes’ interviews with other artists in Europe and the Pacific? Subscribe to Stars and Stripes’ historic newspaper archive! We have digitized our 1948-1999 European and Pacific editions, as well as several of our WWII editions and made them available online through https://starsandstripes.newspaperarchive.com/

Sign Up for Daily Headlines

Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets from around the world.

Sign Up Now