Laurraine Goreau interviews and recordings
This digital collection consists of select interviews digitized from the Laurraine Goreau collection, HJA-059, of the Hogan Archive of New Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz, a division of Tulane University Special Collections. The audio interviews were digitized with a 2019 Recordings at Risk grant from the Council on Library & Information Resources (CLIR).
More About This Collection
Contributor to Resource
Goreau, Laurraine
Taylor, Cecile
Jackson, Mahalia, 1911-1972
Yancey, Richard
Kimble, Bessie
Beal, Elliot
Jackson, Johnny
Sellers, John, 1924-1999
Publisher
New Orleans, La. : Tulane University Digital Library
Date of Original
1967/2020
Subject
Music trade
Gospel music
Race relations
Gospel music--Accompaniments
Church music
Civil rights demonstrations
Civil rights workers
Christianity
Civil rights movements
Black people--Social conditions
Blues (Music)
Gospel singers
Women in the music trade
People
Taylor, Cecile
Goreau, Laurraine
Jackson, Mahalia, 1911-1972
Kimble, Bessie
Yancey, Richard
Beal, Elliot
Clark, Allen, Jr.
Jackson, Johnny
Lawson, Alice Stamps
Lazard, Isabella
Location
United States, 39.76, -98.5
United States, California, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, 34.05223, -118.24368
United States, Illinois, Cook County, Chicago, 41.85003, -87.65005
United States, Louisiana, Orleans Parish, New Orleans, 29.95465, -90.07507
Medium
sound recordings
Type
Sound
Description
This digital collection consists of select interviews digitized from the Laurraine Goreau collection, HJA-059, of the Hogan Archive of New Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz, a division of Tulane University Special Collections. The audio interviews were digitized with a 2019 Recordings at Risk grant from the Council on Library & Information Resources (CLIR).
The interviews from the Laurraine Goreau collection were recorded by Goreau from 1971 to 1975 during her research into the life of Mahalia Jackson for her 1975 authorized biography of Jackson, Just Mahalia, Baby. The interviews chronicle the life of Mahalia Jackson, the popular New Orleans-born vocalist and civil rights activist known worldwide as the “Queen of Gospel.” The interviews include details about Jackson’s life, including her childhood, marriage, health, singing and music career, religious engagement, political engagement, and accomplishments up until her death in 1972. Interviewees include musicians and singers that worked closely and toured with Jackson, her extended family, members of the religious community, musicians, entertainers, politicians, and activists. American icons closely associated with Jackson such as the Reverend Ralph Abernathy and Brother John Sellers are interviewed several times. Other recordings included in this collection were made by Goreau during the time she spent with Jackson touring in India and Japan and include live performances, interviews with the press, and site seeing tours. The interviews and recordings provide an intimate portrait of the singer and shed light on the entry of Black gospel music into post-World War II American popular culture while highlighting Jackson’s role in the music industry and the U.S. civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
Language
eng
Contributing Institution
Amistad Research Center
Rights
