What Louis Armstrong was to jazz, Mahalia Jackson was to gospel: An inspirational figure considered by many to be the genre's greatest of all time. Born in New Orleans in 1911, she first sang in the church at age 4 and later toured with one of the first professional gospel groups, the Johnson Brothers. Her 1948 single “Move On Up a Little Higher” was her breakthrough and her deep, resonant voice made her a star. Signing to Columbia in 1954, she recorded with everyone from Duke Ellington to Harpo Marx; her popularity transcended race and genre. She died in 1972.