"Burford's study is built on a solid foundation of historical sources, ranging from an array of interviews and contemporaneous reviews to Jackson's expansive catalogue of commercial recordings and radio/television broadcasts. The private journal of the singer's confidant and unofficial assistant, Bill Russell, offers fresh insight into her daily life and personal views on music and religion during the critical mid-1950s period. Burford has set a high bar for future scholarly inquiry." -- Ray Allen, American Music Review "In Mahalia Jackson and the Black Gospel Field, Burford (Reed College) draws from troves of previously unavailable interviews, archival collections, and other historical resources to provide readers with an insightful and in-depth analysis of Jackson's life and career. In so doing, the author also tracks the rise of black gospel music and the social and political culture of the US in the post-WW II era. Burford's critical analysis transcends the typical biographical treatment and offers a dynamic and engrossing glimpse into the America in which black gospel music sprouted and blossomed. Summing up: Highly recommended" -- CHOICE "Mahalia Jackson and the Black Gospel Field provides a careful and sensitive analysis of gospel singer Mahalia Jackson that positions her at the center of significant sonic and cultural shifts that redefine mid-century America. This is not the conventional biography, but a critical study that uses Jackson and more importantly her voice as a theoretical lens through which one can interrogate the politics of identity, the racialized and gendered politics surrounding the reading of black women's voices and bodies, as well as the communal and cultural implications that arise when the culture of a people shifts from the insular environments that birthed it to the broader spectrum of mainstream popular culture.
" --Tammy L. Kernodle, Professor of Musicology, Affiliate Faculty of American Studies, Black World Studies and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Miami University "Mahalia Jackson has finally received the book she deserves - thorough, precise, nuanced, and insightful. Mahalia Jackson and the Black Gospel Field expands our understanding of this great singer and the religious-musical history that she helped define." --Thomas Brothers, Professor of Music, Duke University and author of Help! The Beatles, Duke Ellington and the Magic of Collaboration.