Mahalia Jackson's Recording of "Move on Up A Little Higher"

73 years ago today on September 12, 1947, Mahalia Jackson recorded the double-sided recording of W. Herbert Brewster’s “Move on Up a Little Higher” (Apollo 164) for Apollo Records. The song was released in December 1947. In the early months of 1948, the song had already reportedly sold tens of thousands in Chicago and was receiving heavy radio play. The record not only became a bestseller but it was reportedly black gospel’s first million-seller. “Move on Up a Little Higher” garnered Jackson’s first critical evaluation on December 6, 1947, in Billboard, the music trade publication. (Source: Mark Burford, Mahalia Jackson and the Black Gospel Field, Oxford University Press, 2019.)