The controversial chronicler of Mahalia Jackson
Jules Schwerin 1919-2004
The controversial chronicler of Mahalia Jackson
Jules Schwerin was undoubtedly a driving force behind documenting the life and career of Mahalia Jackson, the undisputed queen of gospel music. His dedication was evident in his authoritative book, Got to Tell It: Mahalia Jackson, Queen of Gospel, a highly acclaimed documentary film, and the production of her Grammy Award-winning album for Best Gospel and Soul Album in 1976. However, despite this deep commitment, Schwerin's credibility as a biographer has been subject to fierce criticism.
Schwerin himself described his book as a “personal odyssey” that would reveal Mahalia as he and her closest confidants knew her. He had a “lifelong obsession” with her voice and drew on extensive interviews with Jackson herself, as well as with her “surrogate son” brother John Seiler, Studs Terkel, George Avakian, and Benjamin Hooks. From these conversations, he painted a picture of Mahalia as a woman of contrasts—warm and generous, but also cruel and unforgiving, as in the episode surrounding the dismissal of her pianist Mildred Falls, whose authenticity cannot be proven, but is based solely on his “memories.”
The shadows cast on Schwerin's credibility
It was precisely this ambivalent portrayal and Schwerin's own openness to “spiteful partisan remarks and gossip-hungry insider details” that led to considerable doubts about his credibility. In Mark Burford's book Black Gospel Field, Schwerin's credibility is explicitly questioned, as his portrayal of Mahalia Jackson and her character is often described as “misguided and off the cuff.” This is particularly concerning when he discusses Mahalia's performance in the film Imitation of Life.The core of the criticism is that Schwerin's personal penchant for “gossipy” and “spiteful” details may have compromised his objectivity. While he highlighted important aspects of Mahalia's life and career, such as her challenges on the radio and the creative way she broke with gospel style, his own disclosure of a preference for sensational aspects raises questions about the extent to which his portrayal of Mahalia's complex personality is actually balanced.
Mahalia Jackson was a groundbreaking artist who brought black gospel music out of Chicago's churches and into the mainstream. Schwerin's work remains an important source on her life, but criticism of his portrayal reminds us that even committed chroniclers do not always offer an unbiased perspective.