severely underpaid Mildred considering all she did for her. When Mildred got up the nerve to ask for a raise so she could afford to live in a motel and eat out, Mahalia fired her. When Mahalia had money, no one could talk to her and she would close out anything and everything that she didn?t want to get involved with. (1) Good news came for Mahalia when George Avakian and his wife asked her to participate in a New York concert that would be performed in the Town Hall. Gospel songs and spirituals were considered serious and sacred music for the black church congregation. The ?blues? were often considered sinful since they were secular with origins from the streets, alleys and barrelhouses. Brother John Sellers grew up in the Mississippi River towns and was exposed to gospel, blues, and eventually jazz. He loved these aspects of music and decided to cut his dependency with Mahalia Jackson. (2) In 1953, John Hammond was making a name for himself and was drafted by Maynard and Seymour Solomon, the producers of Vanguard Records. Before John took off, playing in concerts in Canada and Europe, John recorded two albums with them. Big Bill gave John an open invitation to when the time came for him to separate from Mahalia. By 1958, John took Bill up on his offer and joined him willingly. By 1955, Big Bill had achieved celebrity status in England; he introduced Mahalia to the audiences in the Albert Hall. Mahalia joined Bill on h...
