# Mahalia Jackson — Move On Up a Little Higher

Mahalia Jackson’s Move On Up a Little Higher (1947) is No. 1 in our Gospel ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1947
- **Label:** Apollo
- **On one list:** Gospel
- **Updated:** 2026-08-30
- **Artist:** [Mahalia Jackson](https://waxonia.com/artist/mahalia-jackson/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/mahalia-jackson--move-on-up-a-little-higher/

## What we say

### No. 1 in [Gospel](https://waxonia.com/genre/gospel/)

It sold in the millions when gospel records were not supposed to sell at all. Jackson refused every offer to sing secular material, and never needed to.

## Analysis

8 sections, no single moment the energy jumps to.

- **Tempo:** 99.4 BPM — holds throughout
- **Key:** Bb major
- **Dynamic range:** 4.5 dB — compressed hard — very little between the quiet and the loud
- **Length:** 5:23

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: bass, other
- `0:18` B · **build** (bar 8), sung — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: bass, vocals, other
- `0:38` B · **peak** (bar 16), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: bass, vocals, other
- `0:49` C · **steady** (bar 20), sung — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: bass, vocals, other
- `2:16` C · **lift** (bar 57), sung — a short rise that does not resolve — a fill or a transition, not a build — playing: bass, vocals, other
- `3:47` C · **breakdown** (bar 94), sung — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: bass, vocals, other
- `3:59` C · **steady** (bar 99), sung — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: bass, vocals, other
- `5:05` D · **outro** (bar 127), sung — the closing fall — playing: vocals, other

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Mahalia%20Jackson%20Move%20On%20Up%20a%20Little%20Higher) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=06gAdro-62E)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.