Judge Jackson facts for kids

Judge J. Jackson (born March 12, 1883, in Montgomery County, Alabama – died April 7, 1958, in Ozark, Alabama) was an important American composer, songwriter, and teacher. He is best known for his work with sacred harp music. This is a special type of singing that uses unique musical notes called shape notes. His book, The Colored Sacred Harp, published in 1934, was a very important record of how people sang this music in the early 1900s.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Judge J. Jackson grew up in a family of sharecroppers. This meant his family farmed land owned by someone else and shared the crops they grew. Because of this, he did not get much formal schooling when he was young.

When he was sixteen, he left home to work on a farm in Dale County, Alabama. He worked hard and eventually saved enough money to buy his own farm and land. Around the time he moved to Dale County, he became very interested in the Sacred Harp tradition. However, his new boss would not let him attend the local singing schools. So, he learned the special singing techniques from his friends and other people around him.

In 1902, he became a Christian and also got married. Just two years later, in 1904, he started writing words for shape note songs.

A Teacher and Composer

By the early 1920s, Judge Jackson was deeply involved in Sacred Harp music. He began teaching others how to sing and compose this unique style of music. He also started organizing big meetings, called conventions, for Sacred Harp singers across the southeastern United States. These events helped bring people together to share and celebrate their music.

The Colored Sacred Harp

In 1934, during a difficult time known as the Great Depression, Jackson published his own book. It was called The Colored Sacred Harp. This book contained 77 songs. Out of these, 18 were songs that Jackson himself had written. He wrote both the words and music for 17 of them, and just the music for one. He also changed or arranged 24 other songs for the collection.

One of the most famous songs in this book is Jackson's own composition, "My Mother's Gone." This song was later included in another important Sacred Harp songbook, the Cooper revision, many years later.

To pay for the printing of The Colored Sacred Harp, Judge Jackson and his friend, Bishop J.D. Walker, used their own money. They paid to print 1,000 copies of the book. Jackson then sold the books himself. He went door-to-door and also sold them at singing conventions and educational programs. This shows how dedicated he was to sharing Sacred Harp music with everyone.