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Jackie Wilson
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Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer. Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Gaining fame in his early years as a member of the R&B vocal group, The Dominoes, after going solo in 1957 he went on to record over fifty hit singles over a repertoire that included R&B, pop, soul, doo-wop and easy listening before lapsing into a coma following a collapse on stage during a 1975 benefit concert.
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Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer. Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Gaining fame in his early years as a member of the R&B vocal group, The Dominoes, after going solo in 1957 he went on to record over fifty hit singles over a repertoire that included R&B, pop, soul, doo-wop and easy listening before lapsing into a coma following a collapse on stage during a 1975 benefit concert. By the time of his death in 1984, he had become one of the most influential soul artists of his generation.
Biography
Early years and career
Jack Leroy Wilson, Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan, the only son of Jack, Sr. and Eliza Mae Wilson. Growing up in the rough Detroit area of North End, Jackie, who was also called "Sonny" by friends, grew up rough, joining a gang called the Shakers and often getting in trouble. He dropped out of high school at the age of 15, and by that time had been sentenced to juvenile detention twice. After his second trip to detention, he discovered boxing, and boxed around the Detroit area, eventually winning the Golden Gloves division in Detroit at the age of 16. After getting married and becoming a father at 17, Wilson gave up boxing for music, forming a group that included cousin Levi Stubbs, who later went on to lead the Four Tops (two more of Wilson's cousins, Hubert Johnson and Levi's brother Joe, later became members of The Contours). He was soon discovered by talent agent Johnny Otis, who assigned him to join a group called the Thrillers. That group would later be known as The Royals (who would later evolve into R&B group, The Midnighters), but Wilson wasn't part of the group when they changed their name and signed with King Records. After recording a few sides with Dizzy Gillespie's record label, he joined The Dominoes after a successful audition to replace Clyde McPhatter, who had left to join The Drifters. Wilson was the group's lead singer for over a year producing the pop hit, "St. Therese of the Roses", before he began a solo career in 1957.
Solo stardom
In 1957, Wilson signed a solo contract with Brunswick Records, a subsidiary division of Decca, and released his first single, Reet Petite, which became a modest R&B success (but many years later, would become a huge international smash). The song was written by another former boxer named Berry Gordy, Jr., who co-wrote it with partner Roquel Davis. Soon the duo composed and produced a sizable collection of hit singles for Wilson, including "To Be Loved", "That's Why", "I'll Be Satisfied" and his late-1958 single, "Lonely Teardrops". The latter single became a No. 7 pop smash, and established him as an R&B superstar known for his extraordinary vocal range.
Due to his fervor when performing, with both his dynamic dance moves and singing, he was soon christened "Mr. Excitement", a title he would keep for the remainder of his career. His stagecraft in his live shows inspired Michael Jackson, among others.
In 1958, Davis and Gordy left Wilson after royalty disputes escalated between them and his manager, Nat Tarnopol. Davis soon became a successful staff songwriter for Chess Records, while Gordy used the money earned from his work with Wilson to form Motown Records in his native Detroit. Meanwhile, convinced that Wilson could venture out of R&B and rock and roll, Tarnopol had the singer record operatic ballads and easy listening material. Wilson scored hits as he entered the sixties with the No. 15 "Doggin' Around", the No. 4 ballad "Night", and "Baby Workout", another Top 10 hit (No. 5), which he composed with Midnighters member Alonzo Tucker. Top 10 hits continued with "Alone At Last" (No. 8) and "My Empty Arms" (No. 9) in 1960 and 1961, respectively.
Following the success "Baby Workout", Wilson experienced a lull in his career between 1964 and 1966 as Tarnopol and Brunswick Records released a succession of unsuccessful albums and singles. Despite the lack of sales success, he still made artistic gains as he recorded an album with Count Basie, as well as a series of duets with rhythm and blues legend Laverne Baker.
In 1966, he scored the first of two comeback singles with Chicago soul producer with "Whispers (Gettin' Louder)" and "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher," a No. 6 Pop smash in 1967, which became one of his final pop hits. This was followed by "I Get the Sweetest Feeling",which, despite its modest initial chart success in the U.S. (Billboard Pop #34), has since become one of his biggest international chart successes, becoming a Top 10 hit in England twice, in 1972 and in 1987, and a Top 20 hit in the Dutch Top 40 in The Netherlands, and has spawned numerous cover versions by other artists such as Edwin Starr,The Men's Club , Will Young, Erma Franklin (Aretha's sister} , and Liz McClarnon.
A key to his musical rebirth was that Davis insisted that Wilson no longer record with Brunswick's musicians; instead, he would record with legendary Detroit musicians normally employed by Motown Records. The musicians participated on Wilson's recordings due to their respect for Davis and Wilson, but also because they were poorly paid by Motown.
By 1975, Wilson and the The Chi-Lites were Brunswick's only significant artists left on the aging label's roster. Until then, Wilson continued to record singles that found success on the R&B chart, but found no significant pop chart success. His final hit, "You Got Me Walkin'", was released in 1972.
Personal life
Wilson was shot and wounded by one of his alleged lovers, Juanita Jones, on February 15, 1961. Allegedly, Jones shot Wilson in a jealous rage when he returned to his apartment with another woman, fashion model Harlean Harris, an ex-girlfriend of Sam Cooke. In order to protect his reputation, Wilson's management concocted a story that Jones was an obsessed fan who threatened to shoot herself, and that Wilson's intervention concluded in his being shot. The story was accepted, and no charges were brought against Jones. Freda Hood, Jackie's first wife with whom he had four children, divorced him in 1965 after fourteen years of marriage. He married Harris in 1967, but split up soon after. Jackie later met and lived with Lynn Crochet, and they had two children. He was with Lynn up until his heart attack and on-stage accident in 1975. However, as he and Harris never officially divorced, Harris took the role of Wilson's caretaker for the singer's remaining nine years. Wilson was a convert to Judaism.
Death
Wilson suffered a massive heart attack while playing a Dick Clark show at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, New Jersey on September 29, 1975, falling head-first to the stage while singing "Lonely Teardrops". The blow to the head Wilson suffered left him comatose. For the next eight years and four months, he was in a vegetative state until his death at age 49. Al Green, the soul singer, and Elvis Presley were some of the few artists who regularly visited the bed-ridden Wilson. A little known fact is that when he found out that Jackie was broke, Dick Clark paid all of Jackie's medical bills up to the day he died.
According to the 2005 biography, Jackie Wilson: Lonely Teardrops, he received a well-publicized funeral attended by approximately 1,500 relatives, friends and fans. He is interred in the Westlawn Cemetery in Wayne, Michigan.
In 1987, a segment on ABC's 20/20 featured the complicated legacy and tragic demise of Wilson. Both Harlean Harris and Lynn Crochet were interviewed, and the segment implied that Tarnopol took unfair advantage of his dual role as Wilson's manager and president of Brunswick Records. Charges that Tarnopol swindled Wilson out of most of his earnings were not pursued after Tarnopol's death.
Tributes and legacy
In 1985, the soul/funk band, The Commodores recorded "Nightshift" in memory of Wilson and soul singer Marvin Gaye, who both died in 1984. Reaching No. 1 R&B and No. 3 pop in the US, it was the group's biggest post-Lionel Richie hit.
Van Morrison also recorded a tribute song called "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)" on his 1972 album Saint Dominic's Preview. This song was later covered by Dexys Midnight Runners. When the track was performed on the British TV show Top of the Pops, a picture of Wilson was intended to be used in the background - but an intentional joke by the band and the production staff meant that a picture of darts player Jocky Wilson was used instead.
Michael Jackson honored Jackie Wilson at the 1984 Grammy Awards. Jackson dedicated his Album of the Year Grammy for Thriller to Wilson, saying, "In the entertainment business, there are leaders and there are followers. And I just want to say that I think Jackie Wilson was a wonderful entertainer...I love you and thank you so much."
Jackie Wilson is mentioned in the song "Gone But Not Forgotten" sung by artist TQ, which is a song dedicated to the memory of famous musicians who have died. The lyric is as follows:
"..and Jackie, will you teach me how to glide across the stage"
Wilson is also mentioned in the rap song "Thugz Mansion" by Tupac Shakur. The exact lyric is:
"Seen a show with Marvin Gaye last night,
It had me shook, sippin' peppermint schnapps
With Jackie Wilson, and Sam Cooke."
Until Jackson's comments, Wilson's recording legacy had been dormant for almost a decade. Tarnopol owned Wilson's recordings due to Brunswick's separation from MCA, but the label had essentially closed down, essentially deleting Wilson's considerable recorded legacy. But when Jackson praised Wilson at the Grammys, interest in the legendary singer stirred, and Tarnopol released the first Wilson album (a two-record compilation) in almost nine years through Epic Records, Jackson's label at the time. Through Tarnopol's son, Wilson's music has become more available.
Wilson scored a posthumous hit when "Reet Petite" reached number one in the United Kingdom in 1986. This success was likely due in part to a new animated video made for the song, featuring a clay model of Wilson, that became hugely popular on television. The following year he hit the UK charts again with "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" (No.3), and "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" (No.11).
Rita Coolidge covered "Higher and Higher" in 1977; her version reached No. 2 on the US pop charts, earning a gold record.
In 1999 , Jackie's original version of "Higher and Higher" and his signature song,"Lonely Teardrops" were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame,and both are on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Wilson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987; that same year, he was portrayed in the Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba by Howard Huntsberry.
In 1987, Jackie Wilson was portrayed by Howard Huntsberry in the movie La Bamba, a biography/drama about musician Ritchie Valens.
In 1989, "Higher and Higher" was featured heavily in the film Ghostbusters II, the soundtrack album of which featured a cover version of the song by Howard Huntsberry.
In 1992, Wilson was portrayed in the ABC miniseries by Grady Harrell in The Jacksons: An American Dream .
In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #68 on their list of the .
In 2007, Wilson's music will be featured in a film adaptation of Irvine Welsh's book Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance.
Discography
For a detailed listing of singles and albums, see Jackie Wilson discography.
US and UK singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | | US Top 100 pop | US Top 10 R&B | UK Top 75 | | 1957 | "Reet Petite" | - | - | #6 | | 1957 | "To Be Loved" | - | #7 | #23 | | 1958 | "Lonely Teardrops" | #7 | #1 | - | | 1959 | "That's Why (I Love You So)" | - | #2 | - | | 1959 | "I'll Be Satisfied" | - | #6 | - | | 1959 | "You Better Know It" | - | #1 | - | | 1959 | "Talk That Talk" | - | #3 | - | | 1960 | "A Woman, A Lover, A Friend" | - | #1 | - | | 1960 | "Night" | #4 | - | - | | 1960 | "Alone at Last" | #8 | - | #50 | | 1960 | "Stop Doggin' Around" | - | #1 | - | | 1960 | "Am I the Man" | - | #10 | - | | 1961 | "My Empty Arms" | #9 | - | - | | 1961 | "The Tear of the Year" | - | #10 | - | | 1961 | "I'm Comin' on Back to You" | - | #9 | - | | 1963 | "Baby Workout" | #5 | #1 | - | | 1966 | "Whispers (Gettin' Louder)" | - | #5 | - | | 1967 | "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" | #6 | #1 | #11 | | 1970 | "(I Can Feel These Vibrations) This Love is For Real" | - | #9 | - | | 1972 | "I Get the Sweetest Feeling"
(UK re-release) | - | - | #9 | | 1986 |
Hit albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | | US pop | US R&B | | 1963 | Baby Workout | #36 | * | | 1963 | Merry Christmas from Jackie Wilson | #6 | * | | 1966 | Whispers | - | #15 | | 1967 | Higher and Higher | - | #28 | | 1968 | Manufacturers of Soul | - | #18 | |
See also
External links
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