Jackie Wilson defied categorization. Hell, he steadfastly refused to be bound by it.

He was as confident commanding the Copa stage in Manhattan while delivering a rich rendition of "Body And Soul" that left bejeweled doyennes in a state of swoon as he was rocking the Apollo Theatre to its very foundation, his latest R&B smashes having a delirious effect on a younger and considerably hipper demographic that rushed the stage in throngs to fight for a smooch from the impossibly charismatic performer.

Wilson’s spellbinding stage antics were an outgrowth of his pugilistic training, peppered with splits and leaps and athletic feats of derring-do, his processed coiffeur piled high on his head and a soaked suit jacket slung nonchalantly over his shoulder at show’s end. Whenever the situation called for it, his voice effortlessly soared into operatically inclined domains that none of his peers could even dream of hitting. Top all that off with overwhelming sex appeal, and no wonder they called him Mr. Excitement.

Jackie Wilson was the very definition of soul–a sound and style that he helped create. Along with his pals Sam Cooke, Clyde McPhatter, Ray Charles, and Little Willie John, he changed the direction of rhythm and blues during the late 1950s and persisted as a trendsetter for more than a decade. Tragically felled in 1975 by a massive coronary (he never recovered, dying January 21, 1984), Jackie packed a lot of living into his first 41 years on the planet and scored a lot of hits for Brunswick Records.

"Jackie was just such a beautiful person to work with. He was such a professional," said Carl Davis, his Chicago-based producer from 1966 on. "All my memories of him are great."

Born June 9, 1934 in Detroit, Wilson’s two favorite pastimes growing up were boxing and singing spirituals. "He was with a group called the Ever Ready Gospel Singers," said fellow Detroit R&B vocalist Stanley Mitchell. "He was a great gospel singer. All the way through his career, every time you saw him and there was any singers there, you sang gospel around him."
But the secular world beckoned. In 1952, Dave Usher’s Dee Gee label issued Jackie’s first single, a stunning rendition of "Danny Boy," under the name of Sonny Wilson. He’d commit it to tape twice more in years to come; the version on this collection was a 1965 hit.

When Clyde McPhatter split as lead singer for Billy Ward’s Dominoes in ‘53 to form the Drifters, Ward replaced him with Wilson. "We picked him up in Detroit. We were living at the hotel there, and Jackie came down and auditioned," said the Dominoes’ Milton Merle. "Jackie had the ability to sing every single song Clyde had recorded as the lead singer with the Dominoes." Wilson fronted the group’s ‘53 hits "You Can’t Keep A Good Man Down" for Cincinnati-based Federal Records and "Rags To Riches"–a cover of Tony Bennett’s pop smash–for its parent King label. He stayed on board when the Dominoes switched over to Decca, the group nicking the pop hit parade with "St. Therese Of The Roses" in 1956.

Despite Jackie’s success with the Dominoes, Ward fired him soon after that, so he returned to Detroit. Al Green, owner of the Flame Show Bar (one of the Motor City’s top R&B and jazz venues), signed on as his manager. "Al Green was a very powerful, powerful man in show business," said Detroit singer Kenny Martin. "He’d get on the telephone and move the mountains." Green recruited a young trio of local songscribes to create material for his proteges; Roquel "Billy" Davis, writing under the alias of Tyran Carlo, composed with Berry Gordy and Berry’s sister Gwen, who ran the photo concession at the Flame.

Wilson was their first client, Berry and Billy giving him the romping "Reet Petite (The Finest Girl You Ever Want To Meet)," his Dick Jacobs-supervised debut single for New York-based Brunswick Records. Recorded in July of ‘57, it cracked the pop hit parade, its bouncy, brass-permeated arrangement ignited by Jackie’s muscular vocal gymnastics and rolling ‘r’s. When Green died that same year, the managerial torch passed to his assistant Nat Tarnopol, who would eventually end up owning Brunswick.

Davis and both Gordys came back to Jackie packing another winner, the strings-enriched ballad "To Be Loved," a huge pop and R&B seller in the spring of ‘58. If the tambourine and churchy choir on Jackie’s "Lonely Teardrops" have a proto-Motown feel, there’s good reason: Berry Gordy assisted Jacobs in its production, mirroring Eddie Holland’s Gordy-helmed demo.

"Eddie made mostly all his demos, ‘Lonely Teardrops’ and a whole bunch of stuff. That was Eddie’s sound," said Lamont Dozier, Holland’s future writing partner. "Their voices were similar in timbre. That’s why Berry and Gwen and Billy Davis had him do the demos." At the close of ‘58, "Lonely Teardrops" paced the R&B hit parade, racking up mammoth pop sales. The Gordys and Davis also brainstormed Jackie’s first pair of 1959 smashes, the rocking "That’s Why (I Love You So)" and "I’ll Be Satisfied," both helmed by Jacobs and Tarnopol in New York. But Berry and his cohorts quit writing for Jackie after that; founding the Motown empire understandably took precedence for Gordy.

Jackie brought in his next hit "You Better Know It" himself, lip-synching it in the Alan Freed film musical Go, Johnny, Go! and scoring his second R&B chart-topper that fall. Sid Wyche was responsible for "Talk That Talk," Wilson’s smash near year’s end. Jackie’s eclectic nature was illustrated by his two-sided blockbuster in the spring of 1960. On one side sat Wilson’s first Brunswick shot at the blues, "Doggin’ Around," another number one R&B smash. Its opposite side offered the operatically inclined "Night," a lilting adaptation of "My Heart At Thy Sweet Voice" from the Saint-Saens opera Samson and Delilah that Wilson sounded every bit as comfortable belting. Talk about extreme versatility!

"Jackie Wilson turned out to be probably my greatest idol that I ever had, as far as an entertainer," said Smokey Robinson. "Because to me, he had everything. Jackie was just a complete package. The other guys could sing, but Jackie could sing and dance and entertain. He was really just great. So I think I probably admired him more so than all the other guys."

Wyche returned with the smoldering "A Woman, A Lover, A Friend," Jackie’s fourth R&B chart-topper, in the summer of 1960. Wilson and composer Billy Myles collaborated on its dramatic pop flip "(You Were Made For) All My Love." "Jackie Wilson did three of my things," proudly noted Myles. Wilson’s swaggering "Am I The Man" came paired with "Alone At Last," another classically derived piece (from Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto in B Flat) that sailed to pop hitdom in late 1960 atop a lavish arrangement. A classical thread also ran through the ornate "My Empty Arms" in early ‘61.

Wilson embarked on an all-out dance campaign in 1963, Jacobs hiring Detroit arranger Gil Askey to scribe a blasting horn-and-choir treatment for "Baby Workout," written by Jackie in cahoots with his old Detroit cohort Alonzo Tucker. The result was a relentless R&B chart-topper that made a giant pop impression to boot. When the dance trend lost momentum for him, Jackie reverted to simmering soul ballads; he and Tucker were two-thirds of the composers on "No Pity (In The Naked City)," his biggest seller of 1965. The next year, his saucy duet "Think Twice" with ex-Atlantic Records star LaVern Baker did some business for the photogenic duo.

Still, major hits were growing scarce under Jacobs’ supervision in New York. Enter Carl Davis. "They had a disc jockey convention at the Waldorf-Astoria," said Davis. "I went there, and Nat Tarnopol asked me, would I be interested in doing some production work on Jackie Wilson? So I told him, ‘Sure, I’d be interested!’" The veteran producer had supervised smashes for Gene Chandler, Major Lance, Walter Jackson, and plenty more Windy City soul luminaries, and he hit it off with Jackie right away. "He flew out to Chicago, and everybody loved him."

Their first success was "Whispers (Gettin’ Louder);" arranged by ex-Motowner Sonny Sanders, it was a major pop/R&B hit in late ‘66. "Barbara Acklin and a boy named David Scott, they wrote it. And Jackie was in town, ‘cause we were going over some different songs. She told me that she had this one song, and she wanted to play it for Jackie. So I told her, ‘Go ahead on in there!’" said Carl. "So she went in there and started singing the song, and then he came and told me, ‘Man, I want to do that!’" Barbara’s days as Davis’ secretary were now numbered. "That’s when they noticed me and said, ‘Wow, let’s see what else she can do!’" said the late Acklin, who proceeded to cut several Brunswick hits of her own, led by "Love Makes A Woman" in ‘68.

Sparing no expense, Davis imported the Funk Brothers, Motown’s peerless house band, to lay down impeccable backing tracks for many of Jackie’s Chicago-cut Brunswick classics, including his final number one R&B hit in 1967, the Sanders-arranged "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher." "They used to come over on the weekends," said Carl. "They’d load up in the van and come over, and I would pay ‘em double scale, and I’d pay ‘em in cash." They weren’t the only now-famous Motown moonlighters involved. "There was a girl group called the Andantes, and they did the background on ‘Higher And Higher,’ said Davis.

"I remember I brought the track into New York. And we went into the studio, and Jackie started singing it, and it was completely different from what I thought it should sound like. And I told him, ‘No, no, no, no. I don’t like that,’" said Davis. "He told me, ‘Well, come out here and sing it how you want it sung!’ So I came out and I told him, ‘This is the way it needs to go.’ He said, ‘Oh, that’s what you want?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He went back in there and in one take he did it."

Other than a 1968 album that paired Wilson with Count Basie’s mighty orchestra, Davis remained in charge of Jackie’s recorded output until the end. There were more hits, including "Since You Showed Me How To Be Happy" in late ‘67, "I Get The Sweetest Feeling" in ‘68, 1970's "This Love Is Real" (written by Chicagoans Johnny Moore and Jack Daniels), and the Eugene Record-penned "You Got Me Walking" in ‘72.

"He could do standards. He could do opera. He could do anything. So you tried to find some songs that (reflected) what was going on in the marketplace, but also something that had some substance to it," said Davis. "He loved to sing. He loved people. He loved women. He was just good people."

On September 29, 1975, Jackie collapsed on stage in the middle of performing "Lonely Teardrops" at a Dick Clark-sponsored oldies concert in Cherry Hill, N.J. Tragically, he lingered in a comatose state for more than eight years after he was stricken, finally passing away January 21, 1984.

One of the greatest, most glorious singers in the illustrious history of soul music was gone.

–Bill Dahl

Special thanks to Carl Davis.

SOURCES
To Be Loved, by Berry Gordy (New York: Warner Books, 1994)
Motown: The Golden Years, by Bill Dahl (Iola, WI: Krause Pubs., 2001)
Chicago Soul, by Robert Pruter (Urbana IL & Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1991)
Joel Whitburn’s Top R&B Singles 1942-1988, by Joel Whitburn (Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research Inc., 1988)

All Music Guide

Jackie Wilson
All My Lovin'
Alone At Last
Am I The Man
An Ocean I'll Cry
Anniversary Song
April Showers
As Long As I Live
Ask
Baby (I Just Can't Help It)
Baby Get It (And Don't Quit It)
Baby Workout
Baby, That's All
Bad News Travels Fast
Be My Girl
Be My Love
Beautiful Day
Because Of You
Behind The Smile Is A Tear
Better Play It Safe
Big Boss Line
Bless My Broken Heart
Blue Moon
Body And Soul
Brand New Thing (Part 1)
Brand New Thing (Part 2)
By The Light Of The Silvery Moon
California, Here I Come
Call Her Up
Can't Help Lovin' That Gal Of Mine
Change Me
Come Back To Me
Come On And Love Baby
Comin' To Your House
Crazy She Calls Me
Cry
Cute Little Girls
Dancing Man, The
Danny Boy
Deep Down Love
Didn't I
Do It The Right Way
Do Your Thing
Doggin' Around
Don't Set Me Free
Don't Burn No Bridges
Don't Go To Strangers
Don't Laugh At Me
Don't Leave Me
Don't You Know I Love You
Dream
Each Night I Dream Of You
Each Time (I Love You More)
Eleanor Rigby
Etc. Etc.
Everything's Gonna Be Fine
Excuse Me For Lovin'
Expressions
Fairest Of Them All, The
For Me And My Gal
For Once In My Life
Forever And A Day
Forever And A Day
Fountain, The
Georgia
Girl Named Tamiko, A
Girl Turned Me On, The
Give Me Back My Heart
Go Away
Greatest Hurt, The
Groovin'
Growin' Tall
Happiness
Haunted House
Heart Of Love, A
Hearts
Helpless
He's A Fool
Hey Hey New York
Higher And Higher
Hold Me Need Me
Hold On I'm Comin'
Honey Baby
Hum De Dum De Do
Hush-a-Bye
I Apologize
I Believe
I Believe I'll Love On
I Can Do Better
I Can't Stand Another Hurt (In My Heart)
I Don't Know You Anymore
I Don't Need You Around
I Don't Want To Lose You
(I Feel Like I'm In) Paradise
I Found Love
I Get Lonely Sometimes
I Get The Sweetest Feeling
I Got It Bad
I Got My Mind Made Up
I Hurt So Bad
I Just Can't Help It
I Know I'll Always Be In Love With You
I Need Your Lovin'
I Still Love You
I Wanna Be Around
If I Can't Have You
I'll Always Be In Love With You
I'll Be Around
I'll Be Satisfied
I'm Comin' On Back To You
I'm Going Crazy (Gotta Get You Off My Mind)
I'm So Lonely
I'm The One To Do It
I'm Travlin' On
I'm Wandering
In Our House
In The Blue Of Evening
Indian Love Call
It Ain't
It Takes One To Know One
It's All My Fault
It's All Over
It's All Part Of Love
It's Been A Long Time
It's So Fine
It's Too Bad We Had To Say Goodbye
I've Got To Get Back (Country Boy)
I've Gotta Talk To You
I've Lost You
Joke (Is Not On Me), The
Just Be Sincere
Keep Me Hangin' On
Keep Smiling At Trouble (Trouble's A Bubble)
Kick Of The Mule
Kickapoo, The
Kiss A Thrill And Goodbye, A
Leader Of Men - Lover Of Women
Let Me Belong To You
Let Me Build
Let This Be A Letter (To My Baby)
Light My Fire
Lonely Life
Lonely Teardrops ('65 version)
Lonely Teardrops (hit version)
Love Again
Love Changed Her Face
Love Is A Many Splendid Thing
Love Is All
Love Is Where You Find It
Love Is Where You Find It
Love Train
Love Uprising
Lovely Way To Die, A
Magic Of Love, The
Mama Of My Song
Me Heart Is Calling
Me My Mother's Son
Memories And A Broken Heart
Mood Indigo
My Best Friend's Girl
My Eager Heart
My Empty Arms
My Heart Belongs To Only You
My Tale Of Woe
My Way
My Yiddishe Mama
Never Go Away
New Breed, The
New Girl In Town
Night
No Pity (In The Naked City)
No Time Out
Nothin' But Blue
Nothing But The Blues
Now That I Want Her
One Kiss
One More Time
Only You Can Save Me
Only You Only Me
Open The Door
Over The Rainbow
Passin' Through
People
Pianissimo
Please Stick Around
Please Tell Me Why
Pledging My Love
Power Of My Baby
Pretty Little Angel Eyes
Rags To Riches
Reality
Rebecca
Reet Petite
Right Now.
River, The
Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody
Say I Do
Say You Will
Sazzle Dazzle
Shake A Hand
Shake Shake Shake
She Done Me Wrong
She'll Be There
She's Alright
Silent One
Since You Showed Me How To Be Happy
Sing (And Tell The Blues So Long)
Singing A Song
So High
(So Many) Cute Little Girls
So Much
So Wonderful
So You Say You Wanna Dance
Somebody Up There Likes You
Someone To Need Me
Sonny Boy
Soul Galore
Soul Time
Soulville
Squeeze Her, Tease Her (But Love Her All Night)
Stardust
Start The Record Over
Stop Lying
Stormy Weather
Swannee
Take My Heart
Take One Step (I'll Take Two)
Talk That Talk
Tear Of The Year, The
Teardrop Avenue
Tears (Don't Care Who Cries Them)
Tears Will Tell It All
Tenderly
Test Of Time, The
That Lucky Old Sun
That's The Way I Love You
That's Why (I Love You So)
The Way I Am
There'll Be No Next Time
There's Nothing Like Love
Think About The Good Times
This Bitter Earth
This Guy's In Love With You
This Love Is Real
This Love Of Mine
Those Heartaches
Three Days One Hour And Thirty Minutes
Thrill Of Love
To Be Loved
To Change My Love
To Make A Big Man Cry
(Too Much) Sweet Lovin'
Toot, Toot, Tootsie
Trees
Try A Little Tenderness
Try It Again
Try Me
Twisting And Shouting (Doing The Monkey)
Until The Real Thing Comes
Watch Out
Way I Am, The
We Have Love
We Kissed
We'll Be Together Again
What A Lovely Way
What Cha Gonna Do About Me
What Good Am I Without You
What Kind Of Fool Am I
What's Done In The Dark (Will One Day Come To Light)
When Will Our Day Come
When You Add Religion To Love
Where There Is Love
Whispers (Getting' Louder)
Who Am I
Who Can I Turn To
Who Who Song, The
Why Can't You Be Mine
Wishing Well
With These Hands
Woman Needs To Be Loved, A
Woman, A Lover, A Friend, A
Working On My Woman's Heart
Yeah Yeah Yeah
Years From Now
You Belong To My Heart (Solomenta Unavez)
You Better Know It
You Brought About A Change In Me
You Can Count On Me
You Can't Have Your Cake (And Eat It Too)
You Cried
You Don't Know Me
You Don't Know What It Means
You Don't Think Twice
You Left The Fire Burning
You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It)
You Only Live Once
You Oughtta Be Ashamed
You Thing Of Beauty
(You Were Made For) All My Love
You'll Never Walk Alone
Your Loss My Gain
Your One And Only Love

Jackie Wilson
Recorded Live At
The Copacabana (1962)
Tonight
Medley: Body And Soul
I Apologize
Love For Sale
And This Is My Beloved
The Way I Am
I Love Them All / That’s What I Say
Night
That’s Why (I Love You So)
Danny Boy
Doggin’ Around
To Be Loved
Lonely Teardrops
St. James Infirmary
A Perfect Day

Jackie Wilson
With Linda Hopkins
(Gospel)
He’s Got The Whole World
In His Hands
Old Time Religion
When The Saints Go Marching In
Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho
Nobody Knows The Trouble
I’ve Seen
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Do Lord
Every Time I Feel The Spirit
Yes Indeed
Down By The Riverside
Dry Bones
Say I Do
I Found Love
Shake A Hand
There’s Nothing Like Love

Jackie Wilson
Christmas Selections
Silent Night
Joy To The World
O’ Holy Night
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
O Come All Ye Faithful
Deck The Halls
White Christmas
I’ll Be Home For Christmas
Silver Bells
O’ Little Town Of Bethlehem
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
The First Noel

Jackie Wilson
With Lavern Baker
Please Don’t Hurt Me
Think Twice
I’m Gonna Get You
I’m Still Gonna Love Him

Jackie Wilson
With Count Basie
Respect
Chain Gang
Uptight
Ode To Billy Joe
My Girl
For Your Precious Love
Satisfaction
I Never Loved A Women
I Was Made To Love Her
In The Midnight Hour
Funky Broadway
Even When You Cry