Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 –
January 21, 1984) was an American singer, and a 1987 Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame Inductee. Known as "
Mr. Excitement",
Wilson was important in the transition of
rhythm and blues into
soul. He was known as a master showman, and as
one of the most dynamic singer and performers in R&B and rock
history.
[22965] [22966] Gaining fame in his early years as a
member of the
R&B vocal group
The Dominoes, he went solo in 1957 and recorded
over 50 hit singles that spanned
R&B,
pop,
soul,
doo-wop and
easy listening. During a 1975 benefit
concert, he collapsed on-stage from a heart attack and subsequently
fell into a
coma that persisted for nearly nine
years until his death in 1984.
In 2004,
Rolling Stone
Magazine ranked Jackie Wilson #68 on their list of the
100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
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,
Wilson joined a gang called the Shakers and often found himself in
trouble. He dropped out of high school at age 15, having already
been sentenced to juvenile detention twice. After the second time,
however, he discovered
boxing and performed
in the amateur circuit in the Detroit area. His record in the
Golden Gloves was 2 and 8. 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 multi-octave 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, and
Elvis Presley among
others.
[22967] His powerful, electrifying live performances
never failed to bring audiences to a state of frenzy.
[22968] Wilson also admitted he was influenced by
Presley too, saying "“A lot of people have accused Elvis of
stealing the black man’s music, when in fact, almost every black
solo entertainer copied his stage mannerisms from Elvis.”
[22969]
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.
Also in 1961, Wilson recorded a tribute album to
Al Jolson,
You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet,
which included the only album liner notes he ever wrote: ". . . to
the greatest entertainer of this or any other era . . . . I guess I
have just about every recording he's ever made, and I rarely missed
listening to him on the radio. . . . During the three years I've
been making records, I've had the ambition to do an album of songs,
which, to me, represent the great Jolson heritage. . . . This is
simply my humble tribute to the one man I admire most in this
business . . . . to keep the heritage of Jolson alive."
[22970]
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
Carl Davis with "Whispers (Gettin' Louder)" and
"
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, and has spawned numerous
cover versions by other artists such as
Edwin Starr,
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.
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 girlfriends, Juanita
Jones, on
February 15,
1961. It was alleged that 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. To protect Wilson's reputation, his
management supposedly concocted a story that Jones was an obsessed
fan who threatened to shoot herself, and that Wilson's intervention
resulted in his being shot. The story was accepted, and no charges
were brought against Jones. Freda Hood, Wilson's first wife, with
whom he had four children, divorced him in 1965 after 14 years of
marriage. He married Harris in 1967, but they separated soon after.
Wilson later met and lived with Lynn Crochet, with whom he had two
children. He was with Crochet until his heart attack in 1975.
However, as he and Harris never officially divorced, Harris took
the role of Wilson's caregiver 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 the line from his hit "Lonely Teardrops": "My
Heart is Crying". The blow to the head left him
comatose and for the next eight years and four
months he was in a vegetative state until his death at age 49.
Al Green and
Elvis
Presley were some of the few artists who regularly visited the
bed-ridden Wilson.
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
Jackie Wilson 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 " 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
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 goes "..and
Jackie, will you teach me how to glide across the stage?"
Wilson is mentioned in the rap song "
Thugz
Mansion" by
Tupac Shakur. The 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 "
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
"
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
1988, his version of "To Be Loved" was
featured in the movie
Coming to
America, when Akeem and Lisa were falling in love. Akeem
(
Eddie Murphy) later came back home
singing the song loudly (and poorly), waking up and infuriating his
neighbors.
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
100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
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 hit singles
Year |
Title |
Chart positions |
US Top 100
pop |
US Top 10
R&B |
UK Top 75 |
1957 |
"Reet Petite" |
62 |
- |
6 |
"To Be Loved" |
22 |
7 |
23 |
1958 |
"Lonely Teardrops" |
7 |
1 |
- |
1959 |
"That's Why (I Love You So)" |
13 |
2 |
- |
"I'll Be Satisfied" |
20 |
6 |
- |
"You Better Know It" |
37 |
1 |
- |
"Talk That Talk" |
34 |
3 |
- |
1960 |
"A Woman, A Lover, A Friend" |
15 |
1 |
- |
"Night" |
4 |
- |
- |
"Alone at Last" |
8 |
- |
50 |
"Stop Doggin' Around" |
15 |
1 |
- |
"Am I the Man" |
- |
10 |
- |
1961 |
"My Empty Arms" |
9 |
- |
- |
"The Tear of the Year" |
- |
10 |
- |
"I'm Comin' on Back to You" |
19 |
9 |
- |
1963 |
"Baby Workout" |
5 |
1 |
- |
1966 |
"Whispers (Gettin' Louder)" |
11 |
5 |
- |
1967 |
" Higher and
Higher" |
6 |
1 |
- |
1969 |
Higher and
Higher
(UK re-release) |
- |
- |
11 |
1970 |
"(I Can Feel These Vibrations) This Love is For Real" |
- |
9 |
- |
1972 |
"I Get the Sweetest Feeling"
(UK re-release) |
- |
- |
9 |
1986 |
"Reet Petite"
(UK re-release) |
- |
- |
1 |
1987 |
"I Get the Sweetest Feeling"
(UK re-release) |
- |
- |
3 |
Hit albums
Year |
Title |
Chart positions |
US pop |
US R&B |
1963 |
Baby Workout |
36 |
* |
Merry Christmas from Jackie Wilson |
6 |
* |
1966 |
Whispers |
- |
15 |
1967 |
Higher and Higher |
- |
28 |
1968 |
Manufacturers of Soul |
- |
18 |
References
- Miller, James (1999).
Flowers in the Dustbin: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1947-1977.
Simon & Schuster (162). ISBN 0-684-80873-0.
- Giddins, Gary. Rhythm-a-ning: Jazz Tradition and
Innovation, Da Capo (2000), pgs 148-149
- Guralnick, P: Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke, p.355.
Abacus, 2006.
- http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_jews.html
- Amazon.com: Jackie Wilson: Lonely Teardrops: Tony Douglas:
Books
- Lisa D. Campbell, Michael Jackson: The King of Pop, p.
77
External links