Jackie Wilson

Welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm your host, Jumpin' John, and in this episode I will review the career of the prominent soul singer who was often called "Mr. Excitement".  That man was Jackie Wilson! 

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott. The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John. It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then.
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Transcript

Thank you for that introduction, and welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm your host, Jumpin' John, and in this episode I will review the career of the prominent soul singer who was often called "Mr. Excitement".  That man was Jackie Wilson!

Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. was born on June 9th, 1934, in the Highland Park section of Detroit, Michigan.  As a youth Wilson joined a gang called the Shakers and often got himself into trouble.  To compound matters, in 1943 his parents separated.  Jack began drinking at an early age, and he dropped out of high school at age 15.  He was sentenced twice to detention in the Lansing Corrections system for juveniles.  While there, Wilson learned how to box and began competing in the Detroit amateur circuit.  His mother forced him to quit boxing, and Wilson became a father at age 17.

Fortunately, Jack had begun singing as a youth.  He often accompanied his church-choir singing mother, and he joined the Ever Ready Gospel Singers.  In his late teens Wilson began working at Lee's Sensation Club as a solo singer.  After forming a group called the Falcons, Wilson was discovered by talent agent Johnny Otis, who recruited him for a group called the Thrillers.  The Thrillers evolved into the Royals, and Wilson signed on with manager Al Green.  Under his nickname, Sonny Wilson, he recorded "Danny Boy" and a few other tracks on Dee Gee Records.  Then in 1953 he was hired by Billy Ward to join the Dominoes.  The man he replaced was the great Clyde McPhatter, who left the Dominoes to form the Drifters.

Billy Ward suggested that Jack adopt the stage name "Jackie" Wilson, and he was the Dominoes' lead singer for three years.  In 1957 Wilson left the Dominoes and resumed his solo career, performing at Detroit's Flame Show Bar.  Al Green secured him a deal with Decca Records, and Jackie Wilson was signed to its subsidiary label, Brunswick.  Shortly before Wilson signed the solo contract with Brunswick, Al Green died unexpectedly.  Green's business partner, Nat Tarnopol, took over as Wilson's manager.  In August 1957 Jackie's first single was released, "Reet Petite".  "Reet Petite" was co-written by Berry Gordy Jr., Billy Davis, and Gordy's sister Gwendolyn.  The song peaked at #62 on the Billboard Best Sellers in Stores in September 1957 and reached #6 on the UK Singles Chart.  With the success of the song, Berry Gordy was able to fund his production career, Tamla Records, and ultimately Motown Record Corporation. Jackie Wilson recorded six more songs co-written by the Gordy siblings and Davis over the next two years.  This included "To Be Loved", "I'm Wanderin'", "We Have Love", "That's Why (I Love You So)", "I'll Be Satisfied", and "Lonely Teardrops".  "Lonely Teardrops" was released on November 17th, 1958.  The single topped the R&B charts and got to #7 in the pop chart.  It was ranked as the 57th biggest U.S. hit of 1959, selling over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named it one of "Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".  In 1999, "Lonely Teardrops" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.  In 2011 "Lonely Teardrops" was ranked #315 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Here is Jackie Wilson's recording of "Lonely Teardrops":

"Lonely Teardrops" established Jackie Wilson as an R&B superstar.  He was known for his fervor when performing, dynamic dance moves, impassioned singing, extraordinary, operatic multi-octave vocal range, and fashion sense.  All of this earned him the nickname "Mr. Excitement".  His stagecraft in his live shows inspired James Brown, Teddy Pendergrass, Michael Jackson, and Elvis Presley.  While Jackie sang he was a man in constant motion.  He would do splits, spins, knee-drops, back-flips, one-footed across-the-floor slides, removing his tie and jacket and throwing them off the stage, and basic, shuffling boxing steps.  Those powerful, electrifying live performances rarely failed to bring audiences to a state of frenzy.  Jackie made numerous TV appearances on such shows as The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, Shindig!, Shivaree, and Hullabaloo.

In March 1959 "That's Why (I Love You So)" was released.  It reached #2 on the U.S. R&B chart, #13 on the U.S. pop chart, and was featured on his 1959 album Lonely Teardrops.  The song ranked #90 on Billboard's Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1959.  By this time Davis and Gordy had left Brunswick after royalty disputes escalated between them and Nat Tarnopol.  

In June 1959 "I'll Be Satisfied" was released.  The single peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached # 6 on the R&B chart.  Then a single written by Jackie Wilson and Norm Henry, "You Better Know It", was released.  It peaked at #1 on the R&B chart, but only reached #37 on the pop chart, despite being used during Jackie's appearance in the 1959 rock and roll film Go, Johnny, Go!.  

Jackie Wilson had chart success with both sides of a single that Brunswick released in March 1960.  He sold over a million copies of the A-sided "Night" and the B-sided "Doggin' Around".  "Night" hit #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the R&B chart.  "Doggin' Around" reached #1 on the R&B chart and #15 on the Hot 100.  Next up was his September 1960 release of "Alone at Last", which reached #8 on the pop chart and #20 on the R&B chart.  

1961 turned out to be an eventful year for Jackie Wilson.  In February 1961 Wilson's single, "My Empty Arms" hit #9 on the pop chart.  Then on February 15th in Manhattan, Wilson was shot and seriously wounded by one of his girlfriends, Juanita Jones.  Shot in the stomach, he ended up losing a kidney, but the bullet was lodged too close to his spine to be removed.  Later that year Brunswick released Wilson's tribute album to Al Jolson, but it was a commercial failure.  

Jackie Wilson bounced back with the March 1963 release of "Baby Workout" from the album of the same name.  The "Baby Workout" single reached #1 on the R&B chart and #5 on the pop chart.  It was Jackie's second highest-charting song on the pop charts.  Following the success of "Baby Workout", Wilson experienced a lull in his career from 1964 to 1966.

In 1966 Jackie Wilson began working with established Chicago producer Carl Davis.  Davis wisely insisted that Wilson no longer record with Brunswick's musicians in New York.  Instead, Wilson recorded with Motown Records' Funk Brothers musicians and also with Davis's own Chicago-based session players.  The results led to a dramatic rebirth of Jackie Wilson's chart success.  In August 1966 Brunswick released Wilson's version of "Whispers (Gettin' Louder)".  Featuring instrumentation by the Funk Brothers and backing vocals by The Andantes, the single peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and #5 on the R&B chart.  Then a year later, in August 1967, came the release of "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher".  It was recorded for his album Higher and Higher.  The single reached #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Wilson's version also rose to #11 and #15 upon the UK Singles Chart during 1969 and 1987 respectively.  "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" was ranked #246 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.  The Higher and Higher album was released in November 1967.  The LP's chart peak was #163 on the Billboard 200 and #28 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart.  

In June 1968 Brunswick released Wilson's "I Get the Sweetest Feeling".  Despite only reaching #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #12 on the R&B charts, "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" has since become one of his biggest international chart successes.  It ranked in the UK's Top 10 twice - in 1972 and in 1987, when it reached #3.  However, Jackie's popularity in the U.S. was slowing down.  1970's "This Love Is Real" managed to land in the R&B Top Ten, but he would only have some minor pop chart entries in the early 1970's.  On September 29th, 1975, while playing a Dick Clark oldies show at the Latin Casino in New Jersey, Jackie Wilson suffered a heart attack on-stage while singing "Lonely Teardrops."  He lapsed into a coma, suffering major brain damage, and was hospitalized for eight years.  His friend Elvis Presley covered a large portion of Wilson's medical bills.  Sadly, Jackie Wilson never fully recovered, and he died on January 21st, 1984, at age 49 from complications of pneumonia.  

After Wilson's death, Michael Jackson paid tribute to him at the 1984 Grammy Awards.  Jackson dedicated his Album of the Year Grammy for Thriller to Wilson.  Michael Jackson said [and I quote] "Some people are entertainers and some people are great entertainers.  Some people are followers.  And some people make the path and are pioneers.  I'd like to say Jackie Wilson was a wonderful entertainer.  He's not with us anymore, but Jackie, where you are I'd like to say, I love you and thank you so much" [end quote]. 

Wilson scored a posthumous hit in Europe when "Reet Petite" topped the charts in the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom in 1986.  The following year, Wilson's posthumous charting success in the UK continued when he hit the UK Singles Chart again with #15 "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher".  In the 2010 VH1  television special Say It Loud: A Celebration of Black Music in America, Smokey Robinson and Bobby Womack both paid tribute to Wilson.  

During his career Jackie Wilson scored over 50 chart singles spanning the genres of R&B, rock 'n' roll, soul, doo-wop, and easy listening.  This included 16 Top 10 R&B hits, six of which reached as number ones.  On the Billboard Hot 100, Wilson scored 14 Top 20 pop hits, six of which reached the top 10.  During his lifetime, Wilson was nominated for two Grammy Awards:  in 1961 "Lonely Teardrops" for Best Rhythm & Blues Performance and in 1968 "Higher and Higher" for Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male.  Here are just a few of the numerous posthumous awards and accolades for Jackie Wilson:

•In 1987 Wilson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  

•In 2003 Wilson was honored with the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Legacy Tribute Award.  

•In 2004 Rolling Stone ranked Wilson #69 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

•In 2005 Wilson was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.  

•In 2013 Wilson was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.  

•In 2019 Wilson was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

•In 2023 Rolling Stone placed Wilson on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.  

Jackie Wilson's powerful voice and energetic performances left a lasting legacy and made him a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul.  "Mr. Excitement" was a master showman and one of the most dynamic singers and performers in soul, R&B, and rock and roll history.  Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, stated that Jackie Wilson was [and I quote] "The greatest singer I've ever heard. The epitome of natural greatness. Unfortunately for some, he set the standard I'd be looking for in singers forever" [end quote].  I will close this podcast episode with Jackie Wilson's version of "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher".  So, fellow travelers, may your path be smooth and your music always be rockin'!  And until next time...Rock On!