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Jackie Wilson
Wilson in 1961
Background information
Birth name	Jack Leroy Wilson Jr.
Also known as	Mr. Excitement
Born	(1934-06-09)June 9, 1934 Detroit, Michigan, US
Died	January 21, 1984(1984-01-21) (aged 49) Mount Holly, New Jersey, US
Genres	R&B, soul, pop, rock and roll, doo-wop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1953–1975
Labels	Dee Gee, King, Federal, Brunswick
Associated acts	Billy Ward and his Dominoes, Billy Davis

Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American soul singer and performer. A tenor with a four-octave range, Wilson was nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", and was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Wilson was considered a master showman, and one of the most dynamic singers and performers in pop, R&B, and rock & roll history.^[1][2]

He gained initial fame as a member of the R&B vocal group Billy Ward and His Dominoes. Wilson went solo in 1957 and scored over 50 chart singles that spanned the genres of R&B, pop, soul, doo-wop and easy listening, including 16 R&B Top 10 hits, in which six R&B of the repertoire ranked as number ones. On the Billboard Hot 100, Wilson scored 14 top 20 pop hits, six of which reached the top 10. Jackie Wilson was one of the more important and influential musical artists of his generation.

A two-time Grammy Hall of Fame Inductee, and winner of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's special Legacy Tribute Award in 2003,^[3] Jackie Wilson was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.^[4] In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Jackie Wilson #69 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[5]

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

Biography

Early years and career

Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. was born on June 9, 1934, in Detroit, Michigan, as the third child and the only surviving child of singer-songwriter Jack Leroy Wilson, Sr. (1903–1983) and Eliza Mae Wilson (1907–1984). Eliza Mae was born on the Billups-Whitfield Place in Columbus, Mississippi. Eliza Mae's parents were Tom and Virginia Ransom. Wilson often visited his family in Columbus and was greatly influenced by the choir at Billups Chapel. Growing up in the suburban Detroit enclave of Highland Park, Wilson joined a gang called the Shakers and often got himself in trouble. Wilson's alcoholic father was frequently absent and usually unemployed. His parents separated shortly after Jackie's ninth birthday.

Jackie Wilson began singing as a youth, accompanying his mother, an excellent church choir singer. In his early teens he joined a quartet, the Ever Ready Gospel Singers, who gained popularity in local churches. Wilson was not very religious, but he enjoyed singing in public. The money the quartet earned from performing was often spent on alcohol, and Wilson began drinking at an early age.^[6]

Wilson dropped out of high school at age 15, having been sentenced to detention in the Lansing Corrections system for juveniles twice. During his second stint in detention, Wilson learned to box and began competing in the Detroit amateur circuit at age 16. Wilson's record in the Golden Gloves was 2 and 8. After his mother forced Jackie to quit boxing, Wilson was forced by her father to marry Freda Hood, and he became a father at age 17. It is estimated that Wilson had fathered at least 10 other children before marrying Freda.^{[citation needed]} He began working at Lee's Sensation Club as a solo singer,^[7] then formed a group called the Falcons that included cousin Levi Stubbs, who later led the Four Tops. (Two other Wilson cousins, Hubert Johnson and Levi's brother Joe, later became members of the Contours.) The other Falcons joined Hank Ballard as part of the Midnighters.^[8] including Alonzo Tucker and Billy Davis, who worked with Wilson several years later as a solo artist. Tucker and Wilson collaborated as songwriters on a few songs Wilson recorded, including his 1963 hit "Baby Workout".

Jackie Wilson was discovered by talent agent Johnny Otis, who recruited him for a group called the Thrillers. That group evolved into the Royals (who later became R&B group, the Midnighters, though Wilson was not part of the group when it changed its name and signed with King Records). Wilson signed on with manager Al Green (not to be confused with R&B singer Al Green, nor Albert "Al" Green of the now defunct National Records). Green, who also managed LaVern Baker, Little Willie John, Johnnie Ray and Della Reese, owned two music publishing companies, Pearl Music and Merrimac Music, and Detroit's Flame Show Bar, where Wilson met Baker.

After recording Jackie Wilson's first version of "Danny Boy" and a few other tracks on Dizzy Gillespie's record label Dee Gee Records under the name Sonny Wilson (his nickname), Wilson eventually was hired by Billy Ward in 1953 to join a group Ward formed in 1950 called the Dominoes, after Wilson's successful audition to replace the immensely popular Clyde McPhatter, who left the Dominoes and formed the Drifters.^[9] Wilson almost blew his chance that day, showing up calling himself "Shit" Wilson and bragging about being a better singer than McPhatter.^[10]

Billy Ward felt a stage name would fit the Dominoes' image, hence Jackie Wilson. Before leaving the Dominoes, McPhatter coached Wilson on the sound Billy Ward wanted for his group, influencing Wilson's singing style and stage presence. "I learned a lot from Clyde, that high-pitched choke he used and other things...Clyde McPhatter was my man. Clyde and Billy Ward."^[7] The 1940s Blues singer Roy Brown was also a major influence on him; and Wilson grew up listening to the Mills Brothers, the Ink Spots, Louis Jordan and Al Jolson.

Wilson was the group's lead singer for three years, but the Dominoes lost some of their stride with the departure of McPhatter. They made appearances riding on the strength of the group's earlier hits, until 1956 when the Dominoes recorded Wilson with an unlikely interpretation of the pop hit "St. Therese of the Roses", giving the Dominoes another brief moment in the spotlight (Their only other post-McPhatter/Wilson successes were "Stardust", released July 15, 1957, and "Deep Purple", released October 7, 1957.^[11]) In 1957 Jackie Wilson began a solo career, left the Dominoes, collaborated with his cousin Levi, and secured performances at Detroit's Flame Show Bar. Later, Al Green secured a deal with Decca Records, and Wilson was signed to its subsidiary label Brunswick.

Solo stardom

Shortly after Jackie Wilson signed a solo contract with Brunswick, Green suddenly died. Green's business partner Nat Tarnopol took over as Wilson's manager (and ultimately rose to president of Brunswick). Wilson's first single was released, "Reet Petite" (from his first album He's So Fine), which became a modest R&B success (many years later, an international smash hit). "Reet Petite" was written by Berry Gordy Jr. (another former boxer who was a native son of Detroit)^[12], in which co-wrote "Reet Petite" with partner Roquel "Billy" Davis (often referred to as the pseudonym Tyran Carlo) and Gordy's sister Gwendolyn. The trio composed and produced six additional singles for Wilson, in which were: "To Be Loved", "I'm Wanderin'", "We Have Love", "That's Why (I Love You So)", "I'll Be Satisfied" and Wilson's late-1958 signature song, "Lonely Teardrops", in which peaked at No. 7 on the pop charts, ranked No. 1 on the R&B charts in the U.S., and established Wilson as an R&B superstar known for his extraordinary, operatic multi-octave vocal range.^[13]Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.^[14]

Due to Wilson's fervor when performing, with his dynamic dance moves, impassioned singing and impeccable dress, he was soon christened "Mr. Excitement", a title Wilson kept for the remainder of his career. Jackie Wilson's stagecraft in his live shows inspired James Brown, Michael Jackson^[15] and Elvis Presley, as well as a host of other artists that followed. Presley was so impressed with Wilson that he made it a point to meet him, and the two instantly became good friends. In a photo of the two posing together, Presley's caption in the autograph reads "You got you a friend for life.". Wilson was sometimes called "The Black Elvis".^[16] Reportedly, when asked about this Presley said, "I guess that makes me the white Jackie Wilson." Wilson also said he was influenced by Presley, 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."^[17]

Wilson's powerful, electrifying live performances rarely failed to bring audiences to a state of frenzy.^[18] His live performances consisted of knee-drops,^[19][20] splits, spins, back-flips,^[21][22] one-footed across-the-floor slides, removing his tie and jacket and throwing them off the stage, and a great deal of basic boxing steps (advance and retreat shuffling,^[23] and one of his favorite routines, getting some of the less attractive women in the audience to come up to the stage and kiss him. Wilson often said "if I get the ugliest girl in the audience to come up and kiss me, they'll all think they can have me and keep coming back and buying my records."^[24]

Jackie Wilson was a regular on TV, making regular appearances on such shows as The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, Shindig!, Shivaree and Hullabaloo. His only movie appearance was in the rock and roll film Go, Johnny, Go!, where he performed his 1959 hit song "You Better Know It".^[25]

In 1958, Davis and Gordy left Wilson and Brunswick after royalty disputes escalated between them and Nat Tarnopol. Davis soon became a successful staff songwriter and producer for Chess Records, while Gordy borrowed $800^{[citation needed]} from his family and used money he earned from royalties writing for Wilson to start his own recording studio, Hitsville USA, the foundation of 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, pairing him with Decca Records' veteran arranger Dick Jacobs.

Jackie Wilson scored hits as he entered the 1960s with the No. 15 "Doggin' Around", the No. 1 pop ballad "Night", another million-seller,^[26] and "Baby Workout", another Top 10 hit (No. 5), which he composed with The Midnighters member Alonzo Tucker. His songwriting alliance with Tucker also turned out other songs, including "No Pity (In The Naked City)" and "I'm So Lonely." Top 10 hits continued with "Alone At Last" (No. 8 in 1960) and "My Empty Arms" (No. 9 in 1961).

Also in 1961, Wilson recorded a tribute album to Al Jolson, Nowstalgia ... 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."^[27][28] The album was a commercial failure.

Following the success of "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, Wilson still made artistic gains as he recorded an album with Count Basie, as well as a series of duets with R & B artist LaVern Baker and gospel singer Linda Hopkins.

In 1966, Jackie Wilson scored the first of two big comeback singles with the established Chicago soul producer Carl Davis with "Whispers (Gettin' Louder)" and "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher",( No. 6 pop hit in 1967, became one of his final hits); followed by "I Get the Sweetest Feeling", despite its modest initial chart success in the US (Billboard Pop #34), has since become one of his biggest international chart successes, ranking in Top 10 Twice in the UK in 1972 and in 1987,ranked Top 20 in the Dutch Top 40. "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" spawned numerous cover versions by other artists such as Edwin Starr, Will Young, Erma Franklin (Aretha Franklin's sister) and Liz McClarnon.

A key to Jackie Wilson's musical rebirth was Davis insisting that Wilson no longer record with Brunswick's musicians in New York; instead, he recorded with legendary Detroit musicians normally employed by Motown Records and also Davis' own Chicago-based session players. The Detroit musicians, known as the Funk Brothers, participated on Wilson's recordings due to their respect for Davis and Wilson.

By 1975, Wilson and the Chi-Lites were the only significant artists left on Brunswick's roster. Wilson had 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'", written by Eugene Record of the Chi-Lites, was released in 1972 with the Chi-Lites backing him on vocals and instruments.

Death

According to Larry Geller, who visited Wilson backstage in Las Vegas with Elvis Presley, the singer had a habit of taking a handful of salt tablets and drinking large amounts of water before each performance, to create profuse sweating. Wilson told Elvis Presley, "The chicks love it."^[29] A side effect would have been hypertension.

On September 29, 1975, Jackie Wilson was one of the featured acts in Dick Clark's Good Ol' Rock and Roll Revue, hosted by the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He was in the middle of singing "Lonely Teardrops" when he suffered a massive heart attack. When he collapsed on stage, audience members applauded as they initially thought it was part of the act.^[30] Clark sensed something was wrong, then ordered the musicians to stop the music. Cornell Gunter of the Coasters, who was backstage, noticed Wilson was not breathing. Gunter was able to resuscitate him and Wilson was then rushed to a nearby hospital.^[10]

Medical personnel worked to stabilize Wilson's vital signs, but the lack of oxygen to his brain caused him to slip into a coma. He briefly recovered in early 1976, and was even able to take a few wobbly steps^[31] but slipped back into a semi-comatose state. Wilson was deemed conscious but incapacitated in early June 1976, unable to speak but aware of his surroundings. Wilson was a resident of the Medford Leas Retirement Center in Medford, New Jersey, when he was admitted into Memorial Hospital of Burlington County in Mount Holly, New Jersey, due to having trouble taking nourishment, according to Wilson's attorney John Mulkerin.^[32]

Jackie Wilson died on January 21, 1984, at age 49 from complications of pneumonia. He was initially buried in an unmarked grave at Westlawn Cemetery near Detroit.^[33] In 1987, a fundraiser by a Detroit radio station collected enough money to purchase a headstone.^[10]

Personal life

Wilson's personal life was laced with tragedy. In 1960 in New Orleans, he was arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer when fans tried to climb on stage. He assaulted a policeman who had shoved one of the fans. Wilson had a reputation for being short-tempered.^[7]Patti LaBelle accused Wilson of sexually assaulting her at a theater in Brooklyn.^[34]

On February 15, 1961, in Manhattan, Wilson was injured in a shooting. Media reports stated the real story behind this incident is that one of his girlfriends, Juanita Jones, shot and wounded him in a jealous rage when he returned to his Manhattan apartment with another woman, fashion model Harlean Harris, an ex-girlfriend of Sam Cooke. Wilson's management supposedly concocted a story to protect Wilson's reputation; that Jones was an obsessed fan who had threatened to shoot herself, and that Wilson's intervention resulted in him being shot.^[35] Wilson was shot in the stomach: The bullet resulted in the loss of a kidney, and lodged too close to his spine to be operated on.^[6] In early 1975, during an interview with author Arnold Shaw, Wilson maintained it actually was a zealous fan whom he did not know that shot him. "We also had some trouble in 1961. That was when some crazy chick took a shot at me and nearly put me away for good..."^[36] The story of the zealous fan was accepted, and no charges were brought against Jones.

A month and a half later after the shooting incident, Jackie Wilson was discharged from the hospital. At the time Wilson had declared annual earnings of $263,000, while the average salary a man earned then was just $5,000 a year. But he discovered that, despite being at the peak of success, he was broke. Around this time the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seized Wilson's Detroit family home. Tarnopol and his accountants were supposed to take care of such matters. Wilson made arrangements with the IRS to make restitution on the unpaid taxes; he also re-purchased the family home at auction.^[6] Nat Tarnopol had taken advantage of Wilson's naïveté, mismanaging his money since becoming his manager. Tarnopol also had power-of-attorney over Wilson's finances, giving him complete control over Wilson's money. Wilson was a rather trusting soul, trusting people he should not have like Tarnopol and some of his other managers.^[25]

Tarnopol and 18 other Brunswick executives were indicted on federal charges of mail fraud and tax evasion stemming from bribery and payola scandals in 1975. Also in the indictment was the charge that Tarnopol owed at least $1 million in royalties to Wilson. In 1976 Tarnopol and the others were found guilty; an appeals court overturned their conviction 18 months later. Although the conviction was overturned, judges went into detail, outlining that Tarnopol and Brunswick Records did defraud their artists of royalties, and that they were satisfied that there was sufficient evidence for Wilson to file a lawsuit. However, a trial to sue Tarnopol for royalties never took place, as Wilson lay in a nursing home semi-comatose. Tarnopol never paid Wilson monies he had coming to him, and Wilson died owing a large sum to the IRS and Brunswick Records.^[37]

One of the highlights of the federal tax fraud trial of Tarnopol and the other Brunswick executives came when Eugene Record of the Chi-Lites testified that he had been assaulted during a contract negotiation at Brunswick's New York office. Record stated that he asked Tarnopol for advanced money on a recording in 1972 when an associate of Tarnopol's, whom Record identified as Johnny Roberts, asked Tarnopol "should I twist his nose off?" Before any answer came, Record said Roberts "suddenly began to twist my nose, and when I pushed his arm away he punched me in the face, knocking my glasses off." A similar story concerns Wilson, who reportedly was hung out of Tarnopol's office window by his feet when Wilson asked about money, according to Chuck Barksdale of The Dells.^[38]

In March 1967, Wilson and friend/drummer Jimmy Smith were arrested in South Carolina on "morals charges"; the two were entertaining two 24-year-old white women in their motel room.^[10]

Freda Hood, Wilson's first wife, with whom he had four children, divorced him in 1965 after 14 years of marriage as she was frustrated with his notorious womanizing. Although the divorce was amicable, Freda regretted her decision.^[6] His 16-year-old son, Jackie Jr, was shot and killed on a neighbor's porch near their Detroit home in 1970. The death of Jackie Jr. devastated Wilson. He sank into a period of depression, and for the next couple of years remained mostly a recluse.^{[citation needed]} More tragedy hit when two of Wilson's daughters died at a young age.^[39] His daughter Sandra died in 1977 at the age of 24 of an apparent heart attack; another daughter, Jacqueline Wilson, was killed in 1988 in a drug-related incident in Highland Park, Michigan.^[40]

Wilson's second marriage was to model Harlean Harris in 1967 with whom he had three children, but they too separated, in 1970. Wilson later met and lived with Lynn Guidry, a woman who had two children with him. There was also a close friend of Jackies, Joyce McRae, who was the only one who tried to help Jackie, and she tried to on the role of Wilson's caregiver while he was in the nursing home.^[41] He was with Guidry, who was under the impression that she was his legal wife, until his heart attack in 1975. However, as he and Harris never officially divorced, Harris took on the role of Wilson's caregiver for the singer's remaining nine years.

Wilson converted to Judaism as an adult.^[42]

Tributes and legacy

In 2005, Jackie Wilson was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.^[43]

On August 17, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio, Jackie Wilson was inducted into the Official R&B Music Hall of Fame.

In 1985, the Commodores recorded "Nightshift" in memory of Wilson and soul singer Marvin Gaye, who had both died in 1984. Reaching No. 1 R&B and No. 3 pop in the U.S., and topping the Dutch singles chart, it was the group's biggest hit after the departure of Lionel Richie.

Van Morrison recorded a tribute song called "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" on his 1972 album Saint Dominic's Preview. This 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. This has often been speculated to be a mistake but Dexys frontman Kevin Rowland stated that it was a deliberate joke by the band.

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...Jackie, where you are I want to say I love you and thank you so much."^[44]

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 closed down, essentially deleting Wilson's considerable recorded legacy. 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.

This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (July 2017)

• In the VH-1 5-part television special, Say It Loud: A Celebration of Black Music in America, fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Smokey Robinson and Bobby Womack both paid tribute to Wilson. Smokey explained that "Jackie Wilson was the most dynamic singer and performer that I think I've ever seen. Bobby added "He was the real Elvis Presley, as far as I'm concerned...and Elvis took a lot from him too."^[45]
  


• In his autobiography To Be Loved (named for one of the hit tunes he wrote for Wilson) Motown founder Berry Gordy stated that Wilson was "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".^[46]
  


• 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 scored a posthumous hit when "Reet Petite" reached number one in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands 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 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. 15).


• 
  Rita Coolidge covered "Higher and Higher" in 1977; her version reached No. 2 on the US pop charts, earning a gold record.


• In 1999, Wilson's original version of "Higher and Higher" and "Lonely Teardrops" were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame; 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;^[47] that same year, he was portrayed in the Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba by Howard Huntsberry.


• Wilson is referenced in the 1986 song "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." by John Mellencamp.^{[citation needed]}
  


• Wilson and "Lonely Teardrops" are referenced in the 1993 song "Jupiter and Teardrop" by Grant Lee Buffalo on their debut album Fuzzy.


• In 1988, his version of "To Be Loved" was featured in the film Coming to America, when Akeem and Lisa were falling in love. Akeem (Eddie Murphy) later came back home singing the song loudly, waking up and infuriating his neighbors.^{[citation needed]}
  


• In 1989, "Higher and Higher" was featured in the film Ghostbusters II, the soundtrack album of which featured a cover version of the song by Howard Huntsberry. "Higher and Higher" was also featured in Eddie Murphy's 2007 movie "Norbit."^{[citation needed]}
  


• In 1992, Wilson was portrayed in the ABC miniseries by Grady Harrell in The Jacksons: An American Dream.^{[citation needed]}
  


• In 1994, Monkee Peter Tork recorded a bluegrass-rock cover of "Higher and Higher" on his first solo album Stranger Things Have Happened.^{[citation needed]}
  


• On November 18, 2011, the Black Ensemble Theater of Chicago produced a musical about Wilson's life.^{[citation needed]}
  


• In 2014, artist Hozier released a song titled "Jackie and Wilson", a play on Wilson's name. The song includes the lyrics "We'll name our children Jackie and Wilson and raise them on rhythm and blues."^[48]
  


• The Jackie Wilson Hologram Tour 2018 was announced by Hologram USA on Billboard.^[49]
  


• A ceremony was held on Saturday, August 20, 2016 at WHPR TV & Radio. At the ceremony, Cottage Grove Street officially became Jackie Wilson Lane.^[50]
  

Discography

Hit singles

Hit albums

References

External links

Book: Jackie Wilson

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jackie Wilson.

• 
  Jackie Wilson interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)