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Jackie Wilson is a product of Detroit, being born there on June 9, 1934, and attending Highland Park H.S. It is reputed that at age sixteen (1950) he won a "Golden Glove" championship in the "Motor City", after lying about his age to enter. This is myth! The truth is, he did lie to gain entry into the Golden Gloves contest. When his mother learned he was practicing the art of pugilism, she made him quit! This may have had a role in his pursuing a singing career. In the very early years he sang, along with Levi Stubbs of the yet-to-be Four Tops, in local clubs.
Billy Ward came upon the then 18 yr. old Jackie Wilson In 1953, at Detroit's Fox Theater. Ward, was looking to replace his recently departed lead singer; Clyde McPhatter of Billy Ward and The Dominoes. At this time Ward realized Jackie's range, vocal gymnastics, and showmanship -- not to mention the ability to simply belt out a song -- were such that no one could match Jackie Wilson.
At
23 (1957) Jackie left Ward's tutelage, went solo and signed with the Brunswick
label. His career witnessed momentum
when
he began performing songs co-written by fellow Detroiter Berry Gordy, later
the founder of Motown. These included "Reet Petite", "To Be Loved"
and "Lonely Teardrops."
Brunswick
was never able to settle on a particular musical style for Wilson.
He often crossed between R&B and pop. Jackie favored the latter
where he could use his truly astonishing range to good effect. Under
the orchestral arrangements of Brunswick's Dick Jacobs, Jackie's recordings
were frequently backed by an abundance of brass and string instrumentation.
Fans
(including me) believe Jackie Wilson was incapable of making a bad record.
Some contend his output represents, at best, a mixed bag (my late father
was numbered among this group). Everyone must admit however, Jackie's
best is
undoubtedly
some of the most thrilling music to emerge from the late '50s and early
'60s. Students of the art say his presence on stage is not at all
unlike that exhibited by the "Godfather of Soul" in his heyday, James Brown.
Musical scholars have noted Jackie's singing style compared with the likes
of Sam Cooke.
There
are other Cooke parallels too, unfortunately. In 1961, while staying
in a N.Y.C. hotel, Jackie Wilson was shot and
seriously
wounded by one of the many women with whom he was involved. As a
result of this incident he lost a kidney and had to carry the bullet in
his body for the remainder of his days.
The
British invasion sent Wilson's career into the doldrums. It took
a new producer, Carl Davis, to revitalize him. Davis
produced
the timeless soul classics "Whispers" (1966) and "Higher and Higher" (1967).
Jackie
Wilson was still appearing on the charts -- albeit low on the lists --
when at 41 he suffered a stroke and collapsed
onstage
in Cherry Hill, NJ, on September 29, 1975. On this night he was performing
in a Dick Clark's Traveling Oldies
Revue.
Ironically, at the time he was singing his signature song, "Lonely Teardrops."
He lingered on for another
eight-and-a-half
years, supposedly totally comatose. Like many things in Jackie's
life, this fact too is disputed. Some claim he was not in a
coma, but rather alert, totally paralyzed and unable to react to any stimuli.
Jackie
Wilson died on January 21, 1984, in Mount Holly, NJ, at Burlington County
Memorial Hospital. The official cause of death was listed as pneumonia.
He further suffered the indignity of being buried in an unmarked grave
in Detroit. This sad state of affairs was later corrected in 1987.
Jackie was survived by his wife Harlean, sons Anthony, John and Thor and
daughters Jacqueline, Denise, and LaShawn. Daughter Denise was subsequently
killed in a drive-by shooting in 1987.
In
1987 Jackie Wilson was post-humously inducted into the Rock & Roll
Hall of Fame -
RECOMMENDED
READING - LONELY TEARDROPS: The
Jackie Wilson Story." Douglas, Tony, Sanctuary
Publishing
Ltd. (1997). ISBN 1-86074-214-9. This is the definitive work
on "Mr. Excitement." It pulls no punches, debunks
many
myths, and while written from the perspective of a fan, is thorough and
presents both the bright and dark sides of the total person that was Jackie
Wilson.
JACKIE
WILSON ON VIDEO - "ABC Shindig! Presents
Jackie Wilson." Rhino Home Video, 1991. Catalog No. RNVD
1451.
B/W, approx. 30 mins. running time.