Jerome Louis "J.J." Jackson (born November 8, 1942)He is asserted by an unparticularized Wikipedia contributor , based on a link to a Social Security Index that is difficult to verify. is an American soul/R&B singer, songwriter, and arranger.Rick Simmons, Carolina Beach Music: The Classic Years (The History Press, 2011), p. 92. His singing style is as a belter. Jackson is best known for the song "But It's Alright", which he co-wrote with Pierre Tubbs. The song was released in 1966 and then re-released in 1969, to chart success on both occasions. The liner notes to his 1967 album, J.J. Jackson, on Calla Records, stated that he weighed 285 pounds.Liner notes to J.J. Jackson; Rootsvinylguide. Retrieved 2017-08-08.Jackson's weight was part of his image during the 1960s. For example, in the Liner notes to J.J. Jackson, he is described as follows: "He's fat (285 lbs.), happy-go-lucky and totally lacking the kind of ego that stars are supposed to need."
History Jackson was born in The Bronx, New York.Jackson's place of birth, from the liner notes to his 1967 album JJ, is specified to be Bronx, New York. One source indicates that his birthplace is Gillett, Arkansas ("home of the Coon Festival"), a reference that appears repeated elsewhere, while Allmusic, via Richie Unterberger reports Jackson's birthplace as being in Brooklyn, New York. What is clear is that Jackson was based in New York from a young age, given that his first recorded songwriting credit occurred when he was sixteen. Another report is that Jackson attended the City College of New York for a period, which is particularized as two years in the liner notes to J.J. Jackson. The comes from a series of Wikipedia entries made by a Wikipedia contributor on May 16, 2012, solely referenced to J.J. Jackson, and where no further Wikipedia contributions were made by this user. Described as "one of the most interesting obscure figures of '60s soul",Richie Unterberger, Biography of J.J. Jackson; Allmusic. Retrieved 2017-07-22. Jackson, then based in New York,Bill Dahl, Biography of J.J. Jackson, being a profile contained in Sweet Soul Music: 29 Scorching Classics from 1966; Bear Family Records. Retrieved 2017-08-01. started out as a songwriter and arranger. His first songwriting credit, at the age of sixteen, was "The Lord Will Understand (And Say 'Well Done')", being the B-side to "Got A Date With An Angel", a 1957 single by Billy Williams. Jackson co-wrote the song with G. Douglas and M. Brent.Credits for "The Lord Will Understand (And Say 'Well Done'); Discogs. Retrieved 2017-08-02. The song was banned by the BBC for "religious overtones".Records Banned By The BBC; 45cat. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
Jackson's first single was "Shy Guy", backed with "Time", on Crescent Records and distributed by Fantasy Records, in 1963. Both songs were written by Jackson.The record was produced by Andy Di Martino, who became a studio musician, songwriter and producer, most notably of recordings by The Cascades. See Andy Di Martino discography; Discogs. Retrieved 2017-11-17. Among other engagements, Di Martino contributed guitar to Unconditionally Guaranteed, by Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band.
Jackson was later a songwriter and arranger for "Brother" Jack McDuff, Jimmy Witherspoon, and the Shangri-Las, among others. His songwriting credits include Mary Wells' "My Mind's Made Up"Contained on the album Mary Wells (20th Century Fox Records, 1965); Discogs. Retrieved 2017-08-02. and "I've Come to One Conclusion" by Inez and Charlie Foxx,Contained on the album Mockingbird - Phase 1: The Complete Sue Recordings (Connoisseur Collection, 2001); Discogs. Retrieved 2017-08-02. One of the few songs recorded by the duo that was not written by Charlie Foxx or Inez and Charlie Foxx. both co-written with fellow soul singer Sidney Barnes. Barnes and Jackson became a freelance songwriting team in 1964, at a time when Jackson was known as both a pianist and a songwriter. Barnes had previously been a lead writer, producer and talent scout for the recently opened New York office of Motown Records and Jobete Music.Biography of Sidney Barnes; sidneybarnes.net. Retrieved 2017-08-03. Barnes and Jackson wrote songs for several R & B solo artists of the period, including Sandra Phillips and Billy Prophet, formerly of The Jive Five. Barnes and Jackson also wrote for The Soul Sisters,Such as "Think About The Good Times" (1965), also produced by Barnes and Jackson, where Jackson is also credited as the arranger: 45cat.com. Retrieved 2017-08-04. and became staff writers at Sue Records, one of the few black-owned record labels based in New York at the time.
Barnes and Jackson were soon thereafter signed to exclusive contracts with Red Bird Records and Trio Music Publishing, owned by Leiber and Stoller. "It's Easier to Cry", by the Shangri-Las and released on Red Bird Records, was co-written by Jackson, Joe De Angelis and Robert Steinberg. The latter song was the B-side to the Shangri-Las' 1964 hit single "Remember (Walking in the Sand)"Particulars of "Remember (Walking in the Sand)"; Discogs. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
By 1965, Barnes had emerged as a solo performer, recording songs written by Barnes and Jackson, including "I Hurt On The Other Side",On Blue Cat Records, a subsidiary of Red Bird Records. The song, written by Jackson and Barnes, was produced by Leiber and Stoller: Particulars of "I Hurt On The Other Side"; Discogs. Retrieved 2017-08-08. and "I Don't Know Why".
Jackson is best known for the soul hit "But It's Alright" co-written with Pierre Tubbs and which, after its 1966 release as the B-side of the single "Boogaloo Baby", became one of the best known dance music tunes of the decade, reaching No. 22 on the Billboard chart. The single was recorded in the United Kingdom, being one of the first R & B hit singles to have been recorded in England.Back Tracking; ska2soul. Retrieved 2017-08-09. The song featured some of Britain's top jazz musicians of the day, including Terry Smith on guitar, Dick Morrissey on tenor sax and John Marshall on drums, and who would later form the backing band for Jackson's second and third albums. The album on which "But It's Alright" was first featured, released by Calla Records, was recorded in New York, with the exception of "But It's Alright". Jackson also co-wrote, with Pierre Tubbs and Sidney Barnes, the Pretty Things' 1966 hit single, "Come See Me."Particulars of "Come See Me"; Discogs. Retrieved 2017-08-02. Other versions of "But It's Alright" and "Come See Me" were recorded by Jackson in England, with a band credited as The Jeeps, being a band configuration of Pierre TubbsSong particulars, Pierre's Plastic Dream - The Garage Tapes, England 1966-1968 (Market Square Records, 1991); Discogs. and originally released on Strike Records. Strike Records was also the release label in England of Jackson's first album.Particulars of But It's Alright album release on Strike Records; Discogs. Retrieved 2017-09-22. Brother Jack McDuff, with David "Fathead" Newman, covered "But It's Alright", as an instrumental version, on their 1967 album Double Barrelled Soul. The song was also released as a single.Brother Jack McDuff Quintet feat. David Newman - But It's Alright; Funky16Corners. Retrieved 2017-09-19. The song was also covered in 1967 by Eddie Floyd and included on Floyd's Knock on Wood album.
In 1967, Jackson was signed to Loma Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records, prior to the label being absorbed by Warner Bros. in 1968. Jackson released a series of singles on Loma and Warner Bros. between 1967 and 1969. During this period, Jackson co-wrote much of his material with Windsor King, who had worked with Jackson from the time that Jackson was recording with Calla Records.Windsor King, whose background was in doo-wop, had been one of the original members of The "5" Royales and later founded The Cashmeres. King also co-produced Jackson's material. Jackson also released singles that were co-written and co-produced by Jerry Ragovoy.
In 1969, Warner Bros. Records, which had acquired the catalogue of Calla Records, re-released "But It's Alright". The single peaked at No. 45 on Billboard when it re-entered the chart on March 29, 1969. A Spanish version of the song was also released in 1969. Later that year, Warner Bros. also re-released "Four Walls (Three Windows and Two Doors)", which had originally been released in 1967, as the B-side to "That Ain't Right", written by Cherry Foster and Walter Jessup. "That Ain't Right" had originally been released in 1967 as the B-side to "I Dig Girls".Particulars of "I Dig Girls"/"That Ain't Right"; Discogs. Retrieved 3017-08-24. Jackson is credited as both the arranger and conductor. "But It's Alright" and "Four Walls" were then released on one single as "Back to Back Hits".Particulars of "But It's Alright"/"Four Walls"; Discogs. Retrieved 2017-08-23. Jackson is credited as the arranger and conductor of both songs. The single identifies "But It's Alright" as having been released in the spring of 1969, while "Four Walls" is identified as having been released in the summer of 1969.
In 1969, Warner Bros. released The Great J.J. Jackson, which contained four songs from Jackson's Calla Records debut, plus eight others.Mark Deming, Review of The Great J.J. Jackson; Allmusic. Retrieved 2017-09-06. Later that year, Jackson signed with Congress Records, a subsidiary of Kapp Records, releasing his third album, The Greatest Little Soul Band in the Land, in late 1969. This album reunited Jackson with the English musicians who had contributed to the success of "But It's Alright", in 1966, in particular Dick Morrissey and Terry Smith. For his fourth album, Jackson formed J.J. Jackson's Dilemma, releasing an eponymous album on Perception Records in 1970, recorded in 1969.For this album, Morrissey and Smith were joined by sax player Dave Quincy in backing Jackson. As a result of this association, Morrissey, Smith and Quincy decided to further work together, becoming the founding members of the progressive jazz-rock band If, in 1969. With some of the same musicians who had been members of J.J. Jackson's Dilemma, Jackson released his fifth and final album (and fourth solo album) ...and proud of it! in 1970, on Perception Records.Musicians on the album included keyboardist Chris Parren, later of Midnight Flyer and The Strawbs and trombonist John Bennett, who had been a founding member of Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen. Both co-wrote much of the material on the album.
Jackson became a permanent resident of England in 1969.Joe Troiano, Review of "But It's Alright" ; Joe T's Soda Shop. Retrieved 2017-08-10. Some report that Jackson became a British citizen at that time: John Bush, Review of "But It's Alright"; Allmusic. Retrieved 2017-08-10. That same year, Jackson was the subject of a private publication by artist Nancy Reiner, The Adventures of JJ or How The Greatest Little Soul Band In The Land Jes Grooved and Grooved and Grooved.Tom Shaw, Instagram photos and text extracts; Retrieved 2017-07-19. Reiner was the artist whose sketch of Jimi Hendrix became the cover of The Cry of Love. She had previously created the cover art for albums by Brother Jack McDuff and Jimmy Witherspoon.
Jackson's longtime producer, commencing with his recordings at Calla Records and continuing across subsequent labels, was Lew Futterman. Futterman was also a producer of recordings by Jack McDuff and Jimmy Witherspoon, as well as recordings by the British band If.