Jackie Wilson - Mr. Excitement!
December 23, 2008 by admin
Filed under Featured Artists
A seventeen year American boy, who gave up boxing for his music talent, was soon recognized by Johnny Otis and became renowned by the name of Jackie Wilson. At that time, Johnny Otis was a prominent rhythm and blues pianist, drummer, singer, bandleader and vibraphonist, who discovered Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John and Hank Ballard to name a few and helped them to craft a bright future. In his earlier years, he joined The Dominoes, but after that to make a solo career, he recorded some singles, which were grand hits in the charts.
Jack Leroy Jr. Wilson, usually known as Jackie Wilson was the only son of Eliza Mae and Jack Sr. Wilson, who was born in Michigan and used to box in the local area of Detroit where he won the Golden Gloves in amateur boxing competition. Jackie got married at the age of sixteen when he won the boxing competition and became a father, a year later. Soon after getting married he left boxing and started his career in music. His career started with the band “The Dominoes” where Jackie Wilson was the lead singer and gave a smashing hit “St. Therese of the Roses”.
In the year 1957, along with the distinguished record label of United States of America, namely “Brunswick records”, Jackie Wilson started his solo career and launched his first ever single “Reet Petite”. Reet Petite was produced by Carl Devis and written by Berry Gordy with the genre pop and soul. The song was a good start for Jackie Wilson as it reached at 62nd rank on the Billboard charts and later on reached the sixth position on UK Singles Chart. After the death of Jackie Wilson, the song peaked at the first rank on UK charts and resided for four weeks. Moreover, the song was also used in the commercials of Levi’s. Along with Berry Gordy, Jackie Wilson gave out many songs that rocked the charts like, “I’ll be satisfied”, “To be Loved” and “That’s why” to name a few.
Jackie had an X factor in him, as he could deal with vibrant dance moves while singing. This made his admirers entitle him with the name “Mr. Excitement” and moreover inspired some other up coming singers like Michael Jackson. After a year later, Carl Devis left Jackie Wilson due to some heated discussion and started to work as a song writer for Chess Records. So Jackie started to work with Motown Records and with entrance in early sixties he launched “Baby workout”, “Stop Doggin Around” and lots more, which again ruled the charts. Gradually he came up with many hit singles like “Lonely Teardrops”, “You better know it”, “A woman, a lover a friend”, “Night”, “Talk that Talk”, “Am I the man”, “I’m comin’ on back to you”, “Whispers” and “My empty arms” that were on the top ten ranks. Not only this, there are many albums which are still loved and appreciated by people. Many of his songs are still ruling many hearts and mumbled by his admirers.
In 1961, Jackie Wilson was shot by Juanita Jones, but to protect his reel life he fictitiously invented a story. After fourteen years of marriage, Jackie’s first wife divorced him and took her four children along with her. Later on he married Harris and split in a short span, however they were not divorced.
After that he started living with Lynn Crochet and had two children. In 1975, Jackie Wilson went through a heart attack in a live show in New Jersey, where he fell down head first on the stage and suffered from being in a coma for more than eight years. After that, he died at the age of forty nine, but his songs have kept him still alive in our hearts.
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Did you know that the soul/funk band, The Commodores recorded “Nightshift” in memory of Wilson and soul singer Marvin Gaye, who both died in 1984? It was their biggest hit (post-Lionel Richie).
It was such a shame to read about Jackie Wilson’s heart-rending accident and subsequent coma. Many stars - like Al Green and even Elvis Presley, came to his bedside during the eight long years that he remained in a coma, which is surely a testament to his fame and success as a soul icon.
Jackie was like a wonderful cross between Sam Cooke and James Brown, with a style all his own. Hey - Your Love keeps lifting me, higher and higher, Jackie!
I had the Jackie Wilson album called Higher and Higher and I remember the music press calling him the Black Elvis. He headlined a British show that had the Beatles as one of his opening acts in 1963, before they really hit the peak of their success.
In his early teens Jackie formed a quartet, the Ever Ready Gospel Singers Group, which became a popular feature of churches in the area. Jackie wasn’t religious, he just loved to sing and the cash came in handy for the cheap wine which he drank from the age of nine, or so the fan websites say. And let’s face it, it’s hardly surprising since his father was an alcoholic.
Yeah well I read that Jackie’s first wife Freda had 15 pregnancies, although they only had four children. Their 13 year marriage ended in divorce in 1965 but Freda and Jackie continued to behave as though she were his wife. His eldest son was shot and killed aged 16 and after his divorce he was forced to marry a long-time girlfriend after a moral scandal when he was arrested with a friend and 2 white women in a motel room. What a life - not only his vivid music and fame, and all packed into only 41 years!
The man who wrote To Be Loved, Lonely Teardrops, Am I the Man, and Empty Arms obviously drew inspiration from his own turbulent life. That’s why Mr Excitement was such a success.
I think I first heard Jackie Wilson’s songs when one was used in the Levi’s ad’s and then I realised that I knew loads of his tracks without realising it! I guess his sounds permeated the charts and were soul classics.