For my generation, it was the re-release of Reet Petite in 1986 - along with the slightly scary plasticine animated video to accompany it - that brought Jackie Wilson into our world.
But by that point, Wilson had already been dead for two years and out of the limelight much longer. So, what kind of life story did he have? Well, let's just say that it is jam packed...
Jackie Wilson was born on 9 June 1934 in Highland Park, Michigan. His frequent visits to Mississippi to see his grandparents, and the choir at Billups Chapel, was a big influence on the young Wilson.
Back home, his life was more troubled; his father was an alcoholic and often unemployed, and his parents split in 1943. He fell in with a local gang, the Shakers, which landed him in a lot of trouble and two spells in Lansing juvenile facilities. As a teenager, he joined the Ever Ready Gospel Singers, but the money he made was spent on booze. During his second stint in detention, he found boxing and was competing for a while, on his release, in the Detroit amateur boxing circuit.
The next step saw him working as a solo singer at Lee's Sensation Club, before joining The Falcons with his cousin Levi Stubbs (who would go on to the Four Tops). The band were discovered by talent agent Johnny Otis (Ionnis Veliotis), who also found Etta James. The Falcons soon became the Thrillers, before changing to the Royals.
First recordings
Wilson recorded some songs, including Danny Boy, on Dizzy Gillespie's DeeGee Records, under the name of Sonny Wilson.
Danny Boy - https://youtu.be/OmBIPjjJuKU
In 1953, he was a replacement for Clyde McPhatter in the Dominoes, as he was moving on join the Drifters. He left them in 1957 and signed to Brunswick as a solo artist, with Reet Petite becoming a modest early hit. The song was co-written by Berry Gordy (soon to be the famous founder of Motown), his sister Gwendolyn and Roquel Davis. This trio would write six other songs for Wilson - To Be Loved, I'm Wanderin', We Have Love, That's Why (I Love You So), I'll Be Satisfied and Lonely Teardrops (#7 in 1958).
These tunes started to turn Wilson into a R&B superstar. He was famous for his passion and fervour in his live performances, not to mention those knee drops, splits, spins and flips. He became the inspiration for many artists in the generations that followed, including the likes of James Brown, Teddy Pendergrass and Michael Jackson. There was also Elvis, who admired him so much, he went out of his way to make sure he befriended Wilson.
Lonely Teardrops - https://youtu.be/2nEfuE8Pw4U
Easy listening, Al Jolson and a quiet phase
A 1958 dispute saw Roquel Davis join Chess Records, leaving ex-partner Gordy to set the Hitsville USA studio (and that's probably another story). Meanwhile, Nat Tornopol was persuading Wilson to follow a more easy listening path, with the resultant singles all doing well - Doggin' Around (#15), Night (based on an aria from Samson & Delilah, by Saint-Saens - reached #4 in 1960) and Baby Workout (#5 in 1963). Among all that, there was also an Al Jolson tribute album, Nonstalgia... You Ain't Heard Nothing Yet in 1961.
Then came the lull, from 1964 to 1966. Well, lull in the musical sense anyway, because Wilson' life was rarely dull. 1964 saw him jump out of a window at the Kiel Auditorium in St Louis to avoid being arrested, for defaulting on a $2,800 contract judgement.
In 1966, music was back on the agenda. Whispers (Gettin' Louder) was up first, followed by (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher in 1967, which saw him backed with the Motown rhythm section (and making #5), and then I Get The Sweetest Feeling, which only made #34 (but would chart again in the UK in both 1972 and 1987).
Higher & Higher - https://youtu.be/AIy6X4VTWpk
I Get The Sweetest Feeling - https://youtu.be/NU6-M039O5o
The last hit and heart attack
You Got Me Walkin' saw Wilson backed up by the Chi-Lites, in what turned out to be his last ever hit (at least while he was alive).
On 29 September 1975, while singing the line "my heart is crying" from Lonely Teardrops, on the Dick Clark Good Ol' Rock & Roll Revue, Jackie Wilson suffered a heart attack. Cornell Gunter of the Coasters worked to resuscitate him, but he had suffered a lack of oxygen to the brain, which left him in a coma. In early 1976, the was a brief, partial recovery, before relapsing into a semi-coma.
On 21 January 1984, Jackie Wilson passed away following complications from pneumonia. He was initially buried in an unmarked grave at Westlawn Cemetery, Detroit. A few years later, a fundraiser was held, and in June 1987, a mausoleum was purchased and constructed for him.
Wilson had been defrauded by Tarnopol over the years, for his rightful royalties, but by the time Wilson and others could sue him to recoup this, he was in hospital. That meant he actually died owing money to Brunswick records and around $300k to the IRS.
Accusations and other troubles
In her autobiography, singer Patti LaBelle accused Wilson of sexually assaulting her back stage at a Brooklyn theatre in the early 1960s.
February 1961 also saw Wilson get shot by a jealous girlfriend, Juanita Jones. She shot him in the stomach, which led to him losing a kidney. He was with Harlean Harris, a model and ex-girlfriend of Sam Cooke. Wilson had a son, Petey, with Harris in 1963 and they eventually married in 1967 and while they separated in 1969, it seems they never actually got divorced, which came as a shock to Lynn Guidry. Guidry was Wilson's partner at the time of his heart attack in 1975 and thought she was his legal wife - that wasn't the case and Harris instead became his court-appointed guardian in 1978.
Legacy
Jackie Wilson was a multi-octave tenor, who became known as 'Mr Excitement.' His page on the Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame says, "Jackie Wilson's athleticism, energy and raw sexual magnetism whipped audiences into a frenzy. He could deliver a pitch perfect performance all while spinning, jumping and dropping into a split."
When Michael Jackson accepted the Album of the Year Grammy for Thriller in 1984, shortly after Wilson's death, he said. "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."
The Commodores1985 hit, Nightshift, was a tribute to both Wilson and Marvin Gaye. Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile) was on Van Morrison's 1972 album, Saint Dominic's Preview, before being covered by Dexy's Midnight Runners in 1982.
Jackie Wilson Said (couldn't resist sticking this in) - https://youtu.be/FLjlrNpKsSk
As mentioned earlier, Reet Petite became a hit again in the UK - hitting the top spot in 1986.
Reet Petite (yes the scary clay video) - https://youtu.be/8CTs8a7dVa0
Other legends have noted how great Wilson was; Smokey Robinson said that, "Jackie Wilson was the most dynamic singer and performer I think I've ever seen," while Bobby Womack added that, "He was the real Elvis Presley, as far as I'm concerned."
Berry Gordy, in his 1994 autobiography, paid perhaps the greatest compliment, saying 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."
Sources:
Wikipedia
All Music
Rock n Roll Hall of Fame
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