Photo of DominoesS; 1953 L-R Milton Merle, Cliff Givens, Billy Ward, James Van Loan and Jackie Wilson (Photo by Gilles Petard/Redferns)
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
1961
500 Grant St, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, United States
Nat Tarnopol, Jackie Wilson, Porky Chedwick holding Jackie Wilson's 'You Ain't Heard Nothin Yet' album, and Roy Hamilton at the Carleton House, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1961. (Photo by Charles 'Teenie' Harris/Carnegie Museum of Art)
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
1962
512 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036, United States
Rock and roll singer Jackie Wilson performs onstage at a dinner for the Motion Picture Pioneers Association at the Playboy Club on November 19, 1962, in New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives)
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
1962
512 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036, United States
(L-R) Actor Gregory Peck, director Alfred Hitchcock and rock and roll singer Jackie Wilson pose for a portrait at a dinner for the Motion Picture Pioneers Association at the Playboy Club on November 19, 1962, in New York, New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives)
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
1962
512 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036, United States
Rock and roll singer Jackie Wilson poses for a portrait with a group of Playboy Bunnies at a dinner for the Motion Picture Pioneers Association at the Playboy Club on November 19, 1962, in New York, New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives)
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
1962
512 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036, United States
Rock and roll singer Jackie Wilson poses for a portrait with a man at a dinner for the Motion Picture Pioneers Association at the Playboy Club on November 19, 1962, in New York, New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives)
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
1962
512 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036, United States
Rock and roll singer Jackie Wilson autographs the cuff of a Playboy Bunny at a dinner for the Motion Picture Pioneers Association at the Playboy Club on November 19, 1962, in New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives)
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
1962
512 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036, United States
Actor Gregory Peck, rock and roll singer Jackie Wilson and singer Bobby Darin at a dinner for the Motion Picture Pioneers Association at the Playboy Club on November 19, 1962, in New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives)
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
1962
512 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036, United States
Rock and roll singer Jackie Wilson performs onstage at a dinner for the Motion Picture Pioneers Association at the Playboy Club on November 19, 1962, in New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives)
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson on stage
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson on stage
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson and Elvis Presley
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson on stage
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson on stage
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
1111 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025, United States
Singer Jackie Wilson with mother, Eliza Lee, and wife, Freda, outside Roosevelt Hospital after a fan, Juanita Jones, shot him twice. (Photo by Seymour Wally/NY Daily News Archive)
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
Photo of Jackie Wilson
Gallery of Jackie Wilson
1111 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025, United States
Singer Jackie Wilson with mother, Eliza Lee, and wife, Freda, outside Roosevelt Hospital after a fan, Juanita Jones, shot him twice. (Photo by Seymour Wally/NY Daily News Archive)
Achievements
Lanewood Ave &, N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States
Jackie Wilson honored with posthumous Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 04, 2019, in Hollywood, California.
Nat Tarnopol, Jackie Wilson, Porky Chedwick holding Jackie Wilson's 'You Ain't Heard Nothin Yet' album, and Roy Hamilton at the Carleton House, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1961. (Photo by Charles 'Teenie' Harris/Carnegie Museum of Art)
Rock and roll singer Jackie Wilson performs onstage at a dinner for the Motion Picture Pioneers Association at the Playboy Club on November 19, 1962, in New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives)
(L-R) Actor Gregory Peck, director Alfred Hitchcock and rock and roll singer Jackie Wilson pose for a portrait at a dinner for the Motion Picture Pioneers Association at the Playboy Club on November 19, 1962, in New York, New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives)
Rock and roll singer Jackie Wilson poses for a portrait with a group of Playboy Bunnies at a dinner for the Motion Picture Pioneers Association at the Playboy Club on November 19, 1962, in New York, New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives)
Rock and roll singer Jackie Wilson poses for a portrait with a man at a dinner for the Motion Picture Pioneers Association at the Playboy Club on November 19, 1962, in New York, New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives)
Rock and roll singer Jackie Wilson autographs the cuff of a Playboy Bunny at a dinner for the Motion Picture Pioneers Association at the Playboy Club on November 19, 1962, in New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives)
Actor Gregory Peck, rock and roll singer Jackie Wilson and singer Bobby Darin at a dinner for the Motion Picture Pioneers Association at the Playboy Club on November 19, 1962, in New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives)
Rock and roll singer Jackie Wilson performs onstage at a dinner for the Motion Picture Pioneers Association at the Playboy Club on November 19, 1962, in New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives)
1111 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025, United States
Singer Jackie Wilson with mother, Eliza Lee, and wife, Freda, outside Roosevelt Hospital after a fan, Juanita Jones, shot him twice. (Photo by Seymour Wally/NY Daily News Archive)
1111 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025, United States
Singer Jackie Wilson with mother, Eliza Lee, and wife, Freda, outside Roosevelt Hospital after a fan, Juanita Jones, shot him twice. (Photo by Seymour Wally/NY Daily News Archive)
Jackie Wilson was an American singer and songwriter. He became one of the first R&B vocalists to enjoy success in the early rock and roll era and became to be regarded as one of the first great soul singers.
Background
Jackie Wilson was born Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. on June 9, 1934, in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in Highland Park, Michigan. The only child of Jack and Eliza Mae Ranson Wilson from Columbus, Mississippi, Wilson's father was an alcoholic and generally unemployed. Eliza Mae who had lost two earlier children doted on Wilson and was a powerful influence on his life. His parents divorced when Jackie was nine-years-old.
Jackie's mother married again, to a man who worked regularly at a Ford plant. Their union produced Jackie's stepsister, Joyce. Although Wilson apparently got on well with his stepfather, he remained close to his father.
Education
Wilson began singing at an early age. 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.
Growing up in North End, a rough section of Detroit, Wilson was a habitual truant, belonged to a gang called the Shakers, and was continuously in and out of trouble. Twice he was sent to detention in the Lansing Correctional Institute. It was there that he learned how to box. Wilson dropped out of the school in the ninth grade, in 1950 at 16. Wilson became a Golden Gloves welterweight boxing champion in Detroit.
Career
In 1951 Jackie Wilson was singing in local clubs with Levi Stubbs (later of The Four Tops fame). In 1953 he successfully auditioned for Billy Ward's Dominoes, replacing Clyde McPhatter when the latter left the group to form The Drifters. Their first release was "You Can't Keep A Good Man Down," followed by "Rags to Riches." In 1956 they had their first pop hit, "St. Therese Of The Roses."
In 1957 Wilson embarked on a solo career. His manager was Al Green, a music publisher, and manager who was already managing Della Reese, Johnnie Ray, and La Vern Baker. Green was able to secure Wilson a recording contract with Brunswick Records. However, Green suddenly died the day before the deal was officially signed. He was replaced by Nat Turnpool. Collaborating with Berry Gordy and Roquel "Billy" Davis, Wilson soon had a string of hits to his name, among them "To Be Loved," "Reet Petite" and "That Is Why," as well as his biggest hit, "Lonely Teardrops."
This partnership ended after disagreements between Tarnopol and the team of Davis/Gordy over inadequate payments. After parting ways, Gordy used his royalties to create Hitsville USA Studios, later to become Motown Records. The rest is music history. Davis joined Chess Records as an A&R manager and would achieve success in his own right as a songwriter and producer. Tarnopol, confident that he could do without the Davis/Gordy team, had band leader Dick Jacobs produce most of Wilson's recordings from 1957 through 1966, resulting in frequent crossovers between R&B and pop. Wilson had moderate hits during this period, with songs such as "Night" and "Alone at Last." In 1961 he formed a songwriting partnership with Alonzo Tucker that yielded the hit "Baby Workout."
In 1962 the "British Invasion" took place, sending his career into freefall. His last hit was "Your Love (Keeps Lifting Me Higher And Higher)" in 1968.
Although Jackie performed in churches, he was not religious.
Views
Jackie's peers in the entertainment world often described Wilson as a "singer's singer" or a “performer's performer." Many noted that he generously shared his knowledge about performing, and others recall Wilson helping them in times of need. His recorded voice stands as clear evidence of his rightful place among the greatest vocalists in popular music history.
Quotations:
"A lot of people have accused [Elvis Presley] of stealing the black man's music, when in fact almost every black solo entertainer copied his stage mannerisms from Elvis."
Personality
In 1961, Juanita Jones, an aspiring model, shot Wilson twice in the stomach after hearing about his affair with Harlean Harris, the ex-girlfriend of singer Sam Cooke. Wilson was rushed to the hospital where quick surgery saved his life, although he lost a kidney. Since one of the bullets was too close to his spine, doctors ruled out surgery to remove it as far too dangerous. Wilson would have to carry it around for the rest of his life.
Besides women, Wilson had another dangerous weakness: he was incredibly naive and easily trusting, something that Tarnpool took advantage of Wilson had signed over power-of-attorney to him despite strong rumors of Tarnpool's mob connections and his reputation as an unscrupulous businessman. In 1962 the IRS seized Wilson's family home due to his failure to pay back taxes (due mainly to the fact that Tarnpool had been pocketing all of Wilson's earnings). Wilson realized that, despite the success of his career, he was broke and homeless. Eventually, he made arrangements with the IRS to make restitution on the unpaid taxes and was able to re-purchase his own house at an auction.
Wilson was cited as a major influence for his dance moves by singers James Brown and Michael Jackson, who both have their own signature dance styles.
In 1967 Jackie and his friend and drummer, Jimmy Smith, were arrested in South Carolina on morals charges. Both were arrested in a motel with two 24-year-old white women. Lurid details of the case appeared in the newspapers. Tarnopol decided that to restore Jackie's public image, a marriage to long-time girlfriend Harlean had to be held. The civil ceremony was held the next month. Jackie had been going with Harlean from at least 1960 and they'd had a son in 1963. Jackie and Smith were only fined a few hundred dollars and the "morals charges" were soon forgotten.
Physical Characteristics:
On September 29, 1975, Wilson suffered a major heart attack while on stage at Dick Clark's "Traveling Oldies Revue." As he fell he hit his head on some stage equipment, resulting in serious brain damage. He stayed in a coma until his death at 49 on January 21, 1984.
Quotes from others about the person
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." - Berry Gordy
Interests
Music & Bands
R&B, Elvis Presley
Connections
In February 1951, the sixteen-year-old Jackie Wilson married his childhood sweetheart, Freda Hood. She was pregnant with their first child, a daughter who would be born the following month. The couple had four children. He was also known to have had multiple adulteries throughout his 14-year marriage to his wife, Freda Hood. Freda divorced him in 1965 because of his womanizing. Despite these circumstances, Jackie treated her as though she was still his wife. She later regretted their divorce.
In 1967 Wilson married Harlean Harris, a decades-long top model. Prior to that marriage (in 1964), Harlean Harris gave birth to a son, John Dominick, called "Petey." Wilson behaved as though Petey were his son. The Wilson-Harris relationship ended in a legal separation little more than a year after the marriage when Wilson returned from a road trip to discover evidence that Tarnopol and Harris were having an affair.
After the discovery, Wilson and Harris had an acrimonious relationship. Harris used the terms of the legal separation to have Wilson arrested for non-payment of support each time he returned to New York from touring, so Wilson was eventually forced to record in Chicago.
Wilson's final wife was Lynn Crochet, with whom he lived in the 1970s until he became incapacitated. With Croche's help, Wilson, at last, freed himself of drugs and alcohol.
After Jackie Wilson's death, there was a legal dispute about the validity of his separation from Harris who later gained control of his estate.
Two of his children died under tragic circumstances. Two of his daughters died at a young age. In 1970 his 16-year-old son Jackie Jr. was shot and killed during a confrontation with a neighbor.