Background
He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee.
He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee.
His most successful songs, mostly written at Stax Records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, were "Who"s Making Love", co-written with Homer Banks and Bettye Crutcher. And "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don"t Want to Be Right" and "If You"re Ready (Come Go With Maine)", both co-written with Banks and Carl Hampton. After serving in the United States Army between 1966 and 1968, he renewed his songwriting partnership with Banks, who had begun working at Stax Records.
They wrote Johnnie Taylor"s 1968 single "Next Time", before joining with fellow songwriter Bettye Crutcher to write "Who"s Making Love".
Jackson also played guitar on the record, which became Taylor"s biggest early hit, reaching northern 1 on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues chart and northern
5 on the Hot 100. The songwriting trio of Jackson, Banks and Crutcher remained together for the next two years, styling themselves "We Three", and had more hits including Taylor"s "Take Care Of Your Homework" and "I Could Never Be President".
And Carla Thomas" "I Like What You"re Doing (To Maine)". Jackson and Banks then worked with Carl Hampton to write further hits for The Staple Singers, Luther Ingram, The Emotions and others
These included "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don"t Want to Be Right", first recorded by Ingram on Johnnie Baylor"s KoKo label, which was distributed by Stax. Ingram"s version made northern
1 on the Rhythm & Blues chart in 1972.
The song was later recorded by many other artists including (the unrelated) Millie Jackson. Raymond Jackson died as a result of a house fire in November 1972, at the age of 31. Jackson"s sons, Raymond Earl Jackson Junior. and Cornelius Jackson, are also musicians, who formed We Three Productions with Jimi Hill in 2003.