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Originally published in MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide,
Gary Graff, Josh Freedom du Lac, and Jim McFarlin (eds.); Visible Ink
Press (Detroit, MI):
Born March 19, 1938, Pensacola, Florida; Died June 20, 1983.
Walter Jackson comes from the uptown side of Chicago soul. He was influenced
more by pop crooners such as Billy Eckstine, Arthur Prysock, Al Hibbler,
Joe Williams, and Nat "King" Cole than by gospel-style singers,
and he frequently expressed disapproval of attempts to place him in rock
'n roll and R&B musical settings. His technical proficiency as a singer
made a strong impression on everyone who ever heard or worked with him,
and no less an authority than Luther Vandross has stated that Jackson
was his favorite singer. Yet Jackson never quite achieved the success
warranted by his prodigious vocal skills.
Jackson was permanently disabled by childhood polio and performed on
crutches. A fearsomely strong-willed man, however, Jackson never treated
himself nor allowed himself to be treated as a handicapped person. His
career began as a member of the Velvetones vocal group. In 1962, Okeh
Records A&R Director Carl Davis brought Jackson to the label after
hearing him sing in a Detroit piano bar. Davis and Curtis Mayfield, two
of the primary forces in Chicago R&B in the 1960s, co-produced Jackson's
earliest recordings for Okeh, a combination of standards such as "Moonlight
in Vermont" and R&B songs aimed at contemporary R&B radio,
including several Mayfield compositions ("That's What Mama Said,"
1963, and "It's All Over", 1964). This recording pattern continued
through later productions for Okeh by Ted Cooper; Jackson straddled the
fence between pop R&B and supper-club crooning. When the combination
clicked, the results were magnificent: "Funny (Not Much)" (1964),
"Speak Her Name" (1967), "It's an Uphill Climb to the Bottom"
(1967), and especially "Welcome Home" (1965).
The hits stopped coming after "My Ship Is Comin' In" in 1967,
and Jackson recorded unsuccessfully for several labels (the lone exception
was "Anyway You Want Me" for Cotillion in 1969) before Carl
Davis resurrected his career at his new Chi-Sound label in 1976. Jackson's
Chi-Sound material was more pop- and mainstream-oriented than his Okeh
recordings had been, and he succeeded with lushly produced covers of pop
songs such as Morris Albert's "Feelings" (1976) and Peter Frampton's
"Baby I Love Your Way" (1977). His last hit, two years before
his 1983 death, was "Tell Me Where it Hurts" (Columbia, 1981).
Buy first: [The Best of Walter Jackson: Welcome Home
- The Okeh Years] (Sony, 1996, prod. Various) (4 bones) contains most
of Jackson's hit records during his most productive period.
Buy next:
- [Feelings] (Collectables, 1994, prod. Various) (2 1/2 bones) collects
Jackson's Chi-Sound recordings. Jackson would sound good singing almost
anything, but much of his Chi-Sound material puts this statement to
a challenging test. The Chi-Sound remakes of Jackson's Okeh recordings
are worth listening to, but most fans of hard-core R&B and soul
will have a hard time with the schlockier material on this CD.
- Those who wish to dip a toe in the water of the Chi-Sound material
without the risk of drowning could try [A Celebration of Soul: The Chi-Sound
Records Collection, Volume one] (Varese Sarabande, 1996, prod. Various)
(3 bones) and [Volume two] (Varese Sarabande, 1996, prod. Various) (3
bones). In addition to some selections by Jackson, these discs include
late 1970s and early 1980s recordings by the Chi-lites featuring Eugene
Record, the Dells, Gene Chandler, the Impressions, Manchild, Windy City,
and Paris.
- [Curtis Mayfield's Chicago Soul] (Sony, 1995, prod. Various) (4 bones)
documents Mayfield's work as a writer and producer with Chicago artists
including Jackson, the Opals, Gene Chandler, Major Lance, the Artistics,
and Billy Butler & the Enchanters.
Avoid: [Send in the Clowns] (20th Century, 1979,
prod. Carl Davis) (1 bone)
The rest:
- [Feeling Good] (Chi-Sound, 1976, prod. Carl Davis) (2 bones)
- [I Want to Come Back as a Song] (Chi-Sound, 1977, prod. Carl Davis)
(2 bones)
- [Good to See You] (United Artists, 1978, prod. Carl Davis) (2 bones)
- [It's Cool] (Charly, year unknown, prod. Various) (4 bones)
- [Walter Jackson's Greatest Hits] (Epic, 1987, prod. Various) (4 bones)
- [Greatest Hits] (Sony, 1991, prod. Various) (4 bones)
Worth searching for: Jackson's three Okeh LPs comprise
his output during the period of his greatest artistic and commercial success:
- [It's All Over] (Okeh, 1964, prod. Carl Davis, Curtis Mayfield) (4
bones)
- [Welcome Home] (Okeh, 1965, prod. Carl Davis, Curtis Mayfield) (4
bones)
- [Speak Her Name] (Okeh, 1967, prod. Ted Cooper) (3 1/2 bones)
Influenced by: Jerry Butler, Curtis Mayfield, Arthur
Prysock, Billy Eckstine, Al Hibbler, Joe Williams, Nat "King"
Cole
Influenced: Luther Vandross
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