J. J. Jackson

Jerome Louis "J.J." Jackson (born November 8, 1942) is an American soul/R&B singer, songwriter, and arranger. His singing style is as a belter. Jackson is best known for the song "But It's Alright", which he co-wrote with Pierre Tubbs. The song was released in 1966 and then re-released in 1969, to chart success on both occasions. The liner notes to his 1967 album, J.J. Jackson, on Calla Records, stated that he weighed 285 pounds.

History Jackson was born in The Bronx, New York. Described as "one of the most interesting obscure figures of '60s soul", Jackson, then based in New York, started out as a songwriter and arranger. His first songwriting credit, at the age of sixteen, was "The Lord Will Understand (And Say 'Well Done')", being the B-side to "Got A Date With An Angel", a 1957 single by Billy Williams. Jackson co-wrote the song with G. Douglas and M. Brent. The song was banned by the BBC for "religious overtones".

Jackson's first single was "Shy Guy", backed with "Time", on Crescent Records and distributed by Fantasy Records, in 1963.

Jackson was later a songwriter and arranger for "Brother" Jack McDuff, Jimmy Witherspoon, and the Shangri-Las, among others. His songwriting credits include Mary Wells' "My Mind's Made Up" and "I've Come to One Conclusion" by Inez and Charlie Foxx, Barnes and Jackson wrote songs for several R & B solo artists of the period, including Sandra Phillips and Billy Prophet, formerly of The Jive Five. Barnes and Jackson also wrote for The Soul Sisters, and became staff writers at Sue Records, one of the few black-owned record labels based in New York at the time.

By 1965, Barnes had emerged as a solo performer, recording songs written by Barnes and Jackson, including "I Hurt On The Other Side", and "I Don't Know Why". reaching No. 22 on the Billboard chart. The song featured some of Britain's top jazz musicians of the day, including Terry Smith on guitar, Dick Morrissey on tenor sax and John Marshall on drums, and originally released on Strike Records. Strike Records was also the release label in England of Jackson's first album. Brother Jack McDuff, with David "Fathead" Newman, covered "But It's Alright", as an instrumental version, on their 1967 album Double Barrelled Soul. The song was also released as a single. The song was also covered in 1967 by Eddie Floyd and included on Floyd's Knock on Wood album.

In 1967, Jackson was signed to Loma Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records, prior to the label being absorbed by Warner Bros. in 1968. Jackson released a series of singles on Loma and Warner Bros. between 1967 and 1969. During this period, Jackson co-wrote much of his material with Windsor King, who had worked with Jackson from the time that Jackson was recording with Calla Records. King also co-produced Jackson's material. Jackson also released singles that were co-written and co-produced by Jerry Ragovoy.

In 1969, Warner Bros. Records, which had acquired the catalogue of Calla Records, "But It's Alright" and "Four Walls" were then released on one single as "Back to Back Hits".

In 1969, Warner Bros. released The Great J.J. Jackson, which contained four songs from Jackson's Calla Records debut, plus eight others. Later that year, Jackson signed with Congress Records, a subsidiary of Kapp Records, releasing his third album, The Greatest Little Soul Band in the Land, in late 1969. This album reunited Jackson with the English musicians who had contributed to the success of "But It's Alright", in 1966, in particular Dick Morrissey and Terry Smith. For his fourth album, Jackson formed J.J. Jackson's Dilemma, releasing an eponymous album on Perception Records in 1970, recorded in 1969. With some of the same musicians who had been members of J.J. Jackson's Dilemma, Jackson released his fifth and final album (and fourth solo album) ...and proud of it! in 1970, on Perception Records.

Jackson became a permanent resident of England in 1969. That same year, Jackson was the subject of a private publication by artist Nancy Reiner, The Adventures of JJ or How The Greatest Little Soul Band In The Land Jes Grooved and Grooved and Grooved. Reiner was the artist whose sketch of Jimi Hendrix became the cover of The Cry of Love. She had previously created the cover art for albums by Brother Jack McDuff and Jimmy Witherspoon.

Jackson's longtime producer, commencing with his recordings at Calla Records and continuing across subsequent labels, was Lew Futterman. Futterman was also a producer of recordings by Jack McDuff and Jimmy Witherspoon, as well as recordings by the British band If.

In 1975, Jackson released the single "Let Me Try Again", under the Magna-Glide label. The label was owned by Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz, who had previously been associated with bubblegum music. The single was unique for Jackson, in that long-time producer Lew Futterman was not involved, and Jackson did not contribute to writing the single. The song was written and produced by Robert (Bobby) Flax and Lanny Lambert. He was included in the 1999 RKO Records release by "Lou Christie and Friends", Rock & Roll Legends Live!, which included performances by Christie and Jackson, as well as Ian Whitcomb, Chris Montez, Jewel Akens, Robert Parker and The Cuff Links In 2002 and 2003, Jackson appeared in revues organized and headlined by Edwin Cook, formerly of the Cornell Gunter version of The Coasters, where others on the bill included Chris Montez, Al Wilson and Otis Day.

Despite Jackson's own lack of recorded output, "But It's Alright" continued to be covered by other artists. In 1981, Australian band Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons covered the song, which was released as a single from their Step Lively album. In 1994, the song was covered by Huey Lewis and the News and included on the album Four Chords & Several Years Ago. The Lewis 1994 cover was also released as a single, including both studio and live versions of the song.

in 1996, Jackson's first album was re-released, on CD in the United Kingdom, by See For Miles Records. It was also re-released in 2005 in the United States, by Collectables Records.

In 2009, The Great J.J. Jackson was re-released, on CD, by Collector's Choice. The re-release included as additional tracks the remaining songs from Jackson's first album on Calla Records that had not been included in the original release of The Great J.J. Jackson. Thus, Jackson's entire first album plus some of his singles released by Loma Records and Warner Bros. Records were included on one album,

There is often confusion between Jerome Louis Jackson, known as J. J. Jackson, and Leo Robinson, who moved to Brazil and later changed his name to J. J. Jackson, at times adding "do Brasil" to his stage name.

Discography Albums As J.J. Jackson 1967: J.J. Jackson, also known as J.J. Jackson With The Greatest Little Soul Band In The Land - But It's Alright (Calla; No. 24, Billboard Hot R&B LPs Chart) 1969: The Great J.J. Jackson (Warner Bros.) 1970: ...and proud of it! (Perception)

As J. J. Jackson's Dilemma 1970: J. J. Jackson's Dilemma (Perception)

Singles As J.J. Jackson 1963: "Shy Guy"/"Time" (Crescent) 1966: "But It's Alright"/"Boogaloo Baby" (Calla Records; Billboard Hot 100 No. 22, Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles Chart No. 4) 1966: "But It's Alright"/"Come See Me (I'm Your Man)"/"I Dig Girls/Let It Out" (Fonogram) 1966: "It Seems Like I've Been Here Before"/"'Til Love Goes Out of Style" (Calla) 1967: "Four Walls (Three Windows and Two Doors)"/"Here We Go Again" (Calla Records; Pop Singles No. 123; R&B Singles No. 17) 1967: "I Dig Girls"/"That Ain't Right" (Calla Records; Billboard Hot 100 No. 83, R&B Singles No. 19) 1967: "Sho Nuff (Got A Good Thing Going)"/"Try Me" (Loma/Warner Bros.) 1968: "Come See Me"/"Try Me" (Strike Records) 1968: "Come See Me"/"I Don't Want To Live My Life Alone" (Loma) 1968: "Down, But Not Out"/"Why Does It Take So Long?" (Loma/Warner Bros.) 1968: "That Ain't Right"/"Courage Ain't Strength" (Loma) 1968: "Too Late/You Do It Cause You Wanna" (Warner Bros.) 1968: "Courage Ain't Strength"/"Too Late"/"It Seems Like I've Been Here Before"/"You Do It Cause You Wanna" (Warner Bros.) 1969: "But It's Alright"/"Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (Warner Bros. Records; Billboard Hot 100 No. 45); No. 63 Canada 1969: "That Ain't Right"/"Four Walls (Three Windows and Two Doors)"(Warner Bros.) 1969: "But It's Alright"/"Four Walls (Three Windows and Two Doors)"(Warner Bros.) 1969: "Fat, Black and Together"/"Fat, Black and Together" (Congress) 1970: "Nobody's Gonna Help You (Lessen You Help Yourself)"/"Help Me Get To My Grits" (Perception) 1975: "Let Me Try Again"/"When Love Meets Love"(Magna-Glide /London)

As J.J. Jackson's Dilemma 1970: "Bow Down To The Dollar"/"Indian Thing" (RCA Victor)

Contributions to other recordings As an arranger, conductor 1966: Brother Jack McDuff, A Change Is Gonna Come (Atlantic) 1966: Brother Jack McDuff, Tobacco Road (Atlantic) 1966: Windsor King, "I'm Walking Out On Trouble" / "Try Me" (Philips)

As a musician 1970: Brother Jack McDuff, To Seek a New Home (Blue Note); piano, percussion