Robert Lewis "Jackey" Beavers (June 19, 1937 – October 28, 2008) Marie Nesmith, "Musicians to be honored posthumously at Unsung Heroes Fundraiser Banquet", ''The Daily Tribune News'', 3 November 2011
Retrieved 12 December 2013 was an American

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

singer, songwriter,

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

and community activist. He recorded with

Johnny Bristol John William Bristol (February 3, 1939 – March 21, 2004) was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina, about which ...

as the duo Johnny and Jackey, and co-wrote "

Someday We'll Be Together "Someday We'll Be Together" is a song written by Johnny Bristol, Jackey Beavers, and Harvey Fuqua. It was the last of twelve American number-one pop singles for Diana Ross & the Supremes on the Motown label. Although it was released as the f ...

", later a no.1 hit for

Diana Ross and the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

Biography

Beavers was born and grew up in

Cartersville, Georgia Cartersville is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, United States; it is located within the northwest edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 23,187. Cartersville is the county seat of Bartow Coun ...

, and, after leaving high school, joined the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. While stationed at Fort Custer he won a talent competition, and became friends with one of the other competitors, Johnny Bristol. They began performing together as Johnny and Jackey, and won a residency at the El Grotto Lounge at

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, Michigan, Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle C ...

, where the house band was led by

Junior Walker Autry DeWalt Mixon Jr. (June 14, 1931 – November 23, 1995), known professionally as Junior Walker, was an American multi-instrumentalist (primarily saxophonist and vocalist) who recorded for Motown during the 1960s. He also performed as a ses ...

. They soon signed for

Anna Records Anna Records was a short-lived record label, known as a forerunner of Motown, founded by sisters Anna and Gwen Gordy and Roquel Billy Davis in 1959 and located in Detroit, Michigan. Gwen Gordy and Davis had written hit songs for Jackie Wilson a ...

, where they were managed by

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

's sister Gwen. The duo released two singles on the Anna label in 1960, before moving to the Tri-Phi label which Gwen Gordy set up with her husband

Harvey Fuqua Harvey Fuqua (July 27, 1929 – July 6, 2010) was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive. Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s. He is notable as one of th ...

."Jackey Beavers: From Cartersville To Detroit And Back", ''SoulfulKindaMusic.net''
Retrieved 12 December 2013Biography by Jason Ankeny at Allmusic.com
Retrieved 12 December 2013 The duo's second single for Tri-Phi, "Someday We'll Be Together" in 1962, was co-written by Beavers with Johnny Bristol and Harvey Fuqua, but was not a hit at the time. Finding little commercial success, Johnny and Jackey split up, and Beavers began recording with

Roquel Davis Roquel "Billy" Davis (July 11, 1932 – September 2, 2004), of Detroit, was an American songwriter, record producer, and singer. Davis was also known as a writer/producer of commercial jingles, mostly for Coca-Cola. He was also known as Tyran C ...

at the Checker label. The first release, "Jack-A-Rue" in 1965, was a modest local hit, but its follow-up was unsuccessful. Beavers then recorded for several other labels in the late 1960s, including Nation, Dade, Revilot, Grandland and Jaber. Although the records were not hits at the time, several, such as "Love That Never Grows Old" on Revilot in 1967, are regarded highly by Northern soul fans. Beavers also recorded as a member of The Soul Continentals, and performed with The Continental Showstoppers. He wrote songs for

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the ...

Ella Washington Ella Washington (born October 25, 1943) is an American former R&B and gospel singer, described as "an outstanding Southern soul vocalist" and best known for her 1969 hit " He Called Me Baby". She later became a church pastor. Biography Wash ...

, and others. In the early 1970s he worked as a producer as well as a recording artist at Sound Stage 7 Records, operated by John Richbourg in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, before he returned to Cartersville. After a period managing a nightclub, Beavers returned to college, earned a degree, and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

as a Minister, first at the New Hope Baptist Church and later at the Glory Harvester Church. He recorded several gospel albums on the Glory record label, including ''The Inspired'' (1977), ''Refreshing'' (1986), and ''We Are God's Children'' (1988). He also worked for

Joe Frank Harris Joe Frank Harris (born February 16, 1936) is an American businessman and Democratic politician who served as the 78th Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1983 to 1991. Early life and career Harris was born in the Atco Mill Village o ...

, the

Governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legisl ...

, between 1983 and 1990, as Executive Assistant for minority affairs and small business. In particular, he liaised between the Governor and the

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

community, through work with commissions, organizations and task forces related to civil rights, and small businesses. Georgia Department of Archives and History, Rev. Robert L. "Jackey" Beavers
Retrieved 12 December 2013 He was Executive Assistant to the Commissioner of the

Georgia Department of Corrections The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) is an agency of the U.S. state of Georgia operating state prisons. The agency is headquartered in Forsyth, on the former campus of Tift College. Headquarters The GDC has its offices in Gibson Hall, lo ...

for three years; and an aide to Tom Murphy,

Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. ...

, for seven years. He also wrote a column for the Cartersville ''Daily Tribune News'', and led his church's activities in promoting prison reform. He died at the age of 71 in 2008, U.S., Social Security Death Index
Retrieved 12 December 2013 not in 1988 as reported on some sites. In 2011 he was posthumously inducted into the Bartow County Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Jackey Beavers at Discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beavers, Jackey 1937 births 2008 deaths African-American record producers African-American male singer-songwriters People from Cartersville, Georgia Record producers from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century African-American male singers Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)