''Jackie'' is an album by American pop singer and songwriter

Jackie DeShannon Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers, August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards, as both singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-songw ...

, released in 1972 by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

.Billboard - 24 Jun 1972 - Page 56 JACKIE DeSHANNON- Jackie. Atlantic SD 7231 In her move to Atlantic, Miss DeShannon comes up with a powerhouse commercial package that can't miss making an impact on the chart. Spotlighting her current chart hit "Vanilla Olay," she also offers strong cuts on John Prine's "Paradise," Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart," and Steve Goodman's "Would You Like to Learn to Dance." Van Morrison's "I Wanna Roo You," and her own "Anna Karina" are also highlights. It was recorded in Memphis with producers Jerry Wexler,

Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recording ...

and

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for o ...

. The album was not commercially successful, charting for two weeks on the ''Billboard'' Top LPs with a peak position of 196, but critics have generally appraised it favorably. In 2003, it was reissued under the title ''Jackie...Plus'', featuring 10 additional songs previously unavailable on any album.

Critical reception

''Jackie'' was met with positive reviews. Writing for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' in August 1972, Stephen Holden said, "I've always liked Jackie DeShannon's singing — a gently throat-catching but never maudlin style — though on record after record her talent seemed too often to be thrown away on inferior songs with shlock arrangements. Now for the first time the full range of her abilities is shown to maximum effect … what is so satisfying about her singing is the tension she accumulates by always just holding back the full wallop." Reviewing for ''

Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is a monthly American music magazine, based in Detroit, whose main print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. Influential criti ...

'' in October 1972, Robert Christgau credited Wexler for performing another "conversion job on a soulful white female pop singer", similar what he had done for

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

on her 1969 album ''

Dusty in Memphis ''Dusty in Memphis'' is the fifth studio album by English singer Dusty Springfield. Initial sessions were recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis, while Springfield's final vocals and the album's orchestral parts were recorded at Atlantic ...

''. "Despite a couple of humdrum country soul songs on the first side", Christgau highlighted DeShannon's original compositions – "Vanilla O'Lay" and "Anna Karina" – as well as her cover of the 1971

Alice Stuart Alice Stuart (born June 15, 1942 in Chelan, Washington, United States) is an American blues and folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. She toured the UK with Van Morrison and throughout the United States with Mississippi John Hurt. Her singin ...

song "Full Time Woman". He later tempered his enthusiasm for the record, however, writing in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981) that Wexler's attempt at modernizing DeShannon nearly succeeded. While finding the fashionable cover songs relatively inessential, he believed DeShannon was compelled to sing better on the more rhythmic productions and that her own written songs remain the LP's essential performances.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Joe Viglione later said ''Jackie'' generally plays in the "adult contemporary folk" genre and, while Wexler, Mardin, and Dowd keep DeShannon in a relatively restrained musical space, "her voice is in great shape, and the music is created with loving care, making for a satisfying chapter in the singer's impressive body of work." ''

Herald & Review The ''Herald & Review'' is a daily newspaper based in Decatur, Illinois. It is owned by Lee Enterprises. The Herald & Review was named one of Editor & Publisher's "10 Newspapers That Do It Right" in 2019 for its use of government documents and ...

'' entertainment editor Tim Cain deemed the record "perfect" and argued that DeShannon has been "tragically underrated". In 2019, it was included in ''Rolling Stone''s list of "20 R&B Albums Rolling Stone Loved in the 1970s You Never Heard". In an accompanying essay, Gavin Edwards said Atlantic's repeated attempt to "take an accomplished pop chanteuse and let her make a lush Southern soul album" may not have had the commercial impact of ''Dusty in Memphis'', "but it was almost as stunning."

Track listing

#"Paradise" (

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

) #"Heavy Burdens Me Down" (

John Hurley, Ronnie Wilkins John David Hurley (April 18, 1941 – August 16, 1986) and Ronald Stephen Wilkins (born October 8, 1941) were American musicians and songwriting partners responsible for writing the hit songs "Love of the Common People" and "Son of a Preacher Ma ...

) #"Brand New Start" (John Blakely,

Tom Donahue Thomas or Tom Donahue may refer to: * Thomas R. Donahue (born 1928), American trade union leader * Thomas Michael Donahue (1921–2004), American physicist, astronomer, and space and planetary scientist * Tom Donahue (DJ) (1928–1975), pioneerin ...

) #"

Only Love Can Break Your Heart "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" is a song written by Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and activist Neil Young. It has been covered by many bands. Genesis and recording The song is the third track on Neil Young's album ''After t ...

" (

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

) #"Laid Back Days" (

) #"Full Time Woman" (

) #"Vanilla 'Olay" (DeShannon) #"Would You Like to Learn to Dance?" ( Steve Goodman) #"I Won't Try to Put Chains on Your Soul" (Mary Unobsky,

Donna Weiss Donna Terry Weiss is an American singer and songwriter. She won a Grammy Award in 1982 for co-writing "Bette Davis Eyes" (1974) with Jackie DeShannon. Songwriter/composer credits * "Bette Davis Eyes" (1974) with Jackie DeShannon - In 1982, Weis ...

) #"I Wanna Roo You" (

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

) #"Peaceful in My Soul" (DeShannon) #"Anna Karina" (DeShannon)

Personnel

*Jackie DeShannon - lead vocals, acoustic guitar * Reggie Young - lead guitar *

Johnny Christopher John (“Johnny”) Lee Christopher Jr. (born 1943 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American singer, guitarist, session musician and songwriter. Music career Christopher's singles included "(She's A) Girl Of Many Colors / The Teacher And The Pet" (19 ...

- rhythm guitar *Mike Leech - bass *Bobby Wood - piano, electric piano * Bobby Emmons - organ *Haywood Bishop - drums, percussion *Denzil Laing - percussion *John Stewart - xylophone *Charles Chalmers, Cissy Houston, Deidre Tuck, Donna Rhodes, Renelle Stafford, Sandra Rhodes - backing vocals *

- accordion on "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" *

Albhy Galuten Albhy Galuten (born Alan Bruce Galuten; December 27, 1947) is an American technology executive and futurist, Grammy Award-winning record producer, composer, musician, orchestrator and conductor. He has numerous inventions and has produced 18 ...

- harpsichord on "Would You Like to Learn to Dance?" *

Larry McDonald Lawrence Patton McDonald (April 1, 1935 – September 1, 1983) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Democrat from 1975 until he was killed ...

- congas *BWIA Sunjets Steel Orchestra of Trinidad - steel drums on "Vanilla O'Lay" and "I Wanna Roo You"

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1972 albums Jackie DeShannon albums Albums produced by Jerry Wexler Albums produced by Arif Mardin Albums produced by Tom Dowd Atlantic Records albums