Chuck Jackson (born July 22, 1937) is an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David ...

successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961. His hits include "I Don't Want to Cry," " Any Day Now," "

I Keep Forgettin' "I Keep Forgettin" is a song by Chuck Jackson, written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and Garfield. It appears on his second studio album ''Any Day Now''. It peaked at No. 55 on the ''Billboard'' Top 100 and remained on the chart for 7 weeks. It ...

", and "All Over the World".

Career

Jackson was born in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

in 1937. He grew up in

Latta, South Carolina Latta is a town in Dillon County, South Carolina, United States. Latta is the second largest town in Dillon County. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,379. History Latta was established in 1887. The town arose from a need for a railr ...

, where he sang in a gospel group, until moving to

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

at age 13. Between 1957 and 1959, he was a member of

The Del-Vikings The Del-Vikings (also known as The Dell-Vikings) were an American doo-wop musical group that recorded several hit singles in the 1950s and continued to record and tour with various lineups in later decades. The group is notable for the hit song ...

, singing lead on the 1957 release "Willette." After leaving them, he was "discovered" by

Luther Dixon Luther Dixon (August 7, 1931 – October 22, 2009) was an American songwriter, record producer, and singer. Dixon's songs achieved their greatest success in the 1950s and 1960s, and were recorded by Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Jackson 5, B. ...

when he opened for Jackie Wilson at the Apollo Theater. He signed a recording contract with

Scepter Records Scepter Records was an American record company founded in 1959 by Florence Greenberg. History Florence Greenberg founded Scepter Records from the $4,000 she received after she sold Tiara Records and the Shirelles to Decca Records. When the Shire ...

subsidiary

Wand Records Wand Records was an American independent record label, started by Florence Greenberg in 1961 as a subsidiary of Scepter Records. Artists on Wand Records included The Isley Brothers, The Kingsmen, Mel Wynn & the Rhythm Aces, Chuck Jackson, and the ...

. "I Don't Want to Cry," his first single, which he co-wrote (with Luther Dixon) and recorded in November 1960, was his first hit (released in January 1961). The song charted on both the R&B and pop charts. In 1962, Jackson's recording of the Burt Bacharach-

Bob Hilliard Bob Hilliard (born Hilliard Goldsmith; January 28, 1918 – February 1, 1971) was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs: "Alice in Wonderland", "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", " Any Day Now", " Dear Hearts and Gentle ...

song "Any Day Now" became a huge hit and his signature song. His popularity in the 1960s prompted him to buy the time on his contract from Scepter and move to Motown Records. A decision he later commented upon as "one of the worst mistakes I ever made in my life" There he recorded a few successful singles, including "Honey Come Back." He later recorded for All Platinum and other labels, but with minimal success. After meeting producer/composer Charles Wallert at the Third Annual Beach Music Awards, the two collaborated to record "How Long Have You Been Loving Me" on Carolina Records. In 1998, Jackson teamed with longtime friend Dionne Warwick to record "If I Let Myself Go", arranged as a duet by Wallert for Wave Entertainment. The recording received critical acclaim and charted at number 19 on the Gavin Adult Contemporary Charts. Jackson followed with "What Goes Around, Comes Around", another Wallert production and composition, and reached number 13 on the Gavin Charts.

Legacy

Several of Jackson's songs later became hits for other artists, including Ronnie Milsap, whose 1982 cover version of "Any Day Now" reached No. 1 on the Country and Adult Contemporary charts, and Michael McDonald, who covered "I Keep Forgettin'" with much success. "I Keep Forgettin'" also was covered by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

in his album ''

Tonight Tonight may refer to: Television * ''Tonight'' (1957 TV programme), a 1957–1965 British current events television programme hosted by Cliff Michelmore that was broadcast on BBC * ''Tonight'' (1975 TV programme), a 1975–1979 British current ...

'', and a version produced by

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

for the Checkmates, Ltd. Jackson was close friends with political strategist

Lee Atwater Harvey LeRoy "Lee" Atwater (February 27, 1951 – March 29, 1991) was an American political consultant and strategist for the Republican Party. He was an adviser to US presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and chairman of the Repub ...

. He appears in the documentary '' Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story''. Australian pop-rock band

Big Pig Big Pig was an Australian funk, rock and pop band that existed from 1985 to 1991. An early line-up was Sherine Abeyratne on lead vocals and percussion (ex-Editions, Bang); Tony Antoniades on vocals and harmonica; Neil Baker on drums; Nick Disb ...

recorded a cover to "I Can't Break Away", simply titled "Breakaway", which was used as the opening theme to the 1989 film ''

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film directed by Stephen Herek and written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. The first installment of the ''Bill & Ted'' franchise, it stars Keanu Reeves, Alex Winte ...

''. The song was covered in 2007 by house music singer

Inaya Day Inaya Day (born Inaya Davis, January 17, 1977) is an American singer, best known for her vocal work on house music tracks such as "Horny '98" by Mousse T, and her cover version of " Nasty Girl" by Prince protégées Vanity 6. Biography Early ca ...

. On 4 October 2015, Chuck Jackson was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. His song "Hand it Over" was featured on the 2019

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

, ''

Far Cry New Dawn ''Far Cry New Dawn'' is a 2019 first-person shooter game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is a spin-off and sequel to ''Far Cry 5'', and the twelfth overall installment in the ''Far Cry'' series. Set seventeen years aft ...

''. In 2021, his song "Any Day Now" was used in a Volkswagen commercial.

Awards

* 1992: Rhythm and Blues Foundation, Pioneer Award * 2009: Carolina Beach Music Hall of Fame, Joe Pope Pioneer Award

Singles

Discography (selected)

Albums * 1961: ''

I Don't Want to Cry! ''I Don't Want to Cry!'' is Chuck Jackson's debut studio album, released in 1961. The album is completely devoted to songs about crying. Jackson co-wrote the title track. It became a Top 40 Pop hit and a Top 5 R&B hit. The album's design and p ...

'' (Wand WDM-650) * 1962: ''Any Day Now'' (Wand WDM-654) * 1963: ''Encore!'' (Wand WDM-655) * 1964: ''Chuck Jackson on Tour'' (Wand WDM-658) * 1965: ''Mr. Everything'' (Wand WDM-667) * 1965: ''Saying Something'', with Maxine Brown (Wand WDM-669) * 1966: ''A Tribute to Rhythm and Blues'' (Wand WDM-673) * 1966: ''A Tribute to Rhythm and Blues, Volume 2'' (Wand WDM-676) * 1966: ''Dedicated to the King'' (Wand WDM-680) * 1967: ''Greatest Hits'' (Wand WDM-683) * 1967: ''Hold On, We're Coming'', with Maxine Brown (Wand WDM-678) * 1967: ''The Early Show'', with

Tammi Terrell Tammi Terrell (born Thomasina Winifred Montgomery; April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known as a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, notably for a series of duets with singer Marvin Gaye. ...

(Wand WDM-682) * 1968: ''Chuck Jackson Arrives'' (Motown) * 1969: ''Goin' Back to Chuck Jackson'' (Motown) * 1970: ''Teardrops Keep Falling on My Heart'' (Motown) * 1974: ''Through All Times'' (ABC) * 1975: ''Needing You, Wanting You'' (All Platinum) * 1977: ''The Great Chuck Jackson'' (Bulldog) * 1980: ''After You'' (EMI America) * 1980: ''I Wanna Give You Some Love'' (EMI America) * 1992: '' I'll Take Care of You'', with Cissy Houston (Shanachie Entertainment) * 1994: ''Chuck Jackson'' (Platinum Pop) * 1994: ''Encore/Mr. Everything'' (Kent-UK) * 1998: ''Smooth, Smooth Jackson'' (Sequel Records) Singles on

Tamla Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

(UK) * ''TMG651'' "Girls Girls Girls" / "(You Can't Let the Boy Overpower) The Man in You" - 7" * ''TMG729'' "Honey Come Back" / "What Am I Gonna Do Without You" - 7"

References

External links

Chuck Jackson - official websiteChuck Jackson speaks about Lee Atwater
in Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
Chuck Jackson -Pittsburgh Music History
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Chuck American rhythm and blues musicians People from Latta, South Carolina Musicians from Pittsburgh Living people 1937 births Northern soul musicians American soul singers Singers from Pennsylvania All Platinum artists Motown artists Scepter Records artists Wand Records artists