Chuck Jackson (July 22, 1937 – February 16, 2023) was an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal 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'”, and “All Over the World”.
Chuck Jackson was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1937 and grew up in Latta, South Carolina singing in a gospel group before he moved to Pittsburgh when he was 13.
Between 1957 and 1959, Chuck Jackson was a member of The Del-Vikings, singing lead on the 1957 release “Willette”.
After leaving The Del-Vikings, Chuck Jackson was “discovered” by Luther Dixon, when he opened for Jackie Wilson, at the Apollo Theater and signed a recording contract with Scepter Records subsidiary Wand Records.
His first single, “I Don’t Want to Cry”, which he co-wrote with Luther Dixon, recorded in November 1960, and released in January 1961, was his first hit, and charted on both the R&B and pop charts.
In 1962, Chuck Jackson’s recording of the Burt Bacharach-Bob Hilliard song “Any Day Now” became a sizable hit and went on to become his signature song.
Chuck Jackson’s popularity in the 1960s prompted him to buy out the time on his contract from Scepter and move to Motown Records, which he later said was “one of the worst mistakes I ever made in my life”. He recorded a few successful singles including “Honey Come Back” for Motown.
Then he recorded for All Platinum and other labels but with minimal success.
After meeting producer and 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, Chuck Jackson teamed with longtime friend Dionne Warwick and recorded “If I Let Myself Go”, which was arranged as a duet by Charles Wallert for Wave Entertainment. The recording received critical acclaim charting at number 19 on the Gavin Adult Contemporary Charts.
Chuck Jackson then released “What Goes Around, Comes Around”, another Wallert production and composition which reached Nunmber 13 on the Gavin Charts.
Several of Chuck Jackson’s songs later became hits for other artists including Ronnie Milsap, whose 1982 cover version of “Any Day Now” reached Number 1 on the Country and Adult Contemporary charts. Michael McDonald covered “I Keep Forgettin'” with much success. “I Keep Forgettin'” was also covered by David Bowie on his album “Tonight”, as well as on a version produced by Phil Spector for the Checkmates, Ltd.
Chuck Jackson was close friends with political strategist Lee Atwater and appears in the documentary “Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story”.
Australian pop-rock band Big Pig 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“.
“I Can’t Break Away” was also covered in 2007 by house music singer Inaya Day.
On October 4, 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, Far Cry New Dawn and in 2021, his song “Any Day Now” was used in a Volkswagen commercial.
Chuck Jackson died on February 16, 2023, at the age of 85.
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