By Galactus (207.144.253.114) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 01:55 pm:

....on an out of town visit......I went into the local "Sounds Familiar" and they were playing "The Best of Walter Jackson: The Okeh Years" and I was just flat out knocked out! So I said.....hey, man, what's that Walter Jackson CD you're playing? They showed it to me and I went ahead and got it!

I had a few Jackson tunes on the Curtis Mayfield Chicago Soul CD.......but man o man.....Jackson was really dynamite! What a great collection of tunes and what an overlooked talent by much of the media....Even more amazing was his polio condition, which I never would've even guessed. Wish he was still around to tell us some tales about back in the day......

Any of you have any interesting Walter Jackson anecdotes to share? I read on AllMusic.com that he had tried out for Motown but, amazingly, got rejected. I find that incredible given his unbelievable pipes and talent. He sure sounds sweet on those Mayfield and McCoy tunes.....

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 02:57 pm:

Galactus;
YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!!! I've been singing the praises of Walter Jackson to everyone since I first saw him live in 1966, when he was singing "My Ship Is Coming In". You gotta check out his other albums & CDs!!
S.S.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 03:00 pm:

Galactus:
Take a look in the credits page for the thank-you's....You'll see a very familiar name...
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Galactus (207.144.253.114) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 04:47 pm:

OK, Kev....I'll do that tonight!

Soul Sister,

I've a feeling that's what I'm going to end up doing!! Any recommendations?

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 05:02 pm:

Galactus:
The Okeh/Columbia Legacy CD "Welcome Home" is an overview of Walter's hit output from 1964 through 1967 although there is still MUCH more material that Sony Music could make available.

Walter recorded for many labels - Columbia (1962-64), Okeh (1964-67), Epic (1968-70), Cotillion (1970-71), Scepter/Wand (1972-73), Brunswick/Dakar (1973-75), Chi-Sound (1976-1980)and Kelli-Arts (1981-82). The Chi-Sound releases are available on CD thanks to our soul bro's & sisters in the UK at West Side Records.

Check out the following CDs from his Chi-Sound years -
Feeling Good
I Want To Come Back As A Song
Tell Me Where It Hurts
Send In The Clowns

West Side also compiled his Chi-Sound masters on two collections - "Touchin' The Soul" and "Feeling The Song".

Walter recorded great versions of the hits of the day (Peter Frampton's "Baby I Love Your Way") as well as originals like "Tell Me Where It Hurts".

Carl Davis produced the majority of Walter's output for the exception of a few tunes Ted Cooper supervised from 1966-67 and for a brief spell when Walter recorded for Scepter/Wand.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Galactus (207.144.253.114) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 05:06 pm:

Yeah.....I had a feeling I'd have to go the import route to get any of his other stuff......It's a shame the British seem to respect soul music more than our own country does....There's already a list of imports I want to order, so I guess I'll have to add those to the list!

Thanks for the info....

What's his Chi-Sound stuff like? Similar in style to the Okeh material? Or is it more in tune with the sound of the day?

By Galactus (207.144.253.114) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 05:10 pm:

One more question concerning tough to find Chicago soul material....

What do you think of Leroy Hutson's stuff? I really enjoyed his contribution to "Curtis in Chicago" and would like to get around to getting a CD or two by him......Think he's worth a buy?

By souljunkie (213.122.43.76) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 05:17 pm:

Oh boy do I love to listen to Walter Jackson. One of my all time faves for sure!

Galactus, I have the All Music Guide to Soul book and they do have a bio and album reviews in there. They give that O'Keh years CD 5 stars, in fact I just checked the website and something did come up so maybe you hit the wrong search or something???....

Walter Jackson

Born Mar 19, 1938 in Pensacola, FL
Died Jun 20, 1983 in Chicago, IL
Years Active
Genres Rock
Styles Soul, R&B, Northern Soul, Chicago Soul
Instruments Vocals
Labels West Side (6), OKeh (3), Sony (2)
Charts & Awards Click here for Billboard Chart Positions & GRAMMY Awards

by Richie Unterberger

Walter Jackson was '60s Chicago soul at its sweetest and, occasionally, most mainstream. In the mid-'60s, he had a brace of solid R&B hits � "Suddenly I'm All Alone," "It's an Uphill Climb (To the Bottom)," "Speak Her Name," "Welcome Home," "A Corner in the Sun" � without ever rising higher than the lower reaches of the Top 100. Recording for the OKeh stable, which was home to the top Chi-town soul talent, he benefited for a time from the production services of local masters Carl Davis and Curtis Mayfield, who handled the Impressions, Major Lance, Gene Chandler, and others. His sides employed similar punchy brass and strings, but in a smoother, more urbane fashion; Jackson was also comfortable with occasional outings into pure supper-club pop with nary a trace of R&B.
Jackson had already recorded for Columbia (and unsuccessfully auditioned for Motown) when OKeh A&R director Davis saw him at a Detroit piano bar in 1962. Stricken with polio as a young boy, Jackson had never let his disability get in the way of his musical ambitions, performing on crutches. Impressed with his commanding voice, Carl Davis thought of Walter as a Nat "King" Cole type of singer, and procured material for Jackson from Mayfield, Van McCoy, Chip Taylor, and other top-notch songwriters.

Despite the obvious pop crossover potential of Jackson's recordings, he remained obscure to white listeners. During the latter part of his stay with OKeh, he was reassigned from Davis' stable to producer Ted Cooper. Jackson had a few hits with Cooper, but there was little success after the late '60s, although he recorded for a few more labels before dying of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1983

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 05:17 pm:

Galactus:
The Walter Jackson Chi-Sound material was in tune with the R&B music of the day yet producer Carl Davis used the same arrangers and musicians he had for Walter's Okeh sessions (Riley Hampton comes to mind - he arranged Walter's 1960s and 1970s output). Therefore, this is some of the classiest R&B/soul that the Windy City produced during the 1970s.
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By souljunkie (213.122.43.76) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 05:26 pm:

Deepbeats issued 2 volumes of Leroy Hutson greatest hits CD's a few years back and I'd highly recommend both of those if you're not looking to seek out all the albums. Hopefully these links will work.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000114H/qid=1080595488/sr=1-11/ref=sr_1_11/102-0803860-6856921?v=glance&s=music

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000607I/qid=1080595735/sr=1-9/ref=sr_1_9/102-0803860-6856921?v=glance&s=music

By Galactus (207.144.253.114) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 05:33 pm:

Yeah, souljunkie......I had found that entry. Thanks! I have the All Music Guide to Soul book, too.....Great book, isn't it? Long overdue, too....

Thanks, Kev....sounds really good.....I'll definitely have to check into those imports when I get a chance.....Sounds like he could have some of the same arrangers and producers as Tyrone Davis....yes?

By Galactus (207.144.253.114) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 05:35 pm:

Thanks for the Hutson recommendations, souljunkie......Sounds like those collections might do me fine.....

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 05:41 pm:

Galactus:
Tyrone Davis had folks like Willie Henderson, Carl Davis, Leo Graham & the late Otis Leavill produce his recordings during the 1970s. So yeah, some of the same guys and gals.
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Galactus (207.144.253.114) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 06:01 pm:

Yep....good sound.....

By ~medua~ (68.79.86.251) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 08:47 am:

...as a teenager, my Uncle used to play Curtis Mayfields "It's Alright" and ther were 2 Walter Jackson tunes he would always play~
I Don't Want To Suffer and another tune
This WOrld Of Mine, I don't remember the name of the Album.
My last purchased recording of Walters' was~
Tell Me Where It Hurts
..and Soul Sista, yu are right on the $$$$, that Guy could really blow, his voice sounded like an instrument all within itself,he could carry a song to Paradise and back. (smile)

By Tony Russi (68.18.44.156) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 09:09 am:

My fave by Walter Jackson was "It's An Uphill Climb To the Bottom" on Okeh, I think it was produced by Carl Davis. Great record.Would love to find it on CD.

By roger (217.35.87.17) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 09:15 am:

Tony Russi

"Uphill Climb to the Bottom" is on the Okeh/Columbia Legacy CD "Welcome Home" that KevGo mentioned in his post.

I got my copy last week here in sunny London.

Great stuff..

Roger.

By dvdmike (65.208.234.61) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 09:28 am:

"An Uphill Climb To The Bottom" was produced by Ted Cooper at Columbia's New York studios. Riley Hampton was the arranger on most of Walter's albums from Okeh in the '60s to Chi-Sound into the early '80s . Back in those days, a record label might move you from producer to producer, city to city. After Carl Davis produced a series of mild hits for Walter, CBS decided to team him with Ted Cooper in New York, but kept Riley as principal arranger because of his musical relationship with Walter.

By Richard Felstead (128.40.91.183) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 09:30 am:

Walter Jackson, a wonderful singer, who recorded many a fine tune over the years.

The UK audience are very fond of two of his recordings in particular.
"Touching In The Dark" and "It's Cool".

Many other tracks are of course played,but those for many are the standout tracks in a long and distinguished career.

By the way Galactus, I can't recommend you check out Leroy Hutson enough.

This dude has to be one of THE most underrated singers, songwriters, arrangers, and producers going.
Def worth investigating, one of my fave cuts is
"Get to this ( you'll get to me )amongst many others.

Best,
Rich.

By Heikki (81.17.199.27) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 09:48 am:

Hi!

Alonside those classic Okeh sides my all-time favourite Walter Jackson song is a beautiful delivery of Joe Cato's dramatic ballad, The Walls That Separate Us, which he cut for the USA label (USA 104) in 1971.
John Edwards did a good cover of it a couple of years later, but I still prefer Walter's version.

Best regards
Heikki

By Tony Russi (68.18.44.156) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 09:56 am:

Thanks Roger & dvdmike, I'll look for that cd this weekend...I had a pix case 45 of that record and can't find it.

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 10:30 am:

Man, so many WJ tunes blow me away...besides the usual I love "If I Could See Myself", "What Would You Do", "Funny, Not Much", "Tell Me Where It Hurts" and of course "Welcome Home". He is one bad cat!

Medusa, not hard on the eyes either, but that voice is so moving. I don't think I ever heard the two songs your uncle had but would love hearing them, something to search for. Thanks for the 411.
S.S.

By Galactus (207.144.253.114) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 12:00 pm:

Kev Go,

I checked out those "Thank You" credits! Very cool!!

Rich,

thanks for the Leroy recommendation.....Can't find his material around here.....That's something I'll have to order online eventually...

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 12:18 pm:

Galactus:
Yes, indeed....Carl is one of my music biz "mentors" and I introduced him to Leo Sacks, who is Sony/Legacy's compilation producer for their Rhythm & Soul series.

DVDMike:
Ted Cooper became Walter's producer after Carl Davis left CBS in early 1966. Carl was forced to leave CBS when they found out he was doing outside productions for Constellation Records (those Gene Chandler 45s that say "A Bill/Bunky Sheppard Production" was really Carl Davis supervising the session).

Carl produced Walter's Okeh smashes "It's All Over" and "Welcome Home" among others. Ted produced "Speak Her Name", "An Uphill Climb To The Bottom" and "My Ship Is Coming In".

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 12:27 pm:

Folks:
For those who are interested in picking up Walter Jackson's "Welcome Home - The Okeh Years", here are the track listings -

1. My Ship Is Comin' In
2. What Would You Do
3. It's All Over
4. That's What Mama Say
5. Suddenly I'm All Alone
6. It's an Uphill Climb (To the Bottom)
7. Tear for Tear
8. After You There Can Be Nothing
9. Speak Her Name
10. Lee Cross
11. Moonlight in Vermont
12. Funny (Not Much)
13. A Corner in the Sun
14. There Goes That Song Again
15. Welcome Home

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Eli (68.236.59.174) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 12:39 pm:

I am in one accord with al of the above postings and I am quite proud to say that I knew Walter very well before,after and during my "Vibrations years"

By Galactus (207.144.253.114) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 12:40 pm:

Finally listened to the whole deal in one sitting this a.m........Definitely worth every penny!

Kev.....Introduce more folks to Mr. Sacks! LOL... Seriously, they are doing an outstanding job......Great package design and liner notes! Great sound! I wish they had the rights to every old R&B album out there that's floating around in the "out of print" void....Every disc I own from the Sony/Legacy group gets regular play in my CD changer....

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 01:23 pm:

Galactus:
Leo met Carl Davis and many other Chicago folks at a function I co-hosted here in NYC in 1995.

Sony Music owns Columbia & Epic Records. While there are projects folks like Leo, Universal Music's Harry Weinger and others would love to reissue, they have to answer to "the powers" as far as how many records they could really sell. That's why we (almost) have to settle for these anthologies unless a company such as Collectables puts in a license request to reissue the recordings that belong to the likes of Sony (which they are doing at this venture).

My advice? Email and write letters to these companies and request that these labels reissue their catalogs. I'm not saying they'll reissue these albums ASAP but if enough people DO write the labels will consider making their out of print catalogs available.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By dvdmike (65.208.234.61) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 01:48 pm:

I knew those Bunky Sheppard productions were really produced by Carl and that he got forced out of Okeh. There was also a so-called "misunderstanding" between Carl and Len Levy, who was Epic's veep at the time. There were other Okeh sessions produced by Curtis Mayfield and Gerald Sims in Chicago and Billy Sherrill in Nashville. I don't remember who produced the L.A. sessions for Larry Williams & Johnny "Guitar" Watson.