By Keane (209.87.128.124) on Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 03:41 pm:

Dear Forum Experts: A few years ago my wife and
myself fell in love with "Aretha, Please Play One For Me" on a Hi Fi compilation. The singer was George Jackson. Then we heard what seemed like the same voice on Leaving Me by the Independents. This same voice on other songs
refers to himself as Chuck.

I don't get it. As far as I know Chuck Jackson
is a very good r+b singer who peaked in the sixties and was a baritone. This 'Leavin Me-Aretha, Play one for me" voice is a fabulous tenor.

So I ask you... which Jackson is which?
Keane

By 1Wicked (24.126.64.120) on Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 04:03 pm:

*That" Jackson is my friend Charles "Chuck" Jackson...brother of the Rev. Jesse. After The Independents went their separate ways, he teamed with Marvin Yancey, and they wrote and produced a string of hits for Natalie Cole. He also had a solo album titled "Passionate Breezes". He was out of the music business for quite awhile...but royalties from the re-release of Natalie Cole's work (LOL) AND a feeling that there is a market in 2003 for the types of songs he writes has stimulated the creative juices. All that to say Chuck is "back on the block"...and has two songs that Aretha absolutely loves and will probably make the final cut for her newest CD.

By Keane (209.87.128.124) on Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 04:14 pm:

Dear 1Wicked: So you mean that the Hi Fi George
Jackson on "play one for me" is really Chuck under
a different name. And that he is the same chuck
that was a barritone in the sixties and sangj
"Beg me" and "Any Day Now" and many more? Or where
there two chuck jackson soul singers, cause the
voices sure are different.

yers
Keane

By 1Wicked (24.126.64.120) on Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 04:46 pm:

I apologize for the lack of clarity...but what I MEANT was: The "Chuck" Jackson of The Independents is the same guy who worked with Marvin Yancey and is Jesse's brother. The "Any Day Now" Chuck is a totally different person...and I know nothing about George Jackson.

By Marv (152.163.252.68) on Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 04:54 pm:

The Independents were the first group I ever saw in concert. They were Chuck, Helen and Maurice!!!!

By Keane (209.87.128.124) on Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 05:03 pm:

Marv and 1wicked: and I apologize for my typos.
If you've heard play one for me, aretha I am sure
you would agree they are the same man. In both
cases he is in my top ten soul voices.

The Chuck Jackson from the sixties comes from Chicago I believe, and I've heard the Independents come from Chicago as well . That is why I was confused. Nor did I consider that two top r+b singers would use the same name.

Keane

By 1Wicked (24.126.64.120) on Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 05:13 pm:

My friend Chuck (Independents) is from Greenville, SC....but I believe the group got their start or break in Chicago.

By Heikki (62.71.79.239) on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 03:20 am:

Hi!
George Jackson is one the most noted southern song-writers along with Frank Johnson and Sam Dees. He was born in Greenville, Mississippi, on March 12 in 1945, has a gospel background and started working with Sun Records in the early 60s and did a lot of demos there (some of them have been released later).
His first released record on Prann in 1963, Won't Nobody Cha-Cha With Me/Who Was That Guy, was produced by Ike Turner. His next, Memphis-recorded singles in '65 came out on Hester and Dot (and again many left in the can).
Next he hooked up with Goldwax, wrote some songs for James Carr, Spencer Wiggins and the Ovations. He also formed a duo with Dan Greer (one single, Good Times, in '66 and a lot of demos).
A one-off for Jimmy Horton's Public label out of Los Angeles (Cold Cold Love) next, before hooking up with Willie Mitchell for the first time - on Hi in '67 I'm Gonna Wait and Wonderful Dream (the latter as Bart Jackson).
In 1968 George went to Muscle Shoals and wrote many classic songs for Clarence Carter, Wilson Pickett, Candi Staton, Bettye Swann etc. and also had a couple of releases on Fame on himself.
After one single on Verve in 1971 (Love Hijacker) George teamed up with Willie Mitchell again and wrote for Ann Peebles, Otis Clay and some others, but not for Al Green. George: "I never could get a song on Al. At first Willie promised me I would get a song on Al, a song called Patricia that Al really loved, but when Al got big I couldn't get a song on him. Al mostly started writing his own songs and with Willie and whoever."
But this was the time period when George cut Aretha Sing One For Me for Hi (and another single, Let Them Know You Care/Patricia a year later). Those days George also wrote One Bad Apple for the Jackson Five, did a demo on it but Rick Hall gave it to the Osmonds. His second big hit song was I Love That Old Rock And Roll for Bob Seger.
In the 70s George still recorded for MGM (three singles), Chess (1), ER Music (1), Muscle Shoals Sound (1) and one for Keylock as a vocalist for a group called Gotham Flasher (a disco version of Try A Little Tenderness).
In the 80s George recorded a duet with Louis Williams (Sam We'll Never Forget You) for his own Happy Hooker label. Next he appears on Crosstown (1), Washataw (1) and BarCar, a duet with Barbara Carr (Not A Word).
He had also joined Malaco as a staff writer (many, many great songs for Z.Z.Hill, Denise LaSalle, Latimore, Shirley Brown, Ruby Wilson, Bobby Bland, Johnnie Taylor etc.). The artists he liked to work the most were Bobby Womack and Wilson Pickett.
George's Heart To Heart Collect cd - prod. by Senator Jones - was released in '91, first on Black Grape in U.K., then on Senator Jones' Mighty Grove Records in '93.
Recently Grapevine has released a great compilation of George's late 70s/early 80s "demos" - but backed by the Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section - called George Jackson in Muscle Shoals.
Recently George has been in Nashville trying to get some of those big-time country recording artists to cut his songs.
Best regards
Heikki

By MEL&THEN SOME (217.14.178.48) on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 03:36 am:

Heikki
great stuff
mel.

By dvdmike (68.72.87.87) on Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 05:23 pm:

Tom Tom 84 arranged all of their Wand hits

By Handsome (170.118.157.134) on Monday, July 21, 2003 - 11:43 am:

Hi.

There was a another guy in the group named Eric (who came later). At once time it was 4 Independents, Chuck, Helen, Maurice & Eric.

By Eli (141.151.88.67) on Monday, July 21, 2003 - 11:59 am:

Hi Guys,

The Chuck Jackson of Any Day Now and I dont want to cry etc., fame is from Pittsburgh, Pa., and for a while, was a later member of the Del Vikings.
To confuse the issue even further, he had an early single as Charles Jackson .

By Mark Speck (199.183.93.144) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 08:43 am:

Another irony regarding the two Chuck Jacksons: both of them had their greatest successes for the Wand label!

The "Any Day Now" Chuck was one of the label's stars in the '60s (he was with Wand from '61 to '67, when he left to sign with Motown), and the Independents with the other Chuck recorded a handful of chart hits from '72 to '74 for Wand. The group split up shortly before the Scepter/Wand operation went under.

Best,

Mark

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 11:05 am:

Hey Gang:
My mentor in the Windy City, Eddie Thomas, was the manager of the Independents during the 1970s.

Chuck & Maurice Jackson were the lead singers for the group and recorded many sides for Scepter/Wand Records (1972-74).

"Leaving Me" was their biggest hit.

Sadly, the group saw few royalties because Scepter/Wand's Florence Greenberg used her acts' earnings to pay off monies she owed Dionne Warwick & B.J. Thomas (her two main acts who had left the label in 1972). Greenberg shut down the company in late 1975.

By then, the Independents had split up. Chuck Jackson formed a songwriting/production partnership with Marvin Yancy and created hits for Natalie Cole.

BTW - Maurice Jackson is the lead singer of a new group out of Chicago called the E.T. Group (named after their producer/manager Eddie Thomas). They recorded a CD I'm shopping around for them and it is fantastic! It's a combination of contemporary jazz with R&B - Maurice is in excellent voice and I hope to help them get a record deal soon.

Regards,
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By JSmith (212.39.231.20) on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 02:00 am:

KevGo,
Maurice still has a high profile with UK soul fans, BUT I didn't know anything about his new group's recent CD. Have any copies made it over to the UK ??
If not (& you would send a copy over to me), I will pass it on to a radio DJ at Soul24-7, get it revued in the UK soul mags AND post details on two soul discussion groups here (about the content of the CD and where copies can be obtained from, etc).
Mail me off forum if you want to progress any of the above.

By JSmith (212.39.231.20) on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 02:03 am:

SORRY,
just realised that Maurice's groups (the E.T. Group) CD hasn't been officially released yet (re-read your message KevGo) but can still get some airplay on it (to start generating a buzz, interest, etc.) if you would forward a CD-R of the album to me. CHEERS.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 10:51 am:

JSmith:
I'll speak to Eddie Thomas later on. If it's okay with him, I will forward the CD to you attention.

Thanks so much for your inquiry.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Mark Speck (205.185.126.130) on Friday, August 01, 2003 - 08:21 pm:

Hey Kev, is this the same Eddie Thomas that had the Cur-Tom label with Curtis Mayfield?

Best,

Mark

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Friday, August 01, 2003 - 09:01 pm:

Mark:
Yes, Eddie was the "Tom" in Curtom.
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By JSmith (212.39.231.20) on Tuesday, August 05, 2003 - 01:59 am:

KevGo,
How about asking Eddie about one of his other 'I' groups -- the Individuals.
Will he know what became of these guys (I just have the one LP from them, a mid 70's release I seem to recall).