JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS
WALTER JACKSON
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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. -- Richie Unterberger of All Music Guide.
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01. It�s All Over 02. A Blossom Fell 03. That�s What Mama Say 04. It Will Be The Last Time 05. Opportunity 06. I Don�t Want To Suffer 07. There Goes That Song Again 08. What Would You Do 09. Lee Cross 10. Then, Only Then |
11. This World Of Mine 12. Funny (not much) 13. The Heartbreak Hour 14. Anything Can Happen 15. Blue Rose 16. It�s Hard To Believe 17. Starting Tomorrow 18. Don�t Play with Love 19. Tell The World 20. You Gotta Give |
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01. My Funny Valentine 02. Moonlight In Vermont 03. Let It Be Me 04. Suddenly I�m Alone 05. Imagination 06. Welcome Home |
07. Moon River 08. Blowin� In The Wind 09. The Magic�s Gone 10. Fly Me To The Moon 11. Still At The Mercy Of Your Love 12. Where Have All The Flowers Gone? |
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01. My Funny Valentine 02. Moonlight In Vermont 03. Let It Be Me 04. Suddenly I�m Alone 05. Imagination 06. Welcome Home 07. Moon River 08. Blowin� In The Wind 09. The Magic�s Gone 10. Fly Me To The Moon |
11. Still At The Mercy Of Your Love 12. Where Have All The Flowers Gone 13. Deep In The Heart Of Harlem 14. A Cold, Cold winter 15. I Think It�s Going To Rain Today 16. That�s When I Come To You 17. Special Love 18. One Heart Lonely 19. The Folks Who Love On The Hill |
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01. Speak Her Name 02. Tear For Tear 03. Not You 04. After You There Can Be Nothing 05. They Don�t Give Medals (to yesterday�s heroes 06. A Corner In The Sun 07. My One Chance To Make It 08. She�s A Woman |
09. I�ll Keep On Trying 10. It�s An Uphill Climb To The Bottom 11. Funny (not much) 12. My Ship Is Coming In 13. Road To Ruin 14. Everything Under The Sun 15. Forget The Girl |
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01. Too Shy To Say 02. Player In The Band 03. Welcome Home 04. Please Pardon Me 05. Love Is Lovlier |
06. Love Woke Me Up This Morning 07. Feelings 08. Words (are impossible) 09. I�ve Got It Bad Feeling Good |
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01. Baby, I Love Your Way 02. If You Walked Away 03. What Would You Do 04. Everything Must Change 05. I Want To Come Back As A Song |
06. (gotta find me an) Angel 07. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word 08. It�s All Over 09. Stay Awhile With Me 10. I�ve Never Been To Me |
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01. I Won�t Ever Remember Loving You 02. If I Had My Way 03. We Could Fly 04. Manhattan Skyline 05. If I Could See Myself |
06. Good To See You 07. Open Up Your Heart 08. Forgetting Someone 09. Time |
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01. When The Loving (goes out of the loving) 02. Touching In The Dark 03. I Had A Chance 04. Someone Saved My Life Tonight |
05. Feelings 06. It�s Cool 07. Unchained Melody 08. I Want To Come Back As A Song |
