Sunday, November 24, 2024

RIP The Great R&B Singer Chuck Jackson, Hits Included “I Keep Forgetting,” “Any Day Now,” Age 85

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One of the great heroes of classic R&B and soul, Chuck Jackson, has died at age 85. He was living in Atlanta.

Chuck was a friend, a great guy who really lived in New York and made the Apollo Theater his home in later years.

In the early 60s, Chuck had major, major hits with “I Keep Forgetting,” “Any Day Now,” and “I Don’t Wanna Cry.” The songs never went out of fashion. In fact, “I Keep Forgetting” was so lodged in Michael McDonald’s head that he wrote and recorded a new version of the song and released it– until someone reminded he’d actually forgotten Chuck’s song.

Chuck Jackson recorded for Florence Greenberg on the Sceptre label with Dionne Warwick. He also sang a lot of Bacharach- David songs. His beautiful baritone could handle anything. He often recorded with close friends like Dionne Warwick and Cissy Houston.

Nattily dressed at all times, Chuck cut an imposing figure with his trademark mustache. He left Sceptre in 1968 for Motown, where he stayed for two years. Through the 70s and 80s he continued to release records on a variety of labels.

Chuck was inducted into the R&B Hall of Fame, and won a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. He was married twice and had two kids from his first marriage. His second wife was the late Helen Cash Jackson, a much respected educator in New York. Her sister was the great Rosalind Cash. All these people are gone now, but they were amazing, and never to be forgotten.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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