Freddie Jackson, the Grammy-nominated singer who rose to fame for heartfelt R&B love songs, died on October 5 at age 69.
Jackson had been a showstopper since birth—his mother, a gospel performer, went into labor during a concert. He was trained from an early age, singing at the famed White Rock Baptist Church. “I always knew I wanted to be a singer,” Jackson recounted. “I grew up in Harlem, and I watched three shows a day in the Apollo.”
Through his dues-paying years, he sang for numerous local bands—one of which, LJE, teamed him with his long-time friend Paul Lawrence, who would become his record producer and songwriting partner. He moved to the West Coast and sang with the funk band Mystic Merlin, but soon returned to New York and played nightspots. Singing star and Tony Award winner Melba Moore helped develop Jackson’s career.
He burst on the recording scene in 1985 with his debut album, Rock Me Tonight, which topped the Black music charts for 16 weeks. The title track and the ballad “You Are My Lady” helped the album go platinum and earned him a Grammy nomination the following year.
“Well, I do have an answering machine now and a lot more relatives than I ever was aware of before,” Jackson laughed. “But I’m not unhappy about that. It tells me that I’ve accomplished something positive. Of course, I had my hopes and dreams, but I never thought it would happen on the first album. I just wanted to be able to call my friends and say, ‘Listen to me on the radio!’”
The silk-voiced balladeer continued his dominance of the R&B charts with his second album, Just Like the First Time, as the singles “Tasty Love,” “Have You Ever Loved Somebody” and the up-tempo “Jam Tonight” all made No. 1. “Ballads live,” Jackson noted. “They have longevity and they put you in the circuit for longevity as a performer. Even in the church choir, they always gave me slow songs to sing.”
Jackson’s impassioned vocal technique was an extension of his message. “They say I have bedroom eyes—and I work them as much as I can!” Jackson admitted. “I love giving romance and being romanced. I like pretty things, nice things, women who are beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. Sharing things like fine restaurants, giving flowers, drinking fine wine and champagne—it’s nice. I’m a gentleman. A real lady should be treated gently, and I don’t seem to lose anything by doing that.”
