J.J. Jackson

J.J. Jackson stands out as one of the more intriguing lesser-known voices in 1960s soul. He secured a massive R&B breakthrough in 1966 with the decade’s irresistibly catchy dance number “But It’s Alright.” A native New Yorker, he had already served as an arranger for Jack McDuff and Jimmy Witherspoon when his manager set up his relocation to England that year. Although the track’s halting guitar riff and crisp horn charts gave it the unmistakable feel of a Stax/Volt release, the recording was actually made in the U.K. with British session players. The nearly 300-pound Jackson, who also handled organ duties, sang with a gritty yet affable delivery in the vein of Otis Redding. A capable songwriter, he composed most of his own material and supplied the A-side for one of the Pretty Things’ strongest mid-1960s R&B singles, “Come See Me.” Later releases never repeated that level of success, yet several of his singles became prized items among English Northern soul collectors. His scarce 1969 and 1970 albums showed the same growing social awareness and increasingly polished horn and string arrangements that marked many soul artists of the period.