Biography
The Jackson clan from Sampson County has long commanded attention for its vocal prowess. By the latter decades of the twentieth century the relatives had built a notable lineage in hollerin', an art whose practitioners claim to rescue lives instead of merely producing chart successes, potentially earning them more lasting esteem than the Jackson Five siblings ever achieved. Dewey Jackson captured first place in the inaugural Hollerin' Contest, an annual event launched in 1969 at Spivey's Corner, North Carolina; his brother O.B. Jackson followed with his own victory in 1972. When prevailing local opinion held that no younger performers could master the technique, Paul Jackson, another descendant of the same powerfully voiced family, nevertheless claimed first prize on at least three occasions throughout the 1990s.
Although hollerin' never rivaled rock & roll in popularity, the Spivey's Corner victors routinely receive international press attention and appear on programs such as The Tonight Show, whose host Jay Leno harbors a broad enthusiasm for Appalachian music. Observers sometimes attribute the ability to genetics alone, yet the evidence points more convincingly to rigorous repetition. O.B. Jackson's daily regimen would render even the most disciplined instrumentalist seem indolent; the liner notes to Rounder's anthology Hollerin' record that he rises each morning at five a.m. to summon the cattle. Whichever brother wakes first also delivers a designated wake-up holler, merely the opening notes of days filled with calls serving countless functions. Among the earliest such sounds the brothers remember are their father and uncle summoning them with water for workers in the turpentine woods or across sunbaked fields; Dewey Jackson later recorded one of those memories as the "Turpentine Woods Holler." Distress hollers likewise proved lifesaving, and every veteran recounts incidents in which a well-projected cry reached distant listeners in time. O.B. Jackson further maintains that he can produce a call resembling a squirrel's mating cry, thereby drawing the animal close enough to be taken—an achievement he nonetheless regards as poor karma. Genuine communication with animals, in his view, requires tangible compensation, typically food; without it, even an expertly rendered cow holler elicits no response. As he puts it, "You just call to be a' callin', though, he ain't gonna pay you no mind."
Despite entrenched regional customs surrounding hollerin' in that corner of North Carolina, the contest itself originated in 1969 when several residents staged it as a prank. It soon expanded into a major summer weekend fair, becoming both its loudest attraction and its chief draw. Rounder's releases have circulated through underground radio outlets, reaching disc jockeys from Dr. Demento to Bizarro and appearing on numerous avant-garde and exotic rap projects. Both Jackson brothers rank among the foremost exponents of a vocal approach featuring swift alternations between natural and falsetto registers, producing an effect reminiscent of yet distinct from yodeling; critics have likened it to the multi-octave throat singing practiced by Tuvan performers in Central Asia. Comparable hollers were captured as early as 1944 by Georgia singer Frances Harper. Much of O.B. Jackson's repertoire draws from the same old-time sources, including his rendition of the traditional "Shortnin' Bread" and the medley "Old Timey Hollers." He also delivered a memorable "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," which, alongside Bahamian guitarist Skip James's version, stands among the most unsettling Christmas recordings ever made. Poultry enthusiasts may favor "Big Fat Turkey," thematically linked to Thelonious Monk's "Stuffy Turkey," while familial listeners often cite the evident affection in "O.B. Calls Dewey."
Although hollerin' never rivaled rock & roll in popularity, the Spivey's Corner victors routinely receive international press attention and appear on programs such as The Tonight Show, whose host Jay Leno harbors a broad enthusiasm for Appalachian music. Observers sometimes attribute the ability to genetics alone, yet the evidence points more convincingly to rigorous repetition. O.B. Jackson's daily regimen would render even the most disciplined instrumentalist seem indolent; the liner notes to Rounder's anthology Hollerin' record that he rises each morning at five a.m. to summon the cattle. Whichever brother wakes first also delivers a designated wake-up holler, merely the opening notes of days filled with calls serving countless functions. Among the earliest such sounds the brothers remember are their father and uncle summoning them with water for workers in the turpentine woods or across sunbaked fields; Dewey Jackson later recorded one of those memories as the "Turpentine Woods Holler." Distress hollers likewise proved lifesaving, and every veteran recounts incidents in which a well-projected cry reached distant listeners in time. O.B. Jackson further maintains that he can produce a call resembling a squirrel's mating cry, thereby drawing the animal close enough to be taken—an achievement he nonetheless regards as poor karma. Genuine communication with animals, in his view, requires tangible compensation, typically food; without it, even an expertly rendered cow holler elicits no response. As he puts it, "You just call to be a' callin', though, he ain't gonna pay you no mind."
Despite entrenched regional customs surrounding hollerin' in that corner of North Carolina, the contest itself originated in 1969 when several residents staged it as a prank. It soon expanded into a major summer weekend fair, becoming both its loudest attraction and its chief draw. Rounder's releases have circulated through underground radio outlets, reaching disc jockeys from Dr. Demento to Bizarro and appearing on numerous avant-garde and exotic rap projects. Both Jackson brothers rank among the foremost exponents of a vocal approach featuring swift alternations between natural and falsetto registers, producing an effect reminiscent of yet distinct from yodeling; critics have likened it to the multi-octave throat singing practiced by Tuvan performers in Central Asia. Comparable hollers were captured as early as 1944 by Georgia singer Frances Harper. Much of O.B. Jackson's repertoire draws from the same old-time sources, including his rendition of the traditional "Shortnin' Bread" and the medley "Old Timey Hollers." He also delivered a memorable "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," which, alongside Bahamian guitarist Skip James's version, stands among the most unsettling Christmas recordings ever made. Poultry enthusiasts may favor "Big Fat Turkey," thematically linked to Thelonious Monk's "Stuffy Turkey," while familial listeners often cite the evident affection in "O.B. Calls Dewey."