Biography
Ted Jarrett stood among the pioneers of Nashville R&B, a tradition that proved rich yet remained under-recognized. Working as an African-American performer, composer, and label owner on the edges of Music City USA’s celebrated country recording industry, he sustained a career that stretched across five decades and yielded enduring crossover classics such as “You Can Make It If You Try,” “Love, Love, Love,” and “It’s Love Baby (24 Hours a Day).” Born in Nashville on October 17, 1925, Jarrett was only two when his father was shot dead by his mistress’ boyfriend. His grandparents later raised him in rural Rutherford County, where his step-grandfather discouraged his early musical interests by declaring, “He told me that black boys didn’t write songs,” a remark Jarrett recalled years afterward.
Returning to Nashville in 1940, he took a series of odd jobs to support his mother while saving enough money to buy a second-hand piano and receive a handful of lessons. Drafted into the U.S. Navy in 1944, he resumed civilian life two years later and enrolled in music studies at Fisk University. In 1951 Jarrett secured a position as a disk jockey at WSOK, one of the first American stations aimed explicitly at black listeners, and soon began working part-time as a talent scout for the local Tennessee Records imprint. His songwriting career produced its first hit in 1955 with “It’s Love Baby (24 Hours a Day),” written for Louis Brooks & His Hi-Toppers. Excello issued the recording, which reached number two on the Billboard R&B chart, while later versions by Hank Ballard and Ruth Brown both entered the Top Ten before the year ended.
Jarrett’s growing reputation as a songwriter eventually drew the attention of Nashville’s country music establishment. In late 1955 Webb Pierce recorded “Love, Love, Love,” which held the top spot on the Billboard country chart for thirteen straight weeks and earned its composer a BMI songwriting award the following year. Jarrett’s autobiography recounts how, on the evening of the BMI gala, a policeman halted him at the entrance to the Hermitage Hotel: “When he saw me, a black man, at this ‘white’ affair, he reasoned that I was trying to crash the party. I tried to tell him I was there to accept an award, but he just couldn’t conceive that any black man that he had seen in low places could be the same man to win a national award in country music.”
Such experiences informed Jarrett’s most successful composition, the inspirational “You Can Make It If You Try,” recorded by Gene Allison and produced by Owen Bradley at his Sixteenth Avenue studio. Vee-Jay released the single, which moved from the R&B charts into the Billboard Top 40 in 1958. The Rolling Stones later included it on their 1964 debut LP England’s Newest Hitmakers, and numerous other artists—among them Solomon Burke, Gene Vincent, and Junior Parker—recorded versions as well. The song endures as a landmark in the development of Southern soul, foreshadowing the gospel-infused urgency of countless subsequent R&B classics.
Although Jarrett issued dozens of solo singles, none reached the charts. His principal legacy rests on his songwriting achievements, yet he also founded and operated a succession of independent labels—Champion, Calvert, Cherokee, Poncello, Valdot, Spar, and Ref-O-Ree—where he helped launch the careers of Nashville soul and gospel figures such as Larry Birdsong, Earl Gaines, Christine Kittrell, Roscoe Shelton, and the Avons. He further mentored bluesman Johnny Jones, whose early band included an unknown guitarist named Jimi Hendrix and bassist Billy Cox, as well as vocalists Herbert Hunter and Freddie Waters. Jarrett completed his degree at Fisk University in 1973, performing works by Bach, Brahms, and Mendelssohn during his graduate recital. He subsequently concentrated on gospel music, but renewed interest in the overlooked originators of classic American R&B brought fresh recognition. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum mounted the exhibition “Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues 1945-1970” in 2004; its accompanying two-CD set, which contained six tracks written and produced by Jarrett, received a Grammy. In 2005 the Hall of Fame honored him with a tribute concert that included performances by “Sunny” singer Bobby Hebb and country-soul artist Tracy Nelson. Jarrett died in Nashville on March 21, 2009.
Returning to Nashville in 1940, he took a series of odd jobs to support his mother while saving enough money to buy a second-hand piano and receive a handful of lessons. Drafted into the U.S. Navy in 1944, he resumed civilian life two years later and enrolled in music studies at Fisk University. In 1951 Jarrett secured a position as a disk jockey at WSOK, one of the first American stations aimed explicitly at black listeners, and soon began working part-time as a talent scout for the local Tennessee Records imprint. His songwriting career produced its first hit in 1955 with “It’s Love Baby (24 Hours a Day),” written for Louis Brooks & His Hi-Toppers. Excello issued the recording, which reached number two on the Billboard R&B chart, while later versions by Hank Ballard and Ruth Brown both entered the Top Ten before the year ended.
Jarrett’s growing reputation as a songwriter eventually drew the attention of Nashville’s country music establishment. In late 1955 Webb Pierce recorded “Love, Love, Love,” which held the top spot on the Billboard country chart for thirteen straight weeks and earned its composer a BMI songwriting award the following year. Jarrett’s autobiography recounts how, on the evening of the BMI gala, a policeman halted him at the entrance to the Hermitage Hotel: “When he saw me, a black man, at this ‘white’ affair, he reasoned that I was trying to crash the party. I tried to tell him I was there to accept an award, but he just couldn’t conceive that any black man that he had seen in low places could be the same man to win a national award in country music.”
Such experiences informed Jarrett’s most successful composition, the inspirational “You Can Make It If You Try,” recorded by Gene Allison and produced by Owen Bradley at his Sixteenth Avenue studio. Vee-Jay released the single, which moved from the R&B charts into the Billboard Top 40 in 1958. The Rolling Stones later included it on their 1964 debut LP England’s Newest Hitmakers, and numerous other artists—among them Solomon Burke, Gene Vincent, and Junior Parker—recorded versions as well. The song endures as a landmark in the development of Southern soul, foreshadowing the gospel-infused urgency of countless subsequent R&B classics.
Although Jarrett issued dozens of solo singles, none reached the charts. His principal legacy rests on his songwriting achievements, yet he also founded and operated a succession of independent labels—Champion, Calvert, Cherokee, Poncello, Valdot, Spar, and Ref-O-Ree—where he helped launch the careers of Nashville soul and gospel figures such as Larry Birdsong, Earl Gaines, Christine Kittrell, Roscoe Shelton, and the Avons. He further mentored bluesman Johnny Jones, whose early band included an unknown guitarist named Jimi Hendrix and bassist Billy Cox, as well as vocalists Herbert Hunter and Freddie Waters. Jarrett completed his degree at Fisk University in 1973, performing works by Bach, Brahms, and Mendelssohn during his graduate recital. He subsequently concentrated on gospel music, but renewed interest in the overlooked originators of classic American R&B brought fresh recognition. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum mounted the exhibition “Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues 1945-1970” in 2004; its accompanying two-CD set, which contained six tracks written and produced by Jarrett, received a Grammy. In 2005 the Hall of Fame honored him with a tribute concert that included performances by “Sunny” singer Bobby Hebb and country-soul artist Tracy Nelson. Jarrett died in Nashville on March 21, 2009.