Millie Jackson

Millie Jackson
Millie Jackson in concert.
Background information
Birth name	Mildred Jackson
Born	July 15, 1944 (1944-07-15) (age 67)
Origin	Thomson, Georgia, United States
Genres	Soul, disco, urban, quiet storm, R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1964–present
Labels	MGM Records (1970-1972) Spring Records (1973-1984) Jive Records (1985-1993) Weird Wreckuds (2000-present)
Associated acts	Isaac Hayes
Website	http://www.weirdwreckuds.com/

Mildred "Millie" Jackson (born July 15, 1944) is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter. Three of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies.

Her vocal performances are often distinguished by long, humorous, and explicit spoken sections in her music, which she started doing on stage to get the attention of the audience. She has also recorded songs in a disco or dance music style and even some country styled songs. She is the mother of contemporary R&B singer, Keisha Jackson.

Early life

Born in Thomson, Georgia, Jackson is the daughter of a sharecropper. Her mother died when she was a child and subsequently, she and her father moved to Newark, New Jersey. By the time Jackson was in her mid-teens, she had moved to Brooklyn to live with an aunt. She occasionally worked as a model for magazines like JIVE and Sepia.

Career

Jackson's singing career reportedly began on a dare to enter a 1964 Harlem nightclub talent contest, which she won. Although she first recorded for MGM Records in 1970, she soon left and began a long association with New York-based Spring Records. Working with the label's in-house producer, Raeford Gerald, her first single to chart was 1971's deceptively titled "A Child of God (It's Hard to Believe)," which reached number 22 on the R&B charts. In 1972, Jackson had her first R&B Top Ten single with the follow-up, "Ask Me What You Want", which also reached the pop Top 30, then "My Man, A Sweet Man" reached #7 R&B; all three hits were co-written by Jackson. "My Man, A Sweet Man" retains its popularity today for Northern soul enthusiasts and is played on the radio in the UK and quoted as an example from this musical genre^[1] as is her recording of "House for Sale" from the same period.^[2] The following year brought her biggest single success and her third Top Ten hit, "It Hurts So Good," which made #3 on the R&B charts and #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. The single was featured in the blaxploitation film Cleopatra Jones.

In 1974, she released the album Caught Up, which introduced her innovative style of raunchy rap. The featured release was her version of Luther Ingram's million-seller, "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right", for which she received two Grammy nominations. By now, she had switched producers to work only with Brad Shapiro, recording at Muscle Shoals Studio in Alabama with the renowned Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. She continued to record most of her material for Spring there, including the follow-up album, Still Caught Up.

Over the next ten years, Jackson had a string of successful albums and numerous R&B chart entries, the biggest being her 1977 version of Merle Haggard’s country hit "If You’re Not Back In Love By Monday". That hit single was followed by many more, including her version of the Boney M. song, the disco single, "Never Change Lovers In The Middle of The Night." This single peaked at #33 on the Black Singles chart in 1979.

Jackson recorded an album in 1979 with Isaac Hayes called "Royal Rappin's" and the same year saw her release a double album, "Live And Uncensored", recorded in concert at Los Angeles venue, The Roxy. Jackson also formed and produced the group Facts of Life. They had a major hit in 1976 with "Sometimes" (#3 R&B, #31 Pop).

Jackson found herself without a label when Spring closed down in 1984, but in 1986, she signed with Jive Records in a deal that produced four albums and resulted in further R&B Top Ten hits with "Hot! Wild! Unrestricted! Crazy Love" and "Love Is a Dangerous Game". She appeared on an Elton John track in 1985, "Act Of War", which was a Top 40 hit in the UK, but failed to chart in the USA. In 1991, she wrote, produced and starred in the successful touring play Young Man, Older Woman, based on her album of the same title for Ichiban.

In 1994, Jackson appeared in an episode (Feast or Famine) of Martin as Florine.

In 2000, her voice featured in "Am I Wrong" by Etienne de Crécy, sampled from her performance in "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right".

Jackson may be most famous in the internet age for her album covers, which frequently appear on "worst ever" lists. E.S.P. (Extra Sexual Persuasion) features Jackson peering into a crystal ball that accentuates her cleavage; Back to the S t! depicts Jackson on a toilet and defecating.^[3][4]

Jackson now runs her own record label, Weird Wreckuds. After a lengthy hiatus from recording, she released her 2002 album, Not For Church Folk, which marked a return to her "tell-it-like-it-is" lyrical style and Urban contemporary sound. The album features the hit singles "Butt-A-Cize" (a dance song) and "Leave Me Alone" (a ballad). The album also features a collaboration with rapper Da Brat on the edgy song "In My Life."

Jackson has had her own radio show in Dallas, Texas for many years. Broadcasting via remote from her home in Atlanta, Jackson can be found working in afternoon drive-time from 3-6 pm on KKDA 730 AM.

In 2007, the 1977 album Feelin' Bitchy was reissued with positive reviews.

Personal life

She has two children, including Keisha Jackson, the product of her short-lived marriage in the late 1960s, and son Jerroll from the late 1970s.

Discography

Albums

• 1972: Millie Jackson (US: #166)
• 1973: It Hurts So Good (US: #175), (US R&B: #13)
• 1974: I Got To Try It One Time
• 1974: Caught Up (US: #21) (US R&B: #4) (RIAA: Gold)
• 1975: Still Caught Up (US: #112) (US R&B: #27)
• 1976: Free And In Love (US R&B #17)
• 1977: Feelin' Bitchy (US: #34), (US R&B: #4) (RIAA: Gold)
• 1977: Lovingly Yours (US: #175) (US R&B: #44)
• 1978: Get It Out'cha System (US: #55), (US R&B: #14) (RIAA: Gold)
• 1979: A Moment's Pleasure (US: #144), (US R&B: #47)
• 1979: Royal Rappin's with Isaac Hayes (US: #80), (US R&B: #17)
• 1979: Live & Uncensored (US: #94), (US R&B: #22) (UK: #81)
• 1980: For Men Only (US: #100), (US R&B: #23)
• 1980: I Had To Say It (US: #137), (US R&B: #25)
• 1980: Live
• 1981: Just a Li'l Bit Country (US: #201), (US R&B: #43)
• 1982: Hard Times (US: #201), (US R&B: #29)
• 1982: Millie Jackson "Live And Outrageous" (Rated XXX) (US: #113), (US R&B #11)
• 1983: E.S.P. (Extra Sexual Persuasion) (US R&B: #40) (UK: #59)
• 1986: An Imitation of Love US: #119), (US R&B: #16)
• 1988: The Tide Is Turning
• 1989: Back to the S t! (US R&B #79)
• 1991: Young Man, Older Woman
• 1993: Young Man, Older Woman: Cast Album
• 1994: Rock N' Soul
• 1995: It's Over
• 1997: The Sequel, It Ain't Over
• 2001: Not for Church Folk!

Singles

• "A Child of God (It's Hard to Believe)" (US: #102)
• "Ask Me What You Want" (US: #27)
• "My Man, A Sweet Man" (US: #42), (US R&B: #7) (UK: #50)
• "Breakaway" (US: #110)
• "It Hurts So Good" (US: #24), (US R&B: #3)
• "I Miss You Baby
• "How Do You Feel the Morning After" (US: #77)
• "I'm Through Trying To Prove My Love To You"
• "I Got to Try It One Time"
• "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" (US: #42)
• "Leftovers" (US: #87)
• "Loving Arms"
• "The Rap"
• "Bad Risk"
• "Feel Like Making Love"
• "There You Are"
• "I Can't Say Goodbye"
• "If You're Not Back in Love By Monday" (US: #43)
• "A Love of Your Own"
• "All The Way Lover" (US: #102)
• "Sweet Music Man" (US R&B #33)
• "Keep The Home Fire Burnin'" (US R&B #83)
• "Never Change Lovers In The Middle of The Night" (US R&B: #33)
• "We Got To Hit It Off" (US R&B #56)
• "A Moment's Pleasure" (US R&B #70)
• "Despair"
• "Do You Wanna Make Love" feat. Isaac Hayes (US R&B #30)
• "This Is It (Part I) (US R&B #88)
• "You Never Cross My Mind"
• "I Can't Stop Loving You" (US R&B #62)
• "Anybody That Don't Like Millie Jackson"
• "Special Occasion" (US R&B #51)
• "I Feel Like Walkin' In The Rain" (UK: #55)
• "Hot! Wild! Unrestricted! Crazy Love" (US R&B #9) (UK: #99)
• "Act of War" feat. Elton John (UK: #32)
• "It's A Thang" (US R&B #79)
• "Love Is A Dangerous Game" (US R&B #6) (UK: #81)
• "An Imitation of Love" (US R&B #58)
• "Something You Can Feel" (US R&B #45)
• "You Knocked the Love (Right Outta My Heart)"
• "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"
• "Young Man, Older Woman"
• "Living With A Stranger"
• "Taking My Life Back"
• "Love Quake"
• "Check in the Mail"
• "Chocolate Brown Eyes"
• "Breaking Up Somebody's Home"
• "The Lies That We Live"
• "Did You Think I Wouldn't Cry"
• "Butt-A-Cize"
• "Leave Me Alone"

^[5]

Chart singles

Year	Single	Chart positions
		US	US R&B	UK[5]
1971	"A Child of God"	102	22
1972	"Ask Me What You Want"	27	4
	"My Man, a Sweet Man"	42	7	50
	"I Miss You Baby"	95	22
1973	"Breakaway"	110	16
	"It Hurts So Good"	24	3
1974	"I Got To Try It One Time"		21
	"How Do You Feel the Morning After"	77	11
1975	"The Rap"		42
	"If Loving You Is Wrong"	42	flip
	"I'm Through Trying To Prove My Love To You"		58
	"Leftovers"	87	17
	"Loving Arms"		45
1976	"Bad Risk"		24
	"There You Are"		flip
	"Feel Like Making Love"		71
1977	"I Can't Say Goodbye"		40
	"A Love of Your Own"		87
	"If You're Not Back In Love By Monday"	43	5
1978	"All the Way Lover"	102	12
	"Sweet Music Man"		33
	"Keep the Home Fires Burnin'"		83
1979	"Never Change Lovers In the Middle of the Night"		33
	"A Moment's Pleasure"		70
	"We Got To Hit It Off"		56
	"Do You Wanna Make Love"(with Isaac Hayes)		30
1980	"Didn't I Blow Your Mind"		49
	"You Never Cross My Mind"(with Isaac Hayes)		78
	"Despair"		61
	"This Is It (Part One)"		88
1981	"I Can't Stop Loving You"		62
1982	"Special Occasion"		51
1983	"I Feel Like Walking In the Rain"		58	55
1985	"Act of War"(with Elton John)			32
1986	"Hot Wild Unrestricted Crazy Love"		9
1987	"Love Is a Dangerous Game"		6
	"An Imitation of Love"		58
	"It's a Thang"		79
	"Be Yourself"(with Whodini)		20
1988	"Something You Can Feel"		45

References

1. ^ "Russ Winstanley and Wigan Casino memories". BBC Sheffield. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00d132m. Retrieved June 14, 2011. 
2. ^ Nowell, David (1999). Too Darn Soulful - The Story of Northern Soul. London: Robson Books. pp. 151. ISBN 1 86105 270 7. 
3. ^ "100 Worst Album Covers EVER". Rate Your Music.com. http://rateyourmusic.com/list/djlanda/the_100_worst_album_covers_ever/. 
4. ^ "Worst Album Covers Ever". Stone. http://www.cenedella.com/stone/archives/2003/10/worst_album_cov.html. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 276. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 

External links

• Millie Jackson on Discogs.com
• Millie's Weird Wreckuds - Official website
• Official Millie Jackson MySpace
• Millie Jackson at Wenig-Lamonica Associates

Persondata
Name	Jackson, Millie
Alternative names	Jackson, Mildred
Short description	Singer, songwriter
Date of birth	July 15, 1944
Place of birth	Thomson, Georgia
Date of death
Place of death