Customer Reviews

Jackie Wilson: Lonely Teardrops

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was very disapointed with this book. I purchased it with the intention of learning more about the singer for a feature article I am working on. When I did some fact checking with family members, including Harlene, and people whom he recorded and worked with, it became apparent that many facts were omitted. Was the writer's intent merely to sell books rather than tell a story based on a balanced view of facts? I don't know. After doing a little digging myself, this book to me comes off like a tabloid, not a biography.

However, it does give way for a more balanced and factual based story which hopefully someone will tell some day.

Jackie Wilson whose honey-rich falsetto-tenor voice had thrilled millions throughout the world died in January, 1984; aged 49. For the preceding eight years and four months he had been in a vegetable-like state. He never uttered a word since suffering a heart attack while performing at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, New Jersey in September, 1975. Yet another indignity awaited Jackie. After a well-publicized funeral attended by around 1,500 relatives, friends and fans he was buried in an unmarked grave in his home city of Detroit. Effectively his burial was that of a pauper. Jackie was born in June, 1934. Using the name Jackie Wilson, he would reach the top of his chosen vocation - as a singer and performer. From humble origins he would grow up to become known around the world for his soaring and impassioned singing style and unequalled stage routine. His USA chart successes amounted to 55 Top 100 and 24 Top 40 hits. He was admired and emulated by many entertainers including Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. Jackie's mother was a powerful influence on him. As Jackie was her only son, she doted on him. School wasn't for Jackie, he was an habitual truant. This was to land him in trouble and, twice, to detention in the Lansing Correctional Institute. There he learned how to box and he was skilled proponent. He even considered becoming a professional boxer. Jackie sang from the age of six and from his adolescent years he would sing both gospel and blues on the street. Even then could sing in perfect key and enriched many a soul with his voice. In his early teens Jackie formed a quartet, the Ever Ready Gospel Singers Group, which became a popular feature of churches in the district. Jackie wasn't religious, he just loved to sing and the cash came in handy for purchasing cheap wine. He also ran with a feared local gang called the Shakers. However, Jackie was more of an icon for the gang and they ensured that he wasn't harmed during his regular amateur performances in "unfriendly" neighborhoods. Jackie became a sweetheart of Freda Hood when he was ten and she was 11. He was good-looking, self confident to the point of being brash, and a favourite with the girls. He expressed to Freda from the earliest age his ambition to be an entertainer. He left school in the ninth grade, in 1950, aged 16. Freda was 17 and Jackie 16 when she became pregnant, so a marriage was hastily arranged in February, 1951. A daughter was born the next month. Jackie had no regular job to support his new family, but from the age of 15 Jackie was a regular performer at a local black nightclub. Being under-age, he had to perform using another's ID, the same ID he used to get married. The appearances brought in some cash, but family life was generally a struggle. At 17 Jackie obtained work at the Ford automobile foundry, close to where he lived with his mother (who had divorced Jack Snr) and her common-in-law husband, John Lee. He lasted only two weeks at the Ford plant. At the time he was practicing singing with a local group, which included Levi Stubbs (later lead singer of the Four Tops). Known then as the Royals they didn't record any songs with Jackie, but evolved as Hank Ballard and the Midnighters. A successful black group at the time was Billy Ward And The Dominoes, with Clyde McPhatter as lead singer. News reached Jackie that Ward was in Detroit and looking to replace a member of the group who had been drafted into the army. A contest was held to formerly choose a successor for the army draftee. 18-year-old Jackie won and became a member of the group, but within months Dominoes lead singer Clyde McPhatter left to form his own group (the Drifters) enabling Jackie to become the new lead. The group worked for many years, especially in Las Vegas, before white audiences. Despite some fabulous record releases featuring Jackie's tenor lead, his only recording success with the Dominoes was in June 1956 with "St Therese of The Roses" which reached #13 on the Pop charts. In 1957 Jackie decided to try a solo career. Al Green, who already managed singers Johnnie Ray, Della Reese and LaVern Baker, took over Jackie's management. Green went to New York and arranged with record executive Bob Theile to sign Jackie to the Decca label. The day before the deal was to be signed, Al Green died. Green's protege was Nat Tarnopol. Tarnopol convinced Jackie to let him become his manager, despite having no management experience. And so it was he who signed Jackie to the Decca stable. Jackie was, for years, the only singer on the subsidiary Brunswick label, so Tarnopol convinced the Decca bosses that he could successfully handle the label and attract more black talent and, as part of the agreement, he was given 50% ownership of the label. Aspiring songwriters Berry Gordy and Roquel "Billy" Davis met Jackie through the Flame Show Bar, a popular Detroit night spot, which Al Green had also managed. They had written numerous tunes, what they needed was a voice to bring the songs to life. In September, 1957, Jackie's first recording, "Reet Petite", was released. It was a Gordy and Davis composition to which Jackie added his own distinctive style. Although it achieved only #62 on the US Pop charts, it did better in the United Kingdom, climbing to #6. Jackie was on his way. In October 1958 Jackie, with another Davis/Gordy composition, "Lonely Teardrops", reached #7 on the Pop charts - his first million seller. The three musicians were now on their way to world recognition. One of Jackie's most important assets was his equal appeal to black and white audiences. Jackie trusted Nat Tarnopol implicitly and foolishly signed over power-of-attorney to him. Tarnopol was keen not to limit Jackie's career by concentrating on rock 'n' roll. He chose veteran band leader and Decca arranger Dick Jacobs to arrange and produce most of Jackie's recordings from 1957 through 1966. Jackie became a major star, often appearing on coast-to-coast television on national TV shows, New York's Copacabana and the Las Vegas nightclub circuit. He toured the country tirelessly before sell-out audiences. As a stage performer he only had to walk on stage to bring the house down, causing hysteria amongst females. He often courted danger by leaping into the audience where his clothes would be ripped to shreds. In the southern states he played to segregated audiences which, naturally, irked him. There were numerous racially based incidents which placed him in danger. During a performance in New Orleans in 1960, Larry Williams was performing and the police had ordered that he not make his traditional leap into the audience. Jackie urged Williams that he should do his normal performance, so things became extremely tense. When a policeman laid hold of Williams, Jackie saw red and knocked him down. Total pandemonium broke out and a riot ensued. Jackie was arrested and was severely beaten by the police before being ordered out of town. If there were still doubts about Jackie's vocal talents, his second million seller "Night" would dispel them. "Night" reached #4 on the Pop charts. Berry Gordy used his royalties on the nine hits he'd co-written for Jackie to establish his Motown recording label, while Davis joined Chess Records as A&R manager, song writer and producer. By 1961 Jackie was involved with Harlean Harris a glamorous Ebony magazine fashion model. Jackie was a womaniser all his life and had also been having a relationship with a young woman, Juanita Jones. Early in the morning of 15 February 1961, Jones waited for Jackie and when he returned with Harlean to his Manhattan apartment; she ambushed him and shot him twice. Despite his wounds, with one bullet lodged near his spine, Jackie made it downstairs to the street, with the revolver he'd snatched still in his hand. Fortunately a policeman raced him to the nearby hospital. Surgery and weeks of medical care saved him, although the bullet remained forever near his spine, being too inaccessible to be removed. He also lost a kidney and was fortunate to survive. Jackie's management and legal advisers decided that the incident would create a scandal. Being a married man having an affair with another woman, it may have also damaged his career. A story was concocted that portrayed Jones as a demented fan who had planned to shoot herself, but Jackie had intervened and, as a result, he was shot. Fortunately for Jones, the story was accepted and she got off scot-free. A month and a half later Jackie was discharged and, apart from a limp and discomfort for a while, he was quickly on the mend. He discovered that, despite being at the peak of success, he was broke. In arrangements that are not entirely apparent, Nat Tarnopol was controlled by a music industry mobster by the name of Gaetano "Tommy" Vastola. Vastola had at least part ownership of Queens Booking Agency, which was Jackie's and most other black artists' booking agency throughout the period. Jackie's touring manager, working under the auspices of Vastola, was a Mob enforcer named Johnny Roberts. Roberts employed a minder to look after Jackie. He was August Sims, a hulk of a black man weighing around 230 pounds. He provided protection as well as ensuring Jackie made his concert dates. In 1963 Jackie had a major hit on his hands with the dance groove, "Baby Workout", which reached #5 on the Pop chart. Around this time the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seized Jackie's Detroit family home. Freda said it was the first they knew of any unpaid taxes, as Tarnopol and his accountant were supposed to take care of such matters. The fact was Jackie was nearly broke. Fortunately Jackie made arrangements with the IRS to make restitution on the unpaid taxes and to re-purchase the family home at auction. However, Freda's patience had finally run out due to Jackie's notorious philandering and she filed for divorce. Jackie didn't contest it and so their thirteen year marriage was annulled in 1965. For the rest of her life Freda regretted seeking the divorce. Jackie continued a grinding regime of road tours, but over the next few years his career ran out of steam. A fortuitous meeting was arranged by Tommy Vastola between Tarnopol and the respected Chicago soul music producer, Carl Davis. The meeting was a catalyst for a brief revival in Jackie's and Brunswick Records' fortunes. So it was that there are two distinct phases to Jackie's career; the Dick Jacob's phase from 1957 to 1966 and the Carl Davis phase from 1966 to 1975. Davis insisted that all of Jackie's recordings now be done in Chicago. One day Jackie was in Davis's office discussing what material they were going to record and a demo of the "Whispers" was on the desk. Jackie kept asking Davis what the song was. Could he listen to it? "No," Davis kept telling Jackie, it wasn't for him. Finally he relented and let Jackie hear it. "I want to do it," he said immediately. Davis agreed and Jackie turned it into #11 Pop hit. Jackie was back on track again and a third million seller followed in 1967 when "Higher and Higher" reached #6 on the Pop charts. However, this was the beginning of a stormy period in Jackie's life. He was drinking heavily, snorting a dangerous amount of cocaine and popping quantities of "uppers" (amphetamines). Paranoia began to dominate Jackie's life. This began in the early 1960s when he accused Freda and his mother of working for the FBI. The drugs were part of the problem, but the realization that he was being robbed and yet was unable to get off the Brunswick label also played a part in Jackie's demise. Frankly, he was scared. It reached the point where Tarnopol didn't want to pay him his record sales royalties and, in turn, Jackie was reluctant to record. Naturally his career suffered, particularly as he was being poorly promoted. In March 1967 Jackie and his friend and drummer were arrested in South Carolina on morals charges. Both were arrested in a motel with two young white women. Lurid details of the case appeared in the newspapers. Tarnopol decided that to restore Jackie's public image, a marriage to long-time girlfriend Harlean had to be held. The civil ceremony was held the next month. Jackie had been going with Harlean from at least 1961 and they'd had a son in 1963. They were only fined a few hundred dollars and the "morals charges" were soon forgotten. Yet Jackie's personal life was in turmoil. Not only was he being shot-changed by his management, but believed that Tarnopol was having an affair with Harlean. In 1969 he obtained a legal separation from her and went to live in a run-down hotel in mid-town Manhattan. Jackie was beginning to lose interest in life and his career. He'd not bother to dress and would remain for weeks in his cheap hotel room, drinking and smoking marijuana. Maintenance payments were not being made for his four children to Freda and she resorted to court orders to force payment. As well, he now had New York court orders, issued on behalf of Harlean, seeking maintenance for their son and herself. Jackie feuded with Tarnopol and it had reached a point where they hated each other intensely. At one point it is claimed Jackie was held out the window of a New York high-rise, just to make the point of who was in control. Jackie wanted to change labels, yet remained bound to the Brunswick label for 18 years. Tragedy struck Jackie again in September 1970 when his eldest son, 16-year-old Jackie Jnr, was shot dead during a confrontation at a neighbours' home. Jackie took it very hard and began to take stock of the alcohol and drugs that were destroying him. Shortly after the death of his son Jackie met Lynn Crochet and lived with her for the next five years. Lynn, who was white, had been head waitress at a nightclub, outside of New Orleans, which was Mob owned. In 1971 a civil marriage ceremony was held, but Jackie must have been aware it would not be legally recognised being still married to Harlean. With firm threats of leaving him Lynn got Jackie into "detox" and, in his later years, Jackie didn't drinking anything stronger than Pepsi. Around 1971, Jackie wanted his management contract with Tarnopol terminated and to do this he needed the help of someone with as much or more influence than Nat. He approached Tommy Vastola, who was already part of Tarnopol's control group. It is not entirely clear how the management was wrested from Tarnopol, but it was. The management contract with Tarnopol was torn up. However, he was still bound to Brunswick. In September, 1975 Jackie was on stage in New Jersey, performing "Lonely Teardrops" and was on his knees when he was stricken by a heart attack. Dick Clark, who headed the Rock 'n' Roll Revue revival tour, recalls him crashing backward and striking his head. An ambulance quickly got him to the nearby hospital where he remained in a coma for over three months. Jackie gradually improved to a semi-comatose state, but obviously he had suffered severe brain damage and, at 41, a tremendous career was ended. Although he never uttered another word, he remained clinging to life for a further eight and a quarter years. In a most tragic irony, his mother came over from Detroit to see him and less than a month after he was stricken, she collapsed into a diabetic coma and died. Jackie finally let go of life on 21 January, 1984 and the voice that had thrilled millions would sing no more. T

There is no doubt that Tony Douglas is a loyal Jackie Wilson fan. He has gone through extraordinary lengths to speak with the majority of the key role players in Jackie Wilson's life. However, the book is sloppily presented and filled with a number of glaring inaccuracies. For example, Elvis signed a picture of himself and Jackie, "You got yourself a friend for life." The picture is actually in the book. Yet, Douglas misquotes what Elvis wrote. There is no excuse for this. It calls into question other questionable passages by the author. In another part of the book, Douglas transcribes, "mark" instead of "mock." From the context, it was evident that the speaker meant and said the latter. In another display of sloppiness, Douglas repeatedly repeats certain passages throughout the book. One gets the impression that he thoroughly researched the topic, but just assembled, somewhat haphazardly, the information in the most convenient manner possible. I noticed that he seemed to take sides in the dispute over the Wilson estate. In all fairness, he should have quoted the other side's position, even if he disagreed with it. On the whole, because I was able to filter out the fiction from the non-fiction. In the interest of good taste and preserving Jackie's dignity, Douglas should have exercised his editorial powers and not included some rather disgusting quotes from those purportedly taking care of the incapacitated Wilson during his final days. In not doing so, Douglas commits an unpardonable crime. Unfortunately, most who read this book are not as well versed on Jackie Wilson's life to perform this task. Consequently, they will walk away with a jaundiced view of the greatest entertainer of the 20th century.

A great read of a man who represented what a star was all about. Despite all the hardships Jackie Wilson endured, Mister Excitement held true to his last performance of being a unique once in a lifetime talent that has influenced many of todays artists as well. But no one could surpass the pure and natural talent that he possesed and only lived for. That is to sing. I found this book to be inspirational because of how it relayed Mr. Wilson's objective in knowing what he wanted out of life. To perform his best and never failed to do so. This is definitely a movie that is long over due to be made.

I am a long time fan of Jackie Wilson, since the days of Alan Freed rock and roll
shows and Murray the K Brooklyn Fox holiday shows. I have seen him so many times
and was always a great fan of his beautiful songs such as "Alone At Last," "Night,"
"To Be Loved," etc. His dancing ability on stage was awesome. To this day, I now
post all of his youtube videos on my Wall. I am proud to do so. He was a legend in
his time and could have been so much more if he were alive today.

I confess I knew very little of his private life other than the fact that he was
shot by a woman, lived with a bullet in him and another entertainer claims he offered
to make a funeral for Jackie.

I must say that my review is more about Jackie Wilson, the entertainer.
Yes, the book is very informative, but Jackie Wilson is no longer with us and cannot
speak up for himself. In his memory, I give this book five gold stars. And I will thank
the author for writing the book, because I think he cared about Jackie and his music.


Very sincerely, Irene Brodsky.

This book deserves five stars because it is an intimate, insightful, and beautifully haunting tale of the story of one of soul's greatest architects. I first read the book and then purchased it as a gift for my father and we both agreed it was an amazing biography. If you have an interest in R&B and its cultural influence, this is a must buy!

What a fantastic book. It's amazing to think that so much about Jackie Wilson could have been lost had author Tony Douglas not stumbled upon his work of passion assembling this.

The book is a refreshing read, it's both structured in a linear fashion and discombobulated in the randomness of the stories relayed by those who knew Jackie. Some may not like the sort of "stream of consciousness" in the writing, but I think it really lends itself to how the information was gathered, presented, and to a lesser extent, what sort of impact it has upon the author.

There is not much editing or editorialising going on, just an opportunity for the reader to share the experiences of those who knew Jackie and the man who compiled it all into this book. You can tell how the stories were gathered from the notes and memories of those who knew Jackie. It gives a very personal feel to the whole thing.

This is a must-read for any music historian or musician looking to understand the roots of popular music today. It is chillingly relevant.

This will be a long review.

I've been a Jackie Wilson fan since I was a little girl. I was introduced to him through my father who grew up in Detroit with Jackie and knew him. My interest in Jackie increased when I heard Michael Jackson speak of him. MJ always included Jackie in his list of influences. Every era has an entertainer that just stand above all the rest, Jackie was in his era in a class of his own. He created a style of entertainment, many copied, from James Brown, The Temptations, and just about every black entertainer you can think of, but Jackie had people who influenced him, that's not talk about much, Al Jolson, Sammy Davis Jr., The Nicholas Brothers, Cab Calloway, etc. If you want to be great, you gotta learn from the greats and that's what Jackie did.

Mainstream media doesn't talk very much about Jackie Wilson anymore. We only hear people talk about James Brown, Elvis, MJ, Marvin Gaye, but never Jackie. You hardly hear anyone speak of him anymore, and that's ashame, because he was one of the greatest. He influenced just about every black performer that came after him. He definitely influenced all of the Motowners, and even Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, don't even speak of him, they don't even pay tribute to him. If it wasn't for the success Jackie made of Berry's songs, Berry probably wouldn't have been able to build Motown.

This book help me to understand the man behind the talent. This book held nothing back. It included the good, bad, and ugly of Jackie Wilson, showing he's human like the rest of us, who had many flaws. It seems the people who are the greatest and who are genius, have the most self-destructive and tragic lives. I wonder is it because there's a price you have to pay for having such great talent.

Jackie's love affairs make Tiger Woods affairs seem less scandalous. It was discomforting to hear of Jackie's treatment of women. Women loved him so, but he disrespected them so much, you would think he would have treated them better. Jackie had the whole package, good looks, charm (which made the women fall harder) talent, fame, and money, so of course he would get a lot of women, but he lacked so much within. He had it all the outside but not the inside. Most of the romantic singers aren't as lovely in real life as they are on stage. I'm pretty sure there were women who wanted to be with Jackie, because he was a star who had money, and they wanted to get something out of him, like he wanted something out of them, and since Jackie was overly generous, I'm sure they got what they wanted, as I'm sure he got what he wanted. If AIDS/HIV was around back in those days, Jackie would have been a candidate for it, but I wonder did he ever contract other STDs. Being a bit feminist, I found myself mad at Jackie's women for putting up with his abuse, cheating, and just total disrespect, like flirting with other women in their presence or having one woman wait in the car, while he goes sees another one. No man is that great to put up with such disrespect. It seems most of his women were in love with the facade and stage presence of Jackie and fell in love with that and didn't take the time to get to know the true man, if they had, it would have saved them heartache. Most of the women in Jackie's life, seem to be more in love with him, then he was in love with them. It seems most of the women in Jackie's life were either groupie, wild, crazy, promisicous, gold-diggers, naive, gullible, crazy, or a little off, some of these attributes Jackie possessed. I guess you are, what you attract sometime. The first wife Freda, seem like a strong woman, who didn't take stuff off of anyone, but put up with Jackie's stuff. She would let him cheat. Lee Angel, one of Jackie's girlfriend's said she admired Freda, why? Because she let you be with her husband? I read how Lee Angel walked into his dressing room when Freda was there and Jackie told Freda if Lee Angel wasn't there when he got back from performing, she would have trouble later that night. I feel like if you're gonna cheat, at least have enough respect not to do it in the presence of your wife and a wife should have enough self-respect not to allow it in her presence. The second wife Harlean was a model who was on the cover of Jet and Ebony, she had quite a reputation, she seemed like a gold-digger/groupie, who sought after successful men to take care of her. She first dated Clyde McPhatter, Sam Cooke, then Jackie, all three of these guys were pioneers, it seems she couldn't hook Clyde and Sam or they dropped her after they got what she wanted, or dropped her after seeing how she was, or she dropped them for Jackie. Jackie was the only one that stayed connected with her. Maybe later he regretted it when he supposedly found out about her affair with his friend/manager Nat Tarnopol. I read in the book that there are some sex photos of Jackie and Harlean in the bathtub. I'm surprised those photos haven't got out, like the sex photos of stars now and days. The third wife, Lynn, seemed uncouth. All Jackie's women seemed a little "street" or "groupie" in some way or another. A whole book could be done on Jackie's women. There was one lady mentioned in the book by the name of Estelle Stella Zuber, she was a model that Jackie dated. He supposedly had children with her. She ended up tragically. She died in 1980 by being shot by her female lover. The infamous Juanita Jones who shot Jackie, I'm surprised wasn't found and interviewed. I would love to hear her side of what happened. The media and fans was told she was a fanatic fan that shot him, because Jackie ignored her advances, but we find out she was one of his women who was fed up with his cheating and shot him. Jackie could have ended up like Sam Cooke ended up. Jackie was hard-headed, it seems he didn't learn his lesson. He continued philandering, but I can't help but think he was more watchful of his women after the shooting. Jackie supposedly had children with Juanita too. It seems all of Jackie's women had something wrong with them or maybe they were just so enthuastically in love with Jackie that they would put up with anything. They all were willing to compete for him and win him for themselves, some was willing to share him, but he just enjoyed them all. They didn't even have enough self-respect to leave him after abuse and philandering. Maybe his women didn't care, they were so in love with being in love with a star, they didn't mind sharing him. I know if Jackie was an average man, these same women probably wouldn't tolerate Jackie's treatment. I don't care if he's nice Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, and abusive on Sun, no woman should put up with any slapping or abuse, I don't care if it's once in awhile. Jackie felt he owned his women, they couldn't do as they pleased, but he could and you better not say anything about it or else. I guess being with a famous person who brought them diamonds and furs made up for the abuse and cheating, which says a lot about the women, they could be brought! Jackie was said to have a power over women, I'd say that power was fame, money, and success, if not, some of his women must have been very gullible and naive. Jackie seemed like the type of man that would try to make up for his wrongs, by doing something extra nice, and maybe that made his women forgive and continue to put up with him, but that's how abusers are. With some women, the less a guy loves them or mistreats them, the more a woman will love the guy to try to win him. I still say some of Jackie's women didn't have their heads screwed on right. I don't think a classy, self-respecting woman, with morals and values, and self-esteem would put up with Jackie's stuff for long or wouldn't date him at all, seeing how he was, because they would have felt, they could find a man to treat them better. The women seemed to love Jackie, more then he loved them, and most men take advantage and walk all over women that they know love them so much, because the guy feels they can do anything, because the women aren't going anywhere, and it's true in most cases. Most of Jackie's women didn't even know about each other, but they should have known he was a cheater. It seem the women in Jackie's life made Jackie a priority, when they were just an option to him. He could either take them or leave them. He always had others. He never stayed with one long, or they didn't stay with him long, or if you didn't mind being on his list of women, he would visit them when he was in their city for a "booty call." He treated women like a commodity, and they let him. The women discarded their self-respect so they could be with a star, was it worth it? Was he that great? I'm just interested in why these women put up with Jackie's disrespect and cheating? The women never said Jackie loved them or ever said it to them, but they brought up the fact that he loved his mother. It seems the only woman Jackie could love and be loyal to was his mother, the other women were just that...women. Sometimes a man can love his mother to much, to the point, where he can't love another woman, because he feels it would be cheating his mother's love. I would have liked to have heard more stories from some of Jackie's women. I'm sure he had many. Only a few were interviewed for this book. I read throughout the years that Jackie had a fling with Mary Wells, LaVern Baker, Ruth Brown, and I hear possibly Tammi Terrell, who singed duets with Marvin Gaye. If that's true, I would have loved to hear about the relationship between Jackie and Tammi. She was linked to James Brown and David Ruffin. Jackie seemed like the type of guy you have a one night stand with or a short, hot love affair with, but don't go falling in love or wanting to be with him long-term, because he'll break your heart. I couldn't feel sorry for some of Jackie's women, because they should have known Jackie was a playboy, I mean it's obvious, or it should have been after the first time he cheated or abused them. I wouldn't have trusted him or fell for him so hard, but I would have had a lot of fun with him, I'm sure. I would hope there was one woman who was a match for Jackie and didn't put up with his stuff. As much as I despise Harlean, it seems she would do to Jackie what Jackie did to her. If he hurt her, she would hurt him. I can't entirely blame her for cheating on Jackie. He needed a taste of his own medicine, but I can see how it hurt him to find out his wife and manager/friend was having an affair. Maybe for the first time he saw how it felt to be cheated on. Lee Angel, a stripper/groupie/Little Richard's girl, who Jackie dated, said Jackie felt it was okay for him to have other women, but felt his women couldn't have other men. I think the black groupies of the 50's, 60's, and 70's like Lee Angel, and some of the black groupies Etta James talked about in her book, (Apollo Faye, who was one of Jimi Hendrix's women, and proudly slept with many stars of the day, I'm sure even Jackie) should get together and write a book about who they were with, I think they would have interesting stories. Many white groupies from that era wrote about their relationships and experiences with rock and roll stars and their not ashamed. Many of the black groupies are Christian women now, and their ashame of their past, I feel you shouldn't be ashame of how you lived your life, if you chose to live it that way. You don't still have to be that way, but don't disregard who you were and what you use to do. Everyone has a story to tell. One of David Ruffin's women wrote a book on her troubled relationship with David Ruffin, that was an interesting read. One of the few books from a woman of legendary black singing stars.

I can't blame Jackie for cheating when the women let him do it to them. I'm not against his playing around with women, but he could still have respected them in the process. I know in show biz, women to famous men are like a dime a dozen, almost like toys that they play with when new and then when bored, get a new toy. Maybe Jackie's women were naive or maybe not, maybe some were content with being a booty call or sex buddy, hoping if their good enough, they can be the next one, the wife, or the main one, knowing all the time they had to be good because there was always a girl waiting in the wings to have her place or take her place, but I'm sure Jackie enjoyed all of them, while the girls fought with one another, instead of fighting or leaving Jackie, the man making a chain of fools out of them. I'm sure Jackie had some hard times from women, he got stabbed once and shoot, could have died, so some women got their revenge. I'm sure he had to deal with gold-diggers after his dough, but that's the biz.

What kind of bothers me is none of Jackie's black women/groupies were interviewed. Just the white women he was with were mostly talked about. The only black woman who talked of her relationship with Jackie was Freda, so it kind of makes it look like he preferred white women or maybe the author focused on his relations with white women because he thought it was more interesting. Why wasn't Harlean interviewed, Mollie, and the countless other of black women he was with. Did the black women not want to talk of their relationships or did the author not find them? Jackie seemed like the type of guy who liked women, no matter their color or race, but from reading the book and the lack of black women featured, makes it look like he was another black man who made it to the top and felt black women weren't good enough anymore.

Jackie's mother spoiled her son and love him too much, to the point, that it made him irresponsible and dependent. He could never do wrong in her eyes. Then when he got in show business, he had people doing everything for him and spoiling him, and in the end it ended up ruining him. Jackie's mother love and spoiling possibly made him feel he could have his way with women and women would put up with it, and sadly most did. I would liked to have heard from more of Jackie's women. Could the author not locate these women or would the women not give an interview? They all I'm sure has their own account of life with Jackie. We shouldn't just go by what one or two say, or what Jackie's friends say. We shouldn't just go by what the groupies say either. I would have liked to hear from the women he actually had a relationship with, not just a sexual, or see you in a few months relationship, like with most of his women. The few stories from the women Jackie was with gave me the impression that Jackie just wasn't a good guy, and just because he brought them stuff, don't make him a good man. It seems he did more bad then good. I didn't hear any romantic stories or what made the women connect to him so deep, besides his talent, nice looks, fame and money, I don't know what else there was that was so attractive, especially after being cheated on or abused.

Jack was divorced in 1964, and it is said the only reason why he married Harlean was because he was made to by his manager, to clean up his image, after bad publicity for being caught in the bed with white women. It seems true, otherwise Jackie would have married her after his divorce. He liked being a free man so that's why he didn't marry Harlean earlier. I'm sure Harlean jumped at the chance to be married, because then she could really get more as a wife. They were soon separated. Jackie probably would have wished he divorced her so she wouldn't had done what she did to him while he was sick. Even though he had a new wife and family, she came in the picture when Jackie got sick and took over as if they were still married, and because she still legally was his wife, she won the battle of the wives. She either came back into the picture out of guilt for what she done and for keeping their child from him or for revenge and money...who knows.

Jackie had a lot of demons. Jackie fathered a lot of children around the world, most he probably don't know about. Jackie didn't believe in abortion, but he didn't mind having kids he didn't take care of. In my research on Jackie, I found an article from 1963 from the Chicago Defender, about a paternity case against Jackie from a woman in Detroit named Lillie Mae Speight, who said Jackie was the father of her daughter. Some other foul and sadistic stories about Jackie is concerning is rape of women. Patti Labelle came out in her book about how Jackie tried to rape her backstage at a show. Another woman by the name of Alexxys Tylor who's making a name for herself on YouTube, claims her father is Jackie Wilson, and that he raped her mother as a teenager, and that she's the product of the incident. It's hard to deny that Jackie is her father, because the women resembles Jackie a lot, and Jackie was down in Georgia alot in the late 60's. You would think why would he have to rape anyone when so many other women were willing? Was Jackie so arrogant, that if a woman refused his advances, he couldn't take it, so he forced himself on them, because he felt so entitled because he's JACKIE WILSON, and you don't turn down Jackie Wilson? I hate these women came forward after he died. I wish they would have came forward when he was alive and well. It may have ruined his career but if it's true, you gotta pay for your crimes. Most rape victims don't speak out, but they should, because they could save another woman. I was also disturbed at reading he was with teenage girls. It's not shocking, but still it's criminal, I'm surprised this stuff was kept under wraps back then, but there was no paparazzi, stars were able to keep some dirt private, unlike stars today. I know in show biz, there's no morals and values. It's sex and drugs all the time. The men feel entitled for all their hard work and achievements. There were actually mothers selling their daughters to the singers, so the mothers were pimping their daughters out. It's ironic that Jackie who had his way with women, ended up having more daughters then sons. I wonder how he would have felt if men mistreated his daughters. I know he would want to kill them.

My heart always goes out to the children Jackie had with Freda, Jackie Jr. died tragically, Sandra died young, and then Jacqueline died tragically. Jackie Wilson is probably the most tragic figure in music history and his kids seem to inherit his bad luck. Who would have ever thought the great Jackie Wilson would end up a vegetable for 9 years? He was supposedly abused in the nursing homes. Why his family didn't do anything about it, I'll never understand. Harlean came back into the picture when Jackie got sick and was unable to communicate. I guess she knew she could take over because Jackie couldn't do nothing. I feel his third wife should have been named legal guardian, that's the last woman he was with. I doubt Jackie would have wanted Harlean as his guardian and running everything, since he probably didn't forgive her having an affair with Nat. Harlean did some other nasty things. I read she was invited to tributes for Jackie in the past but she denied Jackie's children from attending. Harlean wanted to bask in all Jackie's glory, but leave his children out. I would think Jackie would want his children there, not her. In the 1970's and 1980's, Harlean was running her mouth, giving interviews to everyone, now she refuses interviews. She refused to give her account on life with Jackie. Is it because of guilt? Or maybe she doesn't want to answer to some of the claims others made about her. No one says anything good about Harlean, but, Jackie did a lot of dirt too, so in a way what goes around, comes around. Sometimes birds of a feather flock together, so Harlean shouldn't be blamed for everything.

Jackie's daughter Jacqueline Denise, made a claim in Jet magazine, when her father was sick, that blacks don't seem to want to help one another. She said if Jackie was white, all his white friends would have came and put together a benefit to raise money. She said most of Jackie's friends and people he helped deserted him when he needed help. Jackie helped many people in the business and was overly generous to people, but it wasn't given back to him. The old blues song "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" rings true in Jackie's case. All those women who were crazy about him didn't come visit him or give money. They probably were swooning over some other singer. All the black singers who said Jackie influenced them, wasn't saying anything when Jackie got sick. I wonder why Motown didn't donate money to help pay Jackie's bills. Why didn't Harlean pay his hospital/nursing home bills or pay to have him buried properly? I suppose she just wanted to be the head of everything and get any money she could but not actually put out money for Jackie. I believe in what goes around, comes around. Jackie, I'm sure paid for his wrongs, but I hope Harlean does too.

With all the drama and tragedies in Jackie's life. I wonder why there hasn't been a movie done on his life, or at least a documentary. All the legendary artists at least had a documentary done on them, but not Jackie. I guess it's too late to do a documentary on Jackie, since so many have passed on that knew him. If there was a movie on Jackie, I think Usher should play Jackie. Usher kinds of resembles Jackie and plus Usher can dance. He can't sing like Jackie but he can lip-sync to Jackie's actualy recordings.

There's still some things about Jackie's life I would like to know, why did the book focus so much on the groupies and sex flings of Jackie's? Others complained about this too. I would have liked to know more about his actual relationships and marriages. Freda, Jackie's first wife, seem to only talk about the abuse and cheating, didn't Jackie ever treat her right? She didn't share beautiful, memorable memories of life with him, did they have any? Or was their whole marriage just filled with drama? Or did the author not ask about the good times and just wanted to focus on the bad times, thinking it would sell books? If there weren't any good times, why in the hell did Freda stay with him so long and continue to sleep with him after their divorce? Jackie's second wife, Harlean, declined to be interviewed. She was with him during the most important years, without her account of life with him, there's a lot of things missing, and the author is left to speculate or go by other people's words on what happened between them. The supposed third wife, Lynn, like Freda, she didn't relate too many positive stories of life with Jackie or did the author forget to ask? The book focuses too much on drama and not on the good times with Jackie, and it makes me wonder if the times were bad with Jackie, why in the world did the women stay with him? money? fame? It seems the people who really knew Jackie weren't included in this book, which makes me wonder did they distrust the author or do they have something to hide? We must tell Jackie's story to keep his legacy and memories alive. Even Jackie's supposed close friends didn't tell about many good times with Jackie. Were they true friends or was life with Jackie always chaotic? Even Jackie's half-siter didn't relate any stories about Jackie. She even refused to be interviewed. Jackie's only surviving son with Freda, Tony wasn't interviewed for book, why? Doesn't he have stories to tell about his father.

I wish the author would have interviewed Etta James, Lavern Baker, Ruth Brown, they knew Jackie and spoke some on him. I would liked to have read about their relationship with Jackie. Why didn't the author interview Berry Gordy Jr.? There's other things me and other fans would have liked to known, what was Jackie's hobbies, besides sex and women? What were his favorite movies? Favorite singers? What were Jackie's views on race and being a black man? The book focused too much on the drama and scandal of Jackie's life, we love to read about that stuff, but we also want to know the humane, good side, which was discussed a lot. Jackie had people who influenced him, but it wasn't discussed in the book. I read elsewhere that Jackie was influenced by Al Jolson, Sammy Davis Jr., The Nicholas Brothers, Cab Calloway, and others. Jackie was taught a lot about singing from Billy Ward of The Dominoes, but no one discusses that, Jackie said in an interview that Billy Ward worked with him a lot, especially when it came to operatic singing. Other questions I wonder are how did Jackie feel in the last years, playing the oldies circuit when he wasn't yet an old man? How did he feel not being able to grow as an artist? When his counterparts, Ray Charles, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, and Elvis were still doing well. Was something put in his food or drugs to make him collapse on stage? Did he relapse and do drugs again? Tests were never ran on him to see if there were any drugs in his system. Something just doesn't seem right about how he had a heart attack or stroke. He was suppose to testify against Brunswick Records, don't know if he would have or not, but maybe the mob wanted to make sure he wouldn't testify. I wonder did Jackie know he was owned by the mob? If he did, was he so anxious to make it that he didn't think about the consequences of being owned by the mob? I also wonder did Jackie have behavioral problems? Some would just say he was just wild and impulsive, but a lot of times it's not that, it could be emotional/mental problems. Jackie's life was true to the old saying "live fast, die young." He abused his body for so many years with alcohol and drugs, and by living a wild, rough life, and he had to pay for it in some way. I don't know if Jackie thought he was invincible and nothing would happen to him, or if he chose to live the life he lived and come what may, but either way, he deprived the world of so much, because I know he had some more knock-out performances to give. There's not a lot of footage of Jackie in his prime. I'm surprised his live stage shows weren't recorded and there's not a lot of interviews with Jackie. If I was around back then, I would have been interviewing him all the time. Jet and Ebony never did a feature article on Jackie and amazingly he was never on the cover of Jet and Ebony magazine. In those day rock and roll and rhythm and blues artists were looked down upon, so maybe that explains the lack of coverage on him. There are interview recordings of Jackie that were done in the 70's. He's not very detailed, but it gives you a chance to hear him talk, and he's very articulate, very well spoken. I wonder had Jackie not gotten sick and lived longer, would he had told his life story, the true story. That's the thing missing from these books on Jackie, how Jackie felt about certain things. People only speculate how they think he felt. It seems he didn't reveal his feelings about a lot of things. He seemed to put up this facade of a macho, confident guy, and nothing bothered him. Since he never really talked about his life and never told his side of the story on a lot of things, we'll know how he felt. Jackie got sick around the time people were starting to have an interest in 50's Rock and Roll singers and tell their stories, so he never got to be included in all the books and documentaries, and he became forgotten. There's been documentaries done on black entertainment history, and Jackie wasn't included in any of these documentaries. How can you feel leave out one of the greatest black entertainers of all time in a documentary showcasing great black entertainers? Anyways, since Jackie didn't live long enough to tell an account on his own life and career, everyone is left to speculate and go by "he say, she say." It seems Jackie kept his feelings to himself and didn't talk much about what tormented him or hurt him, maybe he felt he had to put up a facade and be Mr. Excitement all the time, because who wants to see a sad, troubled star. The book talks about how Jackie would go into fits of rage and tear up hotel rooms. Would he let all his anger and sadness build up and then it would come out violently?

Jackie Wilson lived such a troubled life, and not only that, he lost a lot of people close to him, which seem to affect him. The author didn't talk about or maybe didn't ask how it must have affected Jackie to lose friends Jesse Belvin, Sam Cooke, Little Willie John, Rudy Lewis (of The Drifters), and many close to him. He was close to these singers and they all died violently, Jackie witness the death of singer Jesse Belvin. Rudy Lewis partied with Jackie and then died the following morning. All this must have had an affect on Jackie and then he had close calls to death as well, did all this have to do with his enormus drug and alcohol intake too?

The few books written on Jackie has made me less of a fan of him personally. Maybe he would have been great as friend, but not a partner. I will always love his talent, but I learned from reading the books on him that most people who have it all on the outside, usually don't have it all on the inside. Jackie Wilson, had some goods and bads about him. When he was good, he was really good, when he was bad, he was really bad. Jackie redeems himself to me when I hear about how he treated his fans. I'm touched by how he treated his fans. You don't see stars today treating their fans with the type of love that Jackie treated his fans with. He would kiss every girl. You could go up to him on the street and ask for his autograph, he wouldn't turn you away, like many stars today do. You can't even get close to stars now and days, without their bodyguards pushing you away. Jackie didn't mind being touched and loved. It seems he would give you the shirt off his back. He would give to anyone. He even would give expensive jewelry away to fans. He was a star, but some way, stayed down to earth. He never turned his back on his black audience, that was there from the beginning, Jackie prided himself on that. Jackie would make a point of reaching out to women who weren't very attractive by singing to them and kissing them. Maybe he was empathetic to "ugly women" because his mother and half-sister weren't the most attractive women.

I have another pet peeve, why didn't the author use better photos? Getty images have a great selection of photos of Jackie that I would have liked to see in the book. Also, why did this author put out different books on Jackie? Did he have more info to add or what? Also, I would like to know if the author went through Jet, Ebony, Chicago Defender, New York Amsterdam News, Pittsburgh Courier, Afro American Baltimore, there are plenty of articles and photos on Jackie. Jackie gave a few radio interviews in the 70's, where he speaks a little about his life, but knowing what we know now, he could have been lying about some things, but it's nice to hear his voice and how he talks. He talks very articulate and talks humorously about his life. These interviews are hard to find, they should be released in some form.

Jackie didn't live long enough to get older and enjoy the benefits of his talent. He never won a Grammy or any awards. He didn't long enough to enjoy recognition and to receive his due for his talent and achievements like other singers. He never got to enjoy viewing himself on video when he was young and in his prime. He should have at least enjoyed them. Every performer should!

Jackie Wilson helped open the doors for so many black artists after him. Many black artists incorporated Jackie's steps and persona into their style of performing. Michael Jackson wouldn't have enjoyed the success he had, if it wasn't for Jackie kicking them doors open. There's no doubt if Jackie had been white, he would have been a superstar. To the black community, Jackie was a superstar, but to whites he was a moderate star. I don't even begin to compare Jackie and Elvis. Jackie is on such a higher level, but Elvis became a superstar. Elvis was heavily influenced by black singers and performers, like many white entertainers, but those same blacks who influenced Elvis, never made it as big as Elvis, because of how racist the world was then. I still feel had Jackie been with Motown, he would have became a superstar. Most of all the Motown stars became icons and legends. Had Jackie made it in the 60's and 70's when the world was more accepting of black entertainers, Jackie would have became that superstar, but whether he was a superstar or not, he still was one of the greatest entertainers. Today's era of entertainers can't touch Jackie.