Walter Jackson (singer)
Walter Jackson (March 19, 1938 – June 20, 1983) was an American soul ballad singer who had a string of hits on the US R&B chart between the mid-1960s and early 1980s. His biggest successes included "It's All Over" in 1964, "It's An Uphill Climb To The Bottom" in 1966 and "Feelings", a cover of the Morris Albert pop hit, in 1976.
Life and career
He was born in Pensacola, Florida and raised in Detroit. As a child he became ill with polio and, as a result, he used crutches for the rest of his life. He first recorded as a member of a vocal group, the Velvetones, on the Deb label in 1959 before turning solo, singing in Detroit nightclubs. After failing an audition for Motown, he was discovered performing in a club by Columbia Records' A&R man, Carl Davis, who was impressed with his powerful voice and persuaded him to move to Chicago in 1962 and sign for the label.
His first solo record, "I Don't Want To Suffer" was not a hit and, after a few more releases, he transferred to the subsidiary label, OKeh, which Davis was running. There, Jackson had his first hit with "It's All Over", written by Curtis Mayfield and produced by Mayfield and Davis, which made no. 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964.
