Chuck Jackson Dies: ‘Any Day Now’ Singer Who Had Two Dozen Chart Singles Was 85
22.02.2023 - 02:59
/ deadline.com
Chuck Jackson, an R&B singer who took “Any Day Now” to the Top 25 in 1962 and had some two dozen singles hit the Hot 100 during the decade, has died. He was 85.
Ady Croasdell of the UK’s Kent Records, which has worked on re-releasing Jackson’s music, confirmed on social media that the singer died February 16 in Georgia but did not provide other details.
Dionne Warwick, who recorded for the same label as Jackson during the 1960s, paid tribute to her friend today. “Another heartache has come my way. Chuck Jackson has made his transition,” she said in a statement released by her label. “He was my label mate on Scepter Records and was like a big brother to me. I’ll truly miss his daily calls checking on me and his wonderful voice. Rest in heavenly peace my dear friend.”
Born on July 22, 1937, in Winston-Salem, NC, and raised in Pittsburgh, Jackson left college in 1957 to sing with a gospel group. Later that year, he joined the Del-Vikings (aka the Dell-Vikings), who were hot off a pair of Top 10 hits with “Come Go with Me” and “Whispering Bells.” He stayed with the group until 1959, before leaving for a solo career.
He signed with Clock Records in 1959, recording as Charles Jackson, but failed to click. He then inked with Florence Greenberg’s Scepter subsidiary Wand Records.
Jackson’s first solo chart record was “I Don’t Want to Cry,” which was arranged by teenage whiz Carole King. It dented the Billboard Top 40 in 1961, and a handful of follow-up singles also made the Hot 100. His breakout hit was “Any Day Now (My Wild Beautiful Bird), co-written by Burt Bacharach, who died this month. The song peaked at No. 23, which would be Jackson’s highest-charting pop hit. “Any Day Now” would go on to be covered by the likes of