Born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, he learned to play the saxophone and started his first band, The Harlem Hotshots, while he was still in high school. In 1943, he was recruited as a saxophonist by bandleader Lucky Millinder, and the musicians in Millinder's band gave him the nickname "Bull Moose" for his appearance. He began singing when required to stand in for Wynonie Harris at a show in Texas.
Millinder encouraged Jackson to sign a solo contract with Syd Nathan of King Records to play rhythm and blues. He first recorded in his own right in 1946, with "I Know Who Threw the Whiskey", an answer song to Millinder's "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well". The following year, his recording of "I Love You, Yes I Do" reputedly became the first R&B single to sell a million copies, holding the #1 spot on the R&B chart for three weeks and crossing over to the pop chart, where it made #24.
He formed his own group, The Buffalo Bearcats, and over the next five years recorded in a wide variety of musical styles, including both romantic crooning and bawdy jump blues. Other big hits in 1948 included the double-sided hit "All My Love Belongs to You" / "I Want a Bowlegged Woman", and his biggest R&B chart hit, "I Can't Go On Without You", which stayed at # 1 on the R&B chart for eight weeks. He also made an appearance in the 1948 film, Boarding House Blues, with Millinder.
In 1949, he covered "Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me" a song that been successful for Wayne Raney as well as several country and western performers.
Jackson toured throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s. Around 1951, his band included bebop composer and arranger Tadd Dameron on piano, and another jazz musician, Benny Golson, on saxophone.
Some of Jackson's later risqué material, including "Big Ten Inch Record" (later covered by Aerosmith on Toys in the Attic) and "Nosey Joe" (written by Leiber and Stoller), both from 1952, were too suggestive for airplay, but remained popular.
Jackson continued to record until the mid-1950s, but as musical tastes changed began working for a catering firm in Washington, D.C. In 1961 he re-recorded and had a minor hit with "I Love You, Yes I Do".
In the early 1980s he was persuaded by Carl Grefenstette to perform and record again with the Pittsburgh R&B revival band, The Flashcats, who had been playing his songs, and to record the album Moosemania! in 1985. Jackson also toured nationally and internationally. However, his health began to fail, and he died of lung cancer in Cleveland in 1989.
My Big Ten-Inch
Bull Moose Jackson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Believe it, this chick's no sinch
But I really get her goin'
Then I take out my Big Ten Inch
Record of the band that plays the blues
The band that plays the blues
She just loved that Big Ten Inch
Last night I tried to tease her
I gave her a little pinch
But she said now stop that jivin
And get out that big ten-inch
Record of the band that plays the blues
Well the band that plays the blues
She just loved that Big Ten Inch
Record of her favorite blues
I cover her with kisses
When we're in a lover's clinch
And when she gets all excited
She begs for my big ten-inch
Record of the band that plays the blues
Well the band that plays the blues
She just loved that Big Ten Inch
Record of her favorite blues
My gal don't go for smokin'
And liquor just makes her flinch
Seems she just goes for nothin'
'cept for my big ten-inch
Record of the band that plays the blues
Band that plays the blues
She just loved my Big Ten Inch
Record of her favorite blues
Bull Moose Jackson's song Big Ten-Inch Record, released in 1952, was a controversial blues song with subtle erotic undertones. The song tells the story of the singer's relationship with a woman who is a bit unusual and not easily impressed. However, the singer knows exactly how to win her over with his Big Ten-Inch Record of the blues band she loves. The song is interspersed with suggestive lyrics, such as the line “And when she gets all excited, she begs for my big ten-inch,” which creates an implicit relationship between the larger-than-life record and the singer's sexuality and prowess.
While the song speaks to the fascination of record collectors in the 50s, it also suggests that it was socially acceptable for men to equate their own virility with their record collections. The big ten-inch record itself could be seen as a phallic symbol and a source of pride for the male collector. This might explain why the woman in the song is so enamored with it, as she seems to have a fetish for things that are big and powerful.
Interestingly, this song is considered one of the first R&B songs to cross over to the pop charts. It was also covered by Aerosmith in 1975 and became a massive hit for the rock band.
Line by Line Meaning
Got me the strangest woman
I found this really unique woman
Believe it, this chick's no sinch
She's not an easy one to understand
But I really get her goin'
But I know how to turn her on
Then I take out my Big Ten Inch
Then I bring out my favorite blues record
Record of the band that plays the blues
It's the record of the blues band I love
She just loved that Big Ten Inch
She really liked that record
Last night I tried to tease her
Once I tried to joke around with her
I gave her a little pinch
I gave her a small poke
But she said now stop that jivin'
But she asked me to stop fooling around
And get out that big ten-inch
And play that record she likes
I cover her with kisses
I showered her with kisses
When we're in a lover's clinch
When we are intimately together
And when she gets all excited
And when she gets aroused
She begs for my big ten-inch
She pleads with me to play that record
My gal don't go for smokin'
She doesn't like smoking
And liquor just makes her flinch
And she can't stand drinking
Seems she just goes for nothin'
It looks like she doesn't really like anything else
'cept for my big ten-inch
'Except for that record she loves
Band that plays the blues
The blues band she loves
She just loved my Big Ten Inch
She really enjoyed that record
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: FRED WEISMANTEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@SukkaPunch321
I think the biggest thing we're missing from music today is the innuendo. You're allowed to be so blunt now, and that's great in a lot of ways, but... Who doesn't love a good double entendre?
@babybirdhome
THIS is the thing that's annoying about modern popular (really, more just commercialized) music. Being blunt and explicit is shocking and that makes creating it so easy that any talentless hack can do it— it doesn't demonstrate anything and it makes it hard to respect it. Not necessarily hard to ENJOY it per se, but still hard to respect it.
@BillTheScribe
You might enjoy Here Comes the Mummies. Once you get past the visual, they are a really tight funk band, but the lyrics are almost all innuendo and double entendres. "Pants" is a good example. "Single Entendre" is probably not.
@jmakc3541
Yep. Country music was the last true bastion of the double entendre... and, man, they got really, really good with it there for a bit.
@StudioCONGO40
the last time i heard a song like this was from batman brave and the bold
i kind of do want songs like this to come back
@soylentteal
A little play on words is fun, too. Pull up the song "Dolly Parton's Hits."
@greggseymour3197
He performed this song at a Johnny Otis show at Carnagie Hall about 2 weeks before he died & it literally “brought down the house”-amazing!
@rheides
That is the face of no regrets
@rudy915
Lol😂😂
@JohnSmith-hs1hn
The face of a man with a 10 inch, trumpet.