Wilson's solo career begin with 1957's "Reet Petite", written by the then unknown Berry Gordy, Jr. and recorded on the Brunswick Records label with whom Wilson would remain throughout his career. He had his first top 40 hit in 1958 with "To Be Loved". At the end of that year he had his first big success with "Lonely Teardrops" that went to #7 on the charts. The song, also written by Berry Gordy, Jr. became his signature tune. That same year saw Wilson release his first LP titled He's So Fine.
Wilson's brand of pop-soul and R&B helped him cross over to the mainstream, having several pop hits. His dynamic stage performances earned him the nickname "Mr. Excitement". His performance of "Lonely Teardrops" on the Ed Sullivan Show is considered one of its classics. In the 1960s, Wilson continued to record singles, many of them operatic, such as "Danny Boy" or "Night", others were up-tempo and exciting, such as "Baby Workout" in 1963. Although married to Frida Hood since 1951, Wilson was a notorious womanizer and was shot and wounded by one of his alleged lovers, Juanita Jones, on February 15 1961 in a jealous rage as he returned to his apartment with another woman, fashion model Harlean Harris, an ex-girlfriend of singer Sam Cooke. As a married man conducting extra-marital affairs, his management decided, as a way not to damage his career, to concoct a story that Jones was an obsessed fan who threatened to shoot herself, and that Wilson's intervention concluded in him being shot. Astonishingly, the story was accepted, and no charges were brought against Juanita Jones. He was divorced from Frida in 1965, and married Harlean Harris from 1967 until his death in 1984.
His career began to suffer in the mid-60s, though he managed a brief revival by collaborating with Carl Davis, a legendary Chicago producer. This resulted in two hits, "Whispers" and "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher". The revival was short-lived, though, and Wilson rarely charted in the 1970s. Wilson suffered a massive heart attack while playing a Dick Clark show at the Latin Casino in New Jersey on September 29, 1975, falling head-first to the stage; he was singing "Lonely Teardrops". A comatose Wilson lived in a hospital until his death in 1984 at age 49. His medical costs were paid for by Dick Clark. In 1985, successful soul/funk band The Commodores, recorded "Nightshift" which was a song in memory of Wilson, as well as soul singer Marvin Gaye, who died in the same year as Wilson.
Van Morrison also recorded a tribute song called "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)" on his 1972 hit album Saint Dominic's Preview. This song was later covered by Dexy's Midnight Runners. When the track was performed on the British TV show Top of the Pops, a picture of Wilson was intended to be used in the background - but an intentional joke by the band and the production staff meant that a picture of darts player Jocky Wilson was used instead. Wilson is mentioned in the rap song "thugs mansion" Tupac and Nas. The exact quote is, "Seen a show with Marvin Gaye last night, it had me shook Drinkinn peppermint Schnapps, with Jackie Wilson, and Sam Cooke".
Wilson scored a posthumous hit when "Reet Petite" reached number one in the United Kingdom in 1986. The following year,he also hit the UK charts again with "I Get The Sweetest Feeling"(No.3), and "Higher and Higher"(No.11). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987; that same year, he was portrayed in the Richie Valens biopic La Bamba by Howard Huntsberry.
Wilson is interred in the Westlawn Cemetery in Wayne, Michigan.
Do Your Thing
Jackie Wilson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd be a beggar or a knave for you! (what is a knave anyway?)
If that isn't love it'll have to do
Until the real thing comes along.
I'd gladly move the earth for you, (yeah I'm strong baby, plenty strong)
To prove my love and it's worth to you;
If that isn't love it'll have to do
With all the words, dear, at my command,
I just can't make you understand;
I'll always love you darling, come what may,
My heart is yours, what more can I say? (what do you want me to do, rob a bank?)
(Well listen, I tell ya)
I'd sigh for you, yeah, cry for you,
I'd tear the stars down from the sky for you!
If that isn't love, well skip it, it'll have to do,
Until the real thing comes along.
I'd sigh for you, die for you,
I'd tear the stars down from the sky for you!
If that isn't love, it'll have to do,
Until the real thing comes along.
(Yeah, that's the real thing, so help me!)
The lyrics to Jackie Wilson's song, Do Your Thing, are all about unrequited love. The singer is in love with someone who doesn't quite reciprocate his feelings, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to prove his love, even if it means being a slave or a knave. The use of "knave" is interesting here because it is a dated word that means a dishonest or unscrupulous man. He's saying that he's willing to be seen as a dishonest person if it means winning the person over.
The singer also talks about how he would move the earth to prove his love's worth to her, but even that wouldn't be enough. He's frustrated that with all the words he has at his command, he still can't make his love understand the depth of his feelings. The singer is almost asking what more he can do to prove his love, even suggesting robbing a bank. The repetition of "If that isn't love it'll have to do/Until the real thing comes along" suggests that he's willing to settle for a lesser love until the real, reciprocated love comes along.
Overall, the song is a heartbreaking plea for love that is never quite fulfilled. The singer is willing to do almost anything to win over his love, but in the end, it's just not enough.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh I'd work for you, I'd slave for you,
I'd be a beggar or a knave for you! (what is a knave anyway?)
I am willing to do anything for you, even if it means begging for money or resorting to dishonesty (a knave is a deceitful person)
If that isn't love it'll have to do
Until the real thing comes along.
Although this may not be true love, for now it will suffice until the right person comes along.
I'd gladly move the earth for you, (yeah I'm strong baby, plenty strong)
To prove my love and it's worth to you;
If that isn't love it'll have to do
Until the real thing comes along.
My love for you is so strong that I would do anything, no matter how difficult, to prove my love and its value to you. Again, until the right person comes along, this love will have to do.
With all the words, dear, at my command,
I just can't make you understand;
I'll always love you darling, come what may,
My heart is yours, what more can I say? (what do you want me to do, rob a bank?)
Despite my ability to express my love with words, you still don't seem to fully understand how much I love you. Regardless, my love for you will never falter and there's nothing more I can do or say to prove it to you.
(Well listen, I tell ya)
I'd sigh for you, yeah, cry for you,
I'd tear the stars down from the sky for you!
If that isn't love, well skip it, it'll have to do,
Until the real thing comes along.
I am so deeply in love with you that I would do anything, even if it means causing myself great pain or changing the very fabric of the universe, to show you that love. Still, until the right person comes along, this love is all that will have to suffice.
I'd sigh for you, die for you,
I'd tear the stars down from the sky for you!
If that isn't love, it'll have to do,
Until the real thing comes along.
(Yeah, that's the real thing, so help me!)
Once again, my love for you is so strong that I would even risk my own life for you, and the very stars in the sky would not be safe from me if they stood between us. But the real thing, the true love that we both seek, will one day come to us.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Royalty Network, Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Alberta Nichols, L.E. Freeman, Mann Holiner, Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
EDWARD WALLINGTON
Love hearing JACKIE do his thing! Sing Jackie Sing!
EDWARD WALLINGTON
Was fun watching Jackie perform this on Shingdig (I Believe) back in 1968.