Walter Jackson was an R&B singer with a big band pop soul sound. When first starting to perform he seemed destined to make a tremendous impact, but for some reason fell just short of this prediction. Never the less some feel the Walter left a collection of some of the finest R&B music from that era. Crippled from childhood with Polio, Walter was on crutches most of his life. Yet his disability enhanced his performances more than detract from them. It seemed to give him an ability to interpret and project his music with a much deeper emotion and never dampened his ambition or enthusiasm. During his lifetime, as with so many artist of that era, he never found a way to connect with more than a few fans outside R&B circles. Whether “not in tune with the times” or perhaps “ahead of the times” he none-the-less has left us with a collection of unbelievable music.
Walter and his parents moved to Detroit when he was still a baby and there he later attended Northwestern High School singing whenever he had the opportunity. His first recording experience came in 1959 as lead singer with a local group, the Velvetones (Ronald Head, Neil Magby, Bobby Jones and Mary Nicholson). After the group broke up, he unsuccessfully auditioned for Motown. Then in 1962 he got his first real break. Okeh Records A&R director, Carl Davis was in a local piano bar one evening and by chance heard Walter performing. Davis’ first impression of Walter’s commanding voice was that of Nat “King” Cole, Joe Williams, Arthur Prysock or Billy Eckstine. Actually Walter was influenced more by these pop singers than by gospel singers. Davis arranged for Walter to join him in Chicago at the studio along with Curtis Mayfield, Van McCoy and other top writers. His solo career began with the first release in 1962 “I Don't Want to Suffer” which only made a little splash, but got Walter noticed. In 1963 “That’s What Mama Say” was released followed by "Funny (Not Much)" and “It’s All Over” in 1964. The latter of these issues made the R&B charts and was An R&B hit, but neither had any crossover success. In 1965 “Welcome Home” reached No 15 in the R&B chart, and “Suddenly I'm All Alone” reached No 13. In 1966 when Davis left Okeh, Ted Cooper took over the production of Walter’s recordings and created enough of a pop sound to push Jackson into the spotlight. In 1966 he released "Speak Her Name" and "It's an Uphill Climb to the Bottom". These were both solid R&B hits the latter, his biggest, peaking at No. 11 on the R&B charts. But in 1967 his powerful version of “My Ship Is Comin' In” did not chart. Despite the obvious pop crossover potential of his recordings, he remained unknown to most white listeners. Then with the record company fading Walter moved to Epic, unfortunately with little success. A minor hit ended the 60's, “Any Way That You Want Me” on the Cotillion label.
In the 1973 Walter again teamed up with Davis at the Chi-Sound label later releasing covers of songs like Morris Albert’s, "Feelings" in 1976 and Peter Frampton’s, "Baby I Love Your Way" in 1977. After the release of several albums with his now signature pop and mainstream sound, but with diminishing health, Walter reluctantly retired from performing.
In 1982 Kelli-Arts label issued “Touching in the Dark” b/w “If I Had a Chance”. Walter Jackson passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1983. Three days earlier Chi-Sound released “It's Cool” and after his passing a memorial album was released. Since then numerous greatest hits and commemoration albums have been released.
His music influenced many artists that followed. Among them, Luther Vandross, Barry White, Freddie Jackson and Teddy Pendergrass. His music lives on, leaving his old fans with great enjoyment as well as winning over many new fans to the magic of his Chicago, big band soul sound.
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Words
Walter Jackson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It hurts so bad, cause when I see you, I start crying,
I've tried everything to stop, but there's no denying,
That falling in love with you, girl, is just like dying.
Oh, don't walk away,
How, how can I make you stay?
Don't turn away,
Just spoken to help nobody but you,
Words with lies inside,
But, small enough to hide till your playing was through.
Girl, don't you know we could work it out with talking?
You won't look around or slow down your walking,
I've given you everything with kiss to seal it,
You had to get your kicks out of trying to steal it.
Now, I'm standing here,
Strange, strange voices in my ears,
I feel the tears,
But, all I can hear are those words that never were true,
Just spoken to help nobody but you,
Words with lies inside,
But, small enough to hide till your playing was through, ahh.
Now, I'm standing here,
Strange, strange voices in my ears,
I feel the tears,
But, all I can hear are those words that never were true,
Just spoken to help nobody but you,
Words with lies inside,
But, small enough to hide till your playing was through.
Words that never were true,
Just spoken to help nobody but you,
Words with lies inside,
But, small enough to hide till your playing was through.
Words that never were true,
Just spoken to help nobody but you,
Words with lies inside,
But, small enough to hide till your playing was through.
The song "Words" by Walter Jackson is about a man who is struggling to move on from a failed relationship. Every time he sees his ex-girlfriend with a smile on her face, it hurts him deeply because he is still in love with her. He has tried everything to stop feeling this way, but he cannot deny that falling in love with her was like dying. The lyrics convey the intense emotions of heartbreak and the struggle to cope with the pain.
The singer pleads with his ex-girlfriend not to walk away and to try to work things out. He feels that they could talk and work through their issues, but she is not willing to stop and listen. He gave her everything, but she only wanted to take and not appreciate what she had. In the end, he is left standing alone with strange voices in his ears and tears in his eyes. All he can hear are the words that she said to try to manipulate him, to lie to him, to help nobody but herself. The small lies that she told were powerful enough to hide the truth until her playing was finished.
The lyrics of "Words" speak to the universal experience of heartbreak and the frustration of dealing with someone who is not honest or sincere. It is a powerful ballad that has resonated with listeners for decades.
Line by Line Meaning
Girl, don't you know every time I see you smiling,
The sight of you happy hurts me so much as it leads to me crying upon realizing my love for you.
It hurts so bad, cause when I see you, I start crying,
My love for you has become so painful for me that just seeing you makes me break down.
I've tried everything to stop, but there's no denying,
I have attempted to move on from my feelings for you, but it's become clear that my love is too strong.
That falling in love with you, girl, is just like dying.
Loving you has become akin to death as it brings me immense pain and heartache.
Oh, don't walk away,
Please don't leave me behind and walk away from our relationship.
How, how can I make you stay?
I am desperately searching for a way to convince you to remain in my life.
Don't turn away,
I am pleading with you to not ignore my feelings and abandon our love.
I can still hear you saying those words that never were true,
Your false promises continue to echo in my mind and haunt me.
Just spoken to help nobody but you,
You only said those insincere words to serve your own desires and needs, without considering my feelings.
Words with lies inside,
Your words were deceitful and held hidden intentions.
But, small enough to hide till your playing was through.
Your lies were subtle enough to be concealed until you were done using me and our relationship.
Girl, don't you know we could work it out with talking?
I believe that a discussion between us could resolve our issues and mend our relationship.
You won't look around or slow down your walking,
Unfortunately, you seem to be ignoring me and disregarding my efforts to improve our relationship.
I've given you everything with kiss to seal it,
I have given you my all, and even sealed our love with a kiss.
You had to get your kicks out of trying to steal it.
But you were more interested in playing games and trying to take advantage of me.
Now, I'm standing here,
Now, I am left alone and hurting.
Strange, strange voices in my ears,
I hear voices of confusion and sadness, as I contemplate our failed relationship.
I feel the tears,
My emotions are overwhelming me, and I am crying.
But, all I can hear are those words that never were true,
My mind is fixated on your false promises and insincere words.
Words that never were true,
Your lies continue to weigh heavily on my heart and soul.
Just spoken to help nobody but you,
Your lies were intended to benefit you alone, without any consideration for my feelings or well-being.
Words with lies inside,
Your words were dishonest, and held hidden intentions.
But, small enough to hide till your playing was through.
Your lies were subtle and skillfully hidden until you were done toying with me and our relationship.
Words that never were true,
Your false promises and dishonest words continue to torment me.
Just spoken to help nobody but you,
Your lies were intended to benefit you alone, at my expense.
Words with lies inside,
Your deceitful words hid your true intentions and motives.
But, small enough to hide till your playing was through.
Your lies were just subtle enough to remain undetected until you were finished using me for your own purposes.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
SanFranOakland
THANK YOU FOR THE VIDEO!! If people only knew how wonderful Walter Jackson's music was, this video would have 1,000,000+ views. Oh well...
Always In My Heart
We need his voice and his type of singing out here today. This society is starving for it!
eastward07
One of the best relatively unknown voices ever! His brother, I believe, was Chuck Jackson. If so, Chuck couldn't touch the natural fullness of Walter's voice. Thanks for sharing this great music!
dustee
Love this song too!!!! Thanks for sharing.
Jeffrey Shine
A total cut Walter was and is l of the greatest solo singers
Leonard Harrison
Walter Jackson one of the world best kept sercerts
Always In My Heart
I prefer Walter Jackson's version of this over all others! My late husband and I saw Walter at RATSO'S in Chicago many years ago. I saw him at the bar and wanted desperately to get an autograph and tell him how much we enjoyed his music, but I was a bit too shy. So sorry afterwards. He'd past away. We have all his music on albums and CD'S. Haven't been able to find this album on a CD, though.
Nanette Lawing
Heard this one over 5 years ago on a Sunday afternoon Beach Music radio program...and not since then. People, do yourself a favor and listen to this one, "Words."
odshagtunes ODSHAGTUNES
Ducks at Ocean Drive ,Norfleet Era,90's....kick ass smoothie....the elevated train in the main bar...Dewey Kennedy and Frank .....if you were not there...you missed it all!!!!!! We all miss the old Ducks.. OD has changed soooo much...still live two blocks from Main Street...love it , changes and all...Jake the RCA CAT, AKA ODSHAGTUNES.
2004mojo
I don't think Walter Jackson is related to Chuck Jackson. There's no mention of Walter in Chuck's bio and vice versa.