Today’s classic song of the day is that soul stomper from the immortal Jackie Wilson, “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher.” Released as a single in August of 1967 on Brunswick Records, this one hit #6 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 and reached #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart.
“(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” was written by the team of Gary Jackson, Raynard Miner, and Carl Smith. Smith and Miner were in-house writers for Chicago-based Chess Records and they wrote the first version of the song, initially offering it to Chess’ group the Dells, who recorded it but didn’t release it.
Smith and Miner then brought in Gary Jackson to make a few changes to the tune and pitched it to Carl Davis, a producer at Brunswick, who brought it to Jackie Wilson. Wilson initially sang the tune like a soul ballad, but on Davis’ advice he ditched the slow approach, pumped up the energy level, and recorded “Higher and Higher” in a single take.
The backing tracks for “Higher and Higher” were provided by a bunch of moonlighting Funk Brothers from Motown. Guitarist Robert White, keyboardist Johnny Griffith, bassist James Jamerson, drummer Richard “Pistol” Allen, and singers Jackie Hicks and Marlene Barrow (from the Andantes) drove over from Detroit for the session on July 6, 1967. According to Davis:
“[They] used to come over on the weekends from Detroit. They’d load up in the van and come over to Chicago, and I would pay ’em double scale, and I’d pay ’em in cash.”
It was a nice chunk of cash for a weekend gig.
Jackie Wilson was an R&B legend. Born in Detroit in 1934, he started singing in church choirs and in the local Ever Ready Gospel Singers. After dropping out of high school and serving some time in the pen, he started singing solo in local clubs. Along with his cousin Levi Stubbs, who later became lead singer for the Four Tops, Wilson formed a group called the Falcons. He then moved to a group called the Thrillers, who became the Midnighters, before signing with manager Al Green. (Not that Al Green, this was a Detroit-based guy.)
Wilson recorded a few solo singles for Dee Gee Records (owned by jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie—”DG”) before joining the group the R&B group the Dominoes in 1950. (Wilson replaced original singer Clyde McPhatter, who’d left to form the Drifters.) Wilson stayed with the Dominoes until 1957, when he began his solo career in earnest. Green got Wilson signed to Brunswick Records (just before passing away) and the hits started coming.
Jackie Wilson had a couple of hits on the R&B charts before breaking into the mainstream with 1958’s “Lonely Teardrops.” Hit after hit followed, including “That’ Why (I Love You So)” (1959), “I’ll Be Satisfied” (1959), “Doggin’ Around” (1960), “Alone at Last” (1960), “My Empty Arms” (1960), “I’m Comin’ on Back to You” (1961), “Baby Workout” (1963), “Shake! Shake! Shake!” (1963), and “Whispers (Gettin’ Louder)” (1966). “Higher and Higher” was Wilson’s last top ten mainstream hit, although he released a number of later singles that scored well on the R&B charts.
On September 29, 1975, Wilson was performing with Dick Clark’s Good Ol’ Rock and Roll Revue in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He was in the middle of doing “Lonely Teardrops” when he suffered a massive heart attack; ironically, he collapsed on stage right after singing the line, “My heart is crying.” While medical personnel stabilized his vital signs, the lack of oxygen to the brain caused him to slip into a coma. He stayed in a semi-comatose state for the rest of his life, finally passing away on January 21, 1984; he was just 49 years old. (Interestingly, Elvis Presley, who was a fan, paid for most of Wilson’s massive medical bills during this period.)
Most audiences who only heard Jackie Wilson on record didn’t know what a dynamic performer he was. He earned the nickname of Mr. Excitement for his dynamic, sweat-infused performances. You can get a sense of his power in today’s daily bonus video of the day, which shows Jackie Wilson performing “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” in a very dynamic performance. I’m not sure when this was recorded or for what show but, damn, he really brings it. Was there anybody as exciting as Jackie Wilson in his prime?
