In the development of Soul and R&B at Chess Records, there was a group of female artists, who all had a strong Gospel feel to their work. Etta James became the most successful of them, but the others all found chart success, and some helped to define the signature sound of Chicago Soul and R&B. They are less well-known, but their work is worthy of attention.
Jackie Ross was born in Fontella Bass’ hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, in 1946. Both her parents were preachers, who ran a Gospel radio show. When her father died in 1954, the family moved to Chicago, where Ross made her first record. She was signed to Sam Cooke’s SAR label and released “Hard Times” in 1962, with “Hold Me” on the B-side.
For a while Ross joined Syl Johnson’s backing band as a piano player, where she soon had the opportunity to sing too. She signed for Chess in 1964 and had a hit with her first single “Selfish One”, which reached number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and number four on the Cashbox R&B Singles Chart.
Two more singles were released in 1964 to take advantage of the debut record’s success, “I’ve Got The Skill” and “Haste Makes Waste”, both of which made the lower echelons of the charts. An album was issued before the end of the year, entitled “Full Bloom”.
Four more singles were issued in 1965, the best of which was “Take Me For A Little While”, which sounds very like the Supremes. Ross was gaining in confidence and her vocal delivery was getting stronger. “We Can Do It”, also from 1965, is a solid dance track, which became a Northern Soul favourite in the UK. Several of the best 1965 tracks were written and produced by Chess songwriters and producers, including Billy Davis, Raynard Miner and Carl Smith.
It was a good start to what might have been a significant career at Chess, but Ross became disillusioned by the level of financial reward that her chart singles brought her and looked elsewhere.
She joined Brunswick Records in 1967 and then Fountain Productions (set up by Jerry Butler) in 1969. From 1971, most of Ross’ work was produced by her manager Jimmy Van Leer and released on a succession of labels through the seventies and eighties. Three albums and a number of singles appeared on the Golden Ear label, which Van Leer set up in Chicago.
Jackie Ross and Little Milton shared a double Golden Ear album in 1981. “In Perspective” is a compilation of eight Jackie Ross songs on album one and eight Little Milton songs on album two. The recordings were made at Ardent Studios in Memphis and PS Recording Studios in Chicago, with Benjamin Wright sharing the responsibility for arrangements with Van Leer. The romantic strings on Ross’ track “One Hand Wash The Other” set off the dramatic vocals very effectively, but the most interesting track is the opening song on album one, “I Like Your Loving”, which is a duet featuring the two artists. It is bouncy and Bluesy, and Ross’ voice is at its strongest.
Although she was never able to repeat the chart success of her first Chess single, Jackie Ross has put together a solid body of work. Several compilation albums have appeared in Europe.
Jackie Ross: “Jerk & Twine” 2012
Album Cover courtesy of Ace Records (UK)
A selection of Ross’ songs was released on a compilation issued by the Italian label Black Tulip in 2005, including three duets with Little Milton. It is a good collection of some less well-known material, taking its name from her hit single “Selfish One”. In 2006, Grapevine Records in the UK released “Take The Weight Off Me”, a compilation of the later songs, with five duets with Little Milton. The best of the selected tracks is “I Think I’m Losing You”. Finally Ace Records (UK) put out in 2012 a compilation of the twenty-four songs that Ross recorded at Chess, released on the Kent label and entitled “Jerk & Twine”.
Together these compilations offer a good retrospective of the career of one of Chicago’s lesser-known Soul singers, who turned away from Chess Records but found a way to pursue her musical dreams.
