Jackson was born
Benjamin Joseph Jackson in
Cleveland, Ohio. and his biggest R&B chart hit, "I Can't Go on Without You", which stayed at number 1 on the R&B chart for eight weeks. He also made an appearance in the 1948 film
Boarding House Blues, with Millinder. In May 1951 he recorded "
Wonder When My Baby's Coming Home" with his Bearcats. Jackson toured throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s. Around 1951, his band included the
bebop composer and arranger
Tadd Dameron on piano and
Benny Golson, another
jazz musician, on saxophone. Some of Jackson's later risqué material, including "
Big Ten Inch Record" and "Nosey Joe" (written by
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller), caused a sensation during live performances but were too suggestive for the radio, and few of the records were sold. However, his band faithfully played "Big Ten Inch Record" at every show. By the mid-1950s, Jackson was tired of touring and retired from music to work for a catering firm in
Washington, D.C., During the 1980s, Jackson, then in his 60s, had an extremely successful run performing in the United States and internationally. However, he fell ill with
lung cancer in 1987 and retired from the touring circuit in the spring of 1988. An old girlfriend of his came back to care for him during his final illness. He died in Cleveland on July 31, 1989. ==See also==