Music Throwback Saturday: But It’s Alright

In the latter 1970s, I bought the Warner Brothers Loss Leader album Cook Book, devoted to soul/rhythm & blues/black music. The liner notes acknowledged that WB had not traditionally been associated with the genre.

“The label’s lineup in the late ’50s and early ’60s disclosed an R&B contingent that would have included only Sammy Davis Jr. and Bill Cosby.”

I recall reading this bit: “Despite a few noble experiments… and the isolated soul hit (J.J. Jackson’s ‘But It’s Alright’…)” As it turns out, that was one of the relatively very few singles I owned; I still may, and I should check. The label should have included it in the collection.

In fact, when the song was originally released in 1966, it came out on a tiny label called Calla, as the B-side of the single called “Boogaloo Baby”, before it “became one of the best-known dance music tunes of the decade,” reaching #22 on the Billboard pop charts, and #4 on the soul charts.

“The single was recorded in the United Kingdom, featuring some of Britain’s top jazz musicians of the day, including Terry Smith on guitar, Dick Morrissey on tenor sax, and John Marshall on drums.” It was re-released in 1969 on Warner, getting to #45 on the pop charts.

Jerome Louis Jackson, known as J.J. Jackson, is apparently still a working musician. He should not be confused with the late MTV VJ of the same name from back in the early days when the network played music videos most of the day, every day.

Is it possible that they were born the exact same day – April 8, 1941 – or did biographers (likely) conflate the two? I’ve also seen the singer’s birthday as November 8, 1942.

Anyway, here’s But It’s Alright HERE or HERE.

Author: Roger

I'm a librarian. I hear music, even when it's not being played. I used to work at a comic book store, and it still informs my life. I won once on JEOPARDY! - ditto. View all posts by Roger