Ralph 'Soul' Jackson

Legends from the golden age of soul music haven’t always achieved their status through gold records, flamboyant lifestyles, or appearances on cable television. Many cut one or two 45s for small, independent record labels with little to no distribution and only regional radio play. But they still became popular to an international audience when England’s Northern soul DJs sought out obscure American soul records to keep their dance floors full. These tracks, relatively unknown in the United States, gained traction in foreign markets, where buyers considered demand for esoteric soul proof of their music savvy. Ralph ‘Soul’ Jackson, with six rare Southern soul 45s ranging in price from $50.00 to $1500.00, is no exception to this anomaly. Forty years ago, Jackson got a call from Rick Hall at FAME Studios who wanted to record Ralph’s ‘Don’t Tear Yourself Down’ with Hank William's’ ‘Jambalaya’ and leased the single to AMY/BELL Records. It was this soul-drenched first session in Muscle Shoals that led Hall to give Ralph the moniker he uses to this day. Hall chose to use the Hank Williams’ song as the A-side and tried to market the single to an unreceptive Black audience. During these sessions Jackson befriended A-list songwriter and session man Spooner Oldham who wanted to record Ralph singing Cream’s ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ backed with a Penn/Oldham number ‘Cause I Love You’. Atlantic Records released the single in 1967 but it quickly faded while competing with Otis and Aretha for promotional support. In the early 70s local DJ Eddie “Dr. Jive” Mendell brought Ralph to Birmingham, Alabama, to play his songs for producer Neal Hemphill. They paired Ralph with Oldham again in Muscle Shoals and cut a driving version of Carl Perkins’ ‘Matchbox’ and ‘Let Your Sweet Love Surround Me’ for Hemphill’s legendary Sound of Birmingham label. Once again, poor radio and distribution drove the single into obscurity. After two poor experiences with the industry, Jackson walked away from music. In 1975 Ralph came to Neal’s new Hemphill Studios and wrote, played all instruments, and sang the soon-to-be Northern soul classic ‘Set Me Free’ backed with “Take Me Back’ for Hemphill’s Black Kat Records. The record, along with others from the label, suffered from a poorly structured, crooked distribution deal. While Jackson was performing on a circuit of U.S. Air Force bases he stopped off in Nashville in 1980 to record three modern soul rarities over two 45s for his own RAJAC label. These highly sought after records had no distribution or radio play and all sales were made during the military base shows. Ralph ‘Soul’ Jackson is a native of Southern Alabama where he still lives and has never stopped writing, performing, and recording music, whether it’s in his home studio, as the music minister in his church, or at his cousin Jo Jo Benson’s club. ‘Soul’ fans can look forward to the reissue of the classic tracks mentioned above, some newly discovered unreleased gems, as well as the first full length album of new material by Jackson, recorded between anticipated live dates.