Born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1946, Jackie had an uneventful childhood. She was influenced at an early age by her older cousin to become involved in the music business. After finishing high school and attempting to gain some legitimacy in her hometown she realized that she was going nowhere fast.
It was after Jackie moved to Philadelphia in 1968 that her singing career began to gain some momentum. She teamed up with popular Philly radio personality Jimmy Bishop to write the song "Dear John." Bishop produced the tune and took it to Shout Records in New York City (an independent label owned by producer Bert Berns, whose roster included Aretha Franklin’s sister Erma, and R&B hitmaker Freddie Scott). It made a little impact so Bishop cut a couple more sides with Jackie, with Shout releasing one more single ("Call On Me") and a third track ("Loser Again") going to Scepter Records.
When success was not forthcoming Jackie became temporarily disillusioned, she returned to Florida where she hooked back up with cousin Dave Crawford. Crawford had started achieving minor success with Atlantic Records’ artists like Wilson Pickett and Dee Dee Warwick, his hits with Candi Staton were still years away. Crawford introduced Jackie to Atlantic executive Ahmet Ertegun. He was impressed and bought out Jackie’s contract from Jimmy Bishop and signed her to the label.
Jackie and Dave began writing together and planning for her upcoming recording session. In April 1970 they entered Miami's Criteria Studios to cut two sides for an Atlantic single. The Crawford penned "Willpower" was a funky uptempo number but when released it failed to generate any heat. Late that summer, after the single had been out for several months, a Florida D.J. happened upon the single and accidentally played the B-side. The song was a typical soul stirring number that featured the famous Memphis Horns augmenting the sizzling Miami rhythm section on the track.
By January 23, 1971 "Precious, Precious" had climbed to number 30 on the pop charts and 12 on the R&B charts and sold a cool million copies. Not bad for a b-side track. As "Precious, Precious" began its chart climb, Jackie went back into Criteria Studios at the end of 1970 with the same rhythm section she’d worked with before, to record a total of four songs including "Cover Me," a version of a 1967 Percy Sledge hit and "Wonderful, Marvelous," which ended up as the flipside to Jackie’s follow up to "Precious, Precious," an R&B gem entitled "Sometimes It’s Got To Rain (In Your Life)."
"Sometimes It's Got To Rain" was recorded with the Miami rhythm collective known as The Dixie Flyers. Released as a single it remains one of her finest northern soul classics but was not included on her one and only Atlantic album.
Jackie's next single was the August 1971 release "Time." Once again produced by Crawford, with colleague Brad Shapiro. "Time" featured an all-star rhythm section that included the likes of Dr. John (Mac Rebennack) ..boards, guitarist Dennis Coffey, and The Memphis Horns, featuring Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson. All of whom would also go on to have successful 12" singles in the disco-era.
Also cut at that session was "Something In A Look," a non-descript tune that ended up as the flipside to Jackie’s next single a version of "Darling Baby," which had been a hit for Motown group The Elgins in 1966. A modest hit (No. 22) R&B released in the spring of 1972, "Darling Baby" saw a change of recording venue for Jackie, Crawford & Shapiro, having been cut at Malaco Studios in Jackson, Mississippi, home to hits for King Floyd ("Groove Me") and Jean Knight ("Mr. Big Stuff").
Still searching for material that would emulate her early Atlantic success, Jackie cut two strong sides, "It Ain’t Who You Know" and "They Tell Me Of An Uncloudy Day" in July 1972, released as a single that year by the label but vanishing into obscurity until its reissue in 1994. Atlantic executives decided to send Jackie to Philadelphia, initially in May for an abortive session and later in November of 1972 for a recording date that proved very productive. Working at Sigma Sound studios, Jackie teamed up with the studio legends known as "The Young Professionals" whose members included Philly radio man LeBaron Taylor and songwriter Phil Hurtt. Recording artist/producer Bunny Sigler was also a part of the aggregation and he co-penned the pop-flavored "Sweet Charlie Babe" with Hurtt.
With a decidedly different, more polished feel than the work she had done in Florida and Mississippi, the record became a hit for Jackie in the summer of 1973 (No. 15 R&B, No. 30 pop) and was followed by the zesty "Both Ends Against The Middle," co-written by Hurtt and Tony Bell (the guitar-playing younger brother of hitmaking producer Thom Bell) who also co-produced the upbeat side with Taylor and Hurtt.
Regrettably, the dance-flavored "Both Ends" was Jackie’s last chart entry for Atlantic (scoring a modest No. 25 on the R&B listings towards the end of 1973 and beginning of ‘74): the flipside, "Clean Up Your Own Yard" was one of the last recordings Jackie made in Philly for Atlantic as was "If," a particularly strong song with a social message that had also been produced by "The Young Professionals."
Atlantic finally chose to release a long-overdue album in 1973. The album, "Sweet Charlie Babe" included the title hit and several of her previous singles for the label. The album didn't sell as well as was expected, perhaps due to the uneveness of the material and the variety of producers. An interesting side note is the amount of future disco artists and producers that Ms. Moore worked with during this period. Phill Hurtt ("Giving It Back To You"), Bunny Sigler ("By The Way You Dance"), Dr. John ("Jet Set") and Richard (Ritchie) Rome (namesake of The Ritchie Family).
A couple of more sessions produced material that was never released and after her Atlantic contract lapsed, Jackie signed with Kayvette Records, a label owned by producer Brad Shapiro and Henry Stone, head of T.K. Records which also distributed Kayvette. She zoomed back into the R&B Top 10 in 1975 with "Make Me Feel Like A Woman," a strong Southern R&B side which turned out to be her biggest hit during her association with the label. An album of the same name was issued but failed to chart.
Several more singles followed on Kayvette, 1976's "Disco Body" and "It's Harder To Leave" written by Clarence Reid and 1977's "Make Me Yours" arranged by Mike Lewis. All her tracks were produced by Brad Shapiro before her departure in 1978. T.K. and Kayvette, towards the end of their exsistence, released "Heart Be Still" in 1980 and "Who's Next, Who's Now" in 1981, both on 12" singles in an attempt to capitalize on her recent success within the club scene.
In 1979 Jackie signed with CBS and released her most memorable recordings to date. Her first album, "I'm On My Way," with its prophetic title, spawned the wildly successful 12" single "This Time Baby." The now classic "This Time Baby" was reissued in 1984 with a previously unreleased instrumental version on it's b-side and charted all over again. The second 12" single, "How's Your Love Life Baby" was also a club hit, though it didn't climb as high as "This Time Baby." The promotional-only 12" single featured "Can You Tell Me Why" on the b-side. "Can You Tell Me Why" is one of my top 50 all-time favorite songs of the disco-era. The song was a Bobby Viteritti (Trocadero Transfer) classic and highly sought after. Ironically both of her 12" singles were cover versions of previously record songs that were not hits for the O'Jays ("This Time Baby") or Eddie Kendricks ("How's Your Love Life Baby").
By 1980, as disco was dying, Jackie had one more album for Columbia Records. "With Your Love" produced yet another 12" single of a previously recorded song. "Helpless" was a Holland-Dozier-Holland hit for the Four Tops in the 1960's but failed to chart for Moore.
Jackie resurfaced in 1983 on the tiny Catawba label with the down-tempo single "Holding Back" which grazed the R&B charts. A series of releases, domestic and imports, followed. 1985's "Love's The Answer," on Sunnyview Records 1988's "This Old Heart Of Mine," 1991's "Only You," a 1992 dance mix of "Precious," and 1994's "Love's On It's Way." Since then Moore has been relatively inactive on vinyl. Still a native of Florida Jackie can be found on the occasional disco-revival show and tours Europe frequently...
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