JACKIE ROSS, "I'VE GOT THE SKILL" C/W "CHANGE YOUR WAYS," CHESS 1913 (REL.10/1964)

 

Jackie Ross is still with us—a rare event for the Jukebox. She was written off as a one-hit-wonder when “Selfish One” reached #11 on the mainstream pop charts in 1964. A flurry of singles on Chess Records resulted. They all charted, but none of them became bona-fide hits. Not yet 20 years old, Ross was a has-been by the end of that year.

Like so many Black vocalists of note, she came from a gospel music background and was discovered by Sam Cooke, who released her debut single on his SAR imprint in 1962. A near-mint copy of this 45 sold for $500.00 in 2021. It’s one I always look for when I espy the SAR logo in a bin of 45s; it’s always some Johnnie Morrisette single, though.

Though that debut record, released as ‘Jacki Ross,’ didn’t click, it announced her presence to the Black music community. Chess Records in Chicago signed her by the end of 1963. After her one major hit. Chess thought enough of her to put out an album titled Full Bloom and they kept up with a series of quality singles—today’s included. This is her second Chess release, hot on the heels of “Selfish One” and an extravagant display of Chicago soul, as arranged by Riley Hampton. Both songs are co-penned by Billy “Roquel” Davis—another name of note in mid-1960s Black music.

“I’ve Got the Skill” opens with woozy strings and sinister flutes which play a quasi-Asian air soon explained in the lyric. A touch of Motown graces this eccentric arrangement, which is from the wackier side of Hampton’s imagination. Ross delivers her assurance that she’s quite capable of taming the wayward playboy she has in her sights.

Like so many Chicago soul recordings of the period, a sense of classiness exudes from its every note. The Chicago scene had access to top musicians, studios and technicians, and it shows in this rich, big-sounding side that was perhaps a bit baroque for the pop charts of Beatle-besotted early 1964. It took a simpler record like The Dixie Cups’ “Chapel of Love” to break through the UK domination of the Top 10.

Cash Box remained a champion for American performers during the Beatle Blitz of '64.

“Change Your Ways” opens with another grand entrance of strings. The melody takes some beautiful bluesy turns, as Ross sings in a more intimate manner on this declaration of intent: fly right, pal, or I’ll shack up with someone else.

Flutes, percussion and those dense strings create a neverworld of soul music—part Chicago soul, part Motown, part Bacharach-style mood. Ross’ voice is delicate and moving on this side. This may be my favorite recording of hers.

Jackie Ross’ time at Chess ended when she got a royalty check for her big hit. It was underwhelming, and she spoke up about it. This didn’t go over well with the company heads, and she left the label in 1965. Two years later, she was signed to Brunswick, whose Chicago branch created a significant body of soul music in the later ‘60s.

Though she never had another big hit, she remains respected and appreciated by soul fans all over the world. Her Full Bloom LP, which was reissued on CD, is an excellent long-player of mostly original songs performed with élan by this outstanding talent.

Tomorrow: Estelle Brown of The Sweet Inspirations made one solo single in 1964 and it’s a lulu. One of Otis Blackwell’s best songs—a teaser for the new all-Otis episode of the podcast—coupled with a soul ballad in the Irma Thomas tradition, via a rare, spendy United Artists single. Another don’t miss!