(Benjamin Clarence Jackson)
DISCOGRAPHY 1953-2020 (16CD)
Benjamin Clarence Jackson was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1919. He took
up the saxophone while at school. He formed a band called The Harlem
Hotshots who played gigs around North Ohio, tried his luck with various
bands in New York State, and then returned to Cleveland where he was
discovered in 1943 by bandleader Lucky Millinder who gave him the
saxophone chair recently vacated by Lucky Thompson.
Christened “Bull Moose” by his bandmates (perhaps because of his unprepossessing looks), Jackson soon added vocal duties to his repertoire, reportedly being given his start when band vocalist Wynonie Harris failed to show for a gig in Lubbock, Texas.
DISCOGRAPHY 1953-2020 (16CD)
BIOGRAPHY
Benjamin Clarence Jackson was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1919. He took
up the saxophone while at school. He formed a band called The Harlem
Hotshots who played gigs around North Ohio, tried his luck with various
bands in New York State, and then returned to Cleveland where he was
discovered in 1943 by bandleader Lucky Millinder who gave him the
saxophone chair recently vacated by Lucky Thompson.Christened “Bull Moose” by his bandmates (perhaps because of his unprepossessing looks), Jackson soon added vocal duties to his repertoire, reportedly being given his start when band vocalist Wynonie Harris failed to show for a gig in Lubbock, Texas.
When Syd Nathan set up the King Label in Cincinnati in 1945, he
concentrated at first on signing Country and Western artists from the
burgeoning local scene which centred around the WLW “Midwestern Hayride”
program. He soon set up an R'n'B subsidiary named Queen, with ex-Millinder
trumpet player Henry Glover as AandR man.
Glover was keen to have his old boss record for the new label, but as
Millinder was already under contract to Decca, Bull Moose became the front
man for a series of recordings by the Millinder orchestra in 1945/46. Some
sides were recorded with the full orchestra, others with a small group of
Millinder musicians which became The Buffalo Bearcats.
The glory years for Bull Moose were 1948 and 1949 when he had
considerable chart success mostly with romantic ballads such as “I Love
You, Yes I Do”, “All My Love Belongs To You”, “Don’t Ask Me Why” and
“Little Girl Don’t Cry”. So successful was Bull Moose, he displaced Louis
Jordan as top selling R'n'B artist in 1948 and, along with Wynonie Harris,
helped King to become the top selling R'n'B label of that year.
NEW!
1960-More of the Same (45trm) @FLAC
2006-Dark City Blues, Vol. 7 - Urban Grooves & Midnight Moods
@FLAC
2012-Ultimate Collection @FLAC
2013-The Bull Moose Jackson Collection (1945-55) (2CD) @FLAC