Legacy Recordings

Trapped in a body ravaged by polio, Walter Jackson’s voice took him to places unavailable to anyone else. Pivotal in the evolution of Chicago Soul, Jackson performed on crutches with the Velvatones before teaming up with Curtis Mayfield. Supporting Jackson’s muscular voice, Mayfield created powerful orchestral productions that bled with vulnerability and pain. The singer’s career was frequently halted by illness, but he still communicated faith and hope in a series of swelling and powerful R&B hits. His ship sails in with the force of an evangelist calling for the infirm to walk, and still dots the horizon.

(J. Brooks); Produced by Ted Cooper; arranged and conducted by Harold Bernstein; Rec. New York, August 31, 1967. OKeh single 119975; Originally Released 1967
My Ship Is Comin’ In by Walter Jackson