"Jack and Jill" is a 1977 hit song by R&B vocal group

Raydio Raydio is an American funk and Rhythm and blues, R&B vocal group formed in 1977 by Ray Parker Jr., with Vincent Bonham, Jerry Knight, and Arnell Carmichael. In 1978 Charles Julian Fearing and Larry "Fatback" Tolbert joined the band, along with D ...

. It was the first single from their debut album ''

'', and became an international top 10 hit. It reached number eight on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number six on the '' Cashbox'' Top 100. It reached number five in Canada, number four in Australia, and the top twenty in UK. It was the first of five U.S. top 10 singles by

Ray Parker Jr. Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song for the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters'' and also sounds from the animated series '' The ...

and/or Raydio. The song describes how "Jack" is lonely and so, in spite of his good intentions, wanders down the hill to find love elsewhere after being neglected by "Jill", who is seldom home. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' called it "a mid-tempo r&b song that expands on the

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and other European countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. Fr ...

in interesting fashion." In 1981, " A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)" became a hit as an answer song to "Jack and Jill". Parker wrote an antithesis from "Jill's" perspective, according to the lyrics, "By the time poor Jack returned up the hill, somebody else had been loving Jill." In 1982, Parker recorded an extended version of the song. It was released on a re-issue of his second solo album. In this version, Parker performed all of the vocals instead of just some of them.

Personnel

Raydio

– guitars, chorus lead vocals *

Jerry Knight Jerry Ernest Knight (April 17, 1952 – December 29, 1996) was an American R&B vocalist and bassist who reached prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s, during which he was part of several groups and had a brief solo career. Career A Los ...

– bass, first lead vocals *Arnell Carmichael – second lead vocals

Additional personnel

Ollie E. Brown Ollie E. Brown (born April 20, 1953) is an American drummer, percussionist, record producer, and high school basketball coach. A prolific session musician, Brown has performed on over a hundred albums in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Brown was also ...

– drums *

Sylvester Rivers Sylvester Rivers (born October 28, 1953) is an American composer, arranger, pianist and producer, based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, he has recorded with numerous major artists including Aretha Franklin, Nancy Wilson, ...

– piano *Sylvia Duckworth – background vocals *Valerie Jones – background vocals *Francine Pearlman – background vocals *Rochelle Runnels – background vocals *Janice Williams – background vocals from the band

Stargard Stargard (; 1945: ''Starogród'', 1950–2016: ''Stargard Szczeciński''; or ''Stargard an der Ihna''; ) is a city in northwestern Poland, located in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. In 2021 it was inhabited by 67,293 people. It is situated on ...

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* {{authority control 1977 songs 1977 debut singles Ray Parker Jr. songs Songs written by Ray Parker Jr. Arista Records singles Songs about infidelity