"Jackson" is a song written in 1963 by

Billy Edd Wheeler Billy Edd Wheeler (December 9, 1932 – September 16, 2024) was an American songwriter, performer, writer, and visual artist. His songs include " Jackson" ( Grammy award winner for Johnny Cash and June Carter) " The Reverend Mr. Black", "Dese ...

and

Jerry Leiber Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...

. It was recorded in 1963 by the

Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, a ...

, Wheeler, and

Flatt and Scruggs Flatt and Scruggs were an American bluegrass duo. Singer and guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs, both of whom had been members of Bill Monroe's band, the Bluegrass Boys, from 1945 to 1948, formed the duo in 1948. Flatt and Scr ...

. It achieved its most notable popularity with two 1967 releases: a country hit single by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

and

June Carter June is the sixth and current month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world. Its length is 30 days. June succeeds May and precedes July. This month marks the start of summe ...

, which reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Country Singles chart, and a pop hit single by

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...

and

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...

, which reached No. 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 39 on

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

Background

Actress

Gaby Rodgers Gaby Rodgers (born Gabrielle Rosenberg; March 29, 1928) is a German-born American actress, theater director, and journalist. Biography Rodgers is the daughter of Jewish art dealer Saemy Rosenberg, the niece of art historian Jakob Rosenberg and ...

is cited as co-author of "Jackson", because Leiber, in writing it with Wheeler, used his then-wife's name as a pseudonym. First recorded in 1963 by Wheeler, he explains the evolution of the song, and Leiber's contribution:

'Jackson' came to me when I read the script for
Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), ''The Sandbox (play), The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), ''A Delicat ...
's ''
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of middle-aged couple Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they rece ...
'' (I was too broke to see the play on Broadway)...When I played it for Jerry eiber he said 'Your first verses suck,' or words to that effect. 'Throw them away and start the song with your last verse, "We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout."' When I protested to Jerry that I couldn't start the song with the climax, he said, 'Oh, yes you can.' So I rewrote the song and thanks to Jerry's editing and help, it worked. I recorded the song on my first
Kapp Records Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to L ...
album, with Joan Sommer, an old friend from Berea, Kentucky, singing the woman's part. Johnny Cash learned the song from that album, ''A New Bag of Songs'', produced by Jerry and Mike.

Story

The song is about a married couple who find that the "fire" has gone out of their relationship. It relates the desire of both partners to travel to "Jackson" where the husband believes he will be turned loose, be with many women and be practically worshipped as he has his wild time. The wife says he is going to achieve nothing but the damaging of his health and that people are going to see him as a fool. She says she will be there waiting, having her own fun laughing at him.

Which Jackson?

There has been much speculation regarding which city of Jackson the song is about, but Wheeler said: "Actually, I didn't have a specific Jackson in mind. I just liked the sharp consonant sound, as opposed to soft-sounding words like Nashville." Though Wheeler had no particular Jackson in mind when writing the song, some subsequent singers have specified

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...

. The previous source also quotes

Charlie Daniels Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, and was a pioneering contribution to Southern rock and progressive country. He was ...

as having recorded "Jackson" with these lines, "I ain't talking 'bout

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. I'm talking 'bout Jackson, Tennessee". And, Johnny Cash is quoted in the video from the same source: "Well, I was gonna take her down to see

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

in Jackson." Carl Perkins lived in Jackson, Tennessee.

Critical reception

In 2024, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked the song at #112 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.

Notable recordings

and

released a version in February 1967, reaching No. 2 on the US Country charts and winning a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

in 1968 for Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio or Group. This version was reprised by

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix ( ; ; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Widely described as one of the most preeminent actors of his generation and known for Joaquin Phoenix filmography, his roles as dark, unconventional and eccentric charact ...

and

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

, performing as Johnny Cash and June Carter, in the 2005 film ''

Walk the Line ''Walk the Line'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies by the American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash: '' Man in Black: His Own ...

'', and also appears on the soundtrack of the 2011 film ''

The Help ''The Help'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Kathryn Stockett published by Penguin Books in 2009. The story is about African Americans working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s. A ''USA Today' ...

''.

and

put out their take in July 1967, hitting No. 14 on the US Chart that year. Their cover also peaked at No. 4 in South Africa. It also performed very well in

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

, where it made No. 8 in the then West Germany, No. 4 in Austria, No. 9 in the Netherlands, No. 2 in Flemish-speaking Belgium, No. 3 in French-speaking Belgium, and No. 4 in Norway. The song was featured in Nancy Sinatra's 1967 TV special '' Movin' with Nancy''. The Australian rock band

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...

included "Jackson" on the 1985 release of their '' Dekadance'' EP. This version featured a duet between lead singer

Michael Hutchence Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lead singer and lyricist of the rock band INXS from 1977 until his death in 1997. The band sold over 50 ...

and backing singer (and later star in her own right), Jenny Morris.

Phil Alvin Philip Joseph Alvin (born March 6, 1953) is an American singer and guitarist known primarily as the leader of the rock band The Blasters. His voice has been described as "robust...powerful...rich, resonant, ndsupremely confident." Biography Alvi ...

and

Exene Cervenka Exene Cervenka (born Christene Lee Cervenka; February 1, 1956) is an American singer, artist, and poet. She is best known for her work as a singer in the California punk rock band X. Music career The 21-year-old Cervenka met 23-year-old m ...

recorded their version for ''Fun on Saturday Night'', a 2012 album by the Blasters.

Trixie Mattel Brian Michael Firkus (born August 23, 1989), better known by the stage name Trixie Mattel, is an American drag queen, television personality, makeup entrepreneur, DJ and singer-songwriter originally from Silver Cliff, Wisconsin, Silver Cliff, Ma ...

and

Orville Peck Daniel Pitout (born January 6, 1988), known professionally as Orville Peck, is a South African country musician based in the United States and Canada — and widely known for often wearing a mask and not showing his face publicly. He released ...

did a cover in 2021, first as a single and then as part of Mattel's EP ''

Full Coverage, Vol. 1 ''Full Coverage, Vol. 1'' is an extended play (EP) by Trixie Mattel, released on April 30, 2021. The four-track collection includes cover versions of songs by Lana Del Rey, Violent Femmes, Cher, and Johnny Cash. Orville Peck is featured on the du ...

''.

Legacy

According to the ''

Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (originally known as ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' and ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'') was a music reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of ...

'', the name of UK pop band

Prefab Sprout Prefab Sprout are an English pop/rock band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, t ...

was a

mondegreen A mondegreen () is a mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase in a way that gives it a new meaning. "A misunderstood or misinterpreted word or phrase resulting from a mishearing, esp. of the lyrics to a song". Mondegreens are most often create ...

from the lyrics "We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout", misheard by frontman

Paddy McAloon Patrick Joseph McAloon (born 7 June 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and a founder of the band Prefab Sprout. Early life McAloon was born and grew up in Witton Gilbert in County Durham, England. He was trained to be a Catholic priest be ...

. McAloon has maintained, however, that the name was entirely made up. "Jackson" is featured in the pilot episode and the finale of '' Defiance''; in the pilot the two main characters listen to the song and then sing along. In the finale one of those characters, Nolan, asks if a recording of the song is available, and quotes one line of it as he leaves Earth.

Certifications

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson (Song) Johnny Cash songs June Carter Cash songs Nancy Sinatra songs Lee Hazlewood songs 1963 songs 1967 singles Male–female vocal duets The Kingston Trio songs Songs written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Songs written by Billy Edd Wheeler Song recordings produced by Don Law Columbia Records singles