Deon Jackson was a one-hit wonder. There, I’ve said it. Oh sure, he had a couple of minor hits after his big success, but he will always be remembered for his giant 1965 single “Love Makes the World Go Round”.
Jackson was from Ann Arbor Michigan. He started writing his own material at an early age, and it was when he was performing one of his songs at a high school concert that he was discovered by producer Ollie McLaughlin, who had previously discovered Barbara Lewis.
The team had a couple of early Detroit-area hits with “You Said You Love Me,” and “Come Back Home.” An intense round of touring around Michigan was followed in 1965 by the release of “Love Makes the World Go Round” on McLaughlin’s new Carla Records label.
The single was broken by CKLW DJ Robin Seymour and went on to become a national smash. It came within a whisker of the top ten on the Pop chart, making it as far as #11, while climbing all the way to #3 on the R&B chart.
Jackson came back with a lesser hit for Carla, “Love Takes A Long Time Growing,” in the spring of 1966, and released two more singles that year that didn’t make much of a dent. He released a single called “Ooh Baby” in late 1967. It wasn’t much of a hit either, but it’s become a Northern Soul staple. There were two more singles for Carla in 1968 before Jackson moved to Shout for “I’ll Always Love You.”
And that was about it. Jackson carried on as a Chicago lounge singer, but he never made it to the charts again. Although he only had the one big hit, his records are treasured to this day by classic soul music fans in the know.
Happy New Year. All the best in 2012.
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