Jackie Jackson, the bass player who was a cornerstone of Jamaican popular music and a member of Toots and the Maytals for more than 50 years, has died aged 79. His substantial and melodic bass lines underpinned some of the most important reggae hits of the 1960s and 70s, helping tracks such as The Israelites by Desmond Dekker, The Liquidator by Harry J Allstars and the Upsetters' Return of Django reach the UK Top 10 in 1969.
Rock steady and reggae pioneer
Equally inspired by the pumping approach Lloyd Brevett used on his acoustic upright in the Skatalites, and the electric hooks of James Jamerson at Motown, Jackson was an important part of the rock steady craze that swept Jamaica in the mid-60s. A mainstay of the house band at Duke Reid's Treasure Isle studio, the Supersonics, he had his first recording session there for Alton Ellis's smash I Have Got a Date (1966, later re-released as Girl I've Got a Date), with Jackson's buoyant bass a propulsive engine that helped make the song one of the defining releases of the rock steady era.
Then, in 1968, Jackson helped give birth to the new reggae style at the core of a session band variously known as the All Stars, the Upsetters, the Dynamites and the Crystalites, depending on which producer was hiring them. His fellow players included the drummer Paul Douglas, guitarists Hux Brown and Dougie Bryan, organist Winston Wright and pianist and arranger Gladdy Anderson. These musicians appeared on King Stitt's Fire Corner for Clancy Eccles, Bob and Marcia's cover of Nina Simone's Young, Gifted and Black for Harry J, the Wailers' Small Axe for Lee "Scratch" Perry, Keith and Tex's Stop That Train for Derrick Harriott and numerous hits for Leslie Kong, including Jimmy Cliff's Wonderful World, Beautiful People, Hard Road to Travel and Vietnam. The latter inspired Paul Simon to work with Jackson and his peers, on Mother And Child Reunion in 1971.
Film and session work
Appearing in Perry Henzell's ground-breaking feature film The Harder They Come (1972), Jackson is among the players backing Cliff on the title track and Toots and the Maytals on Sweet and Dandy; his playing is also heard on the latter's hit Pressure Drop, as featured on the soundtrack. Jackson also played on the Best of the Wailers album that the group recorded for Kong in 1970, his Motown-inspired lines perfectly suited to the soul-influenced material on the LP.
Jackson's calm demeanour, no-nonsense approach and musical adaptivity made him easy to work with, prompting his long working relationship with Toots Hibbert of the Maytals. He was also an inspiration to many younger players, notably the Wailers bassist Aston "Family Man" Barrett and Robbie Shakespeare of Sly and Robbie.
Early life and career
Born Clifton Jackson in Kingston, he was raised by his mother in a single-parent household. His uncle Luther Williams was a pianist who led the popular dance band the Arawaks in the 50s and 60s, and Jackson began learning the piano at a young age before switching to upright bass as a teenager after seeing Brevett perform with the Skatalites at the Bournemouth Club circa 1962.
He joined the club act Ty and the Titans around 1964, now playing electric bass, and when the Titans disbanded he shifted to the Cavaliers with the alto saxophonist Lester Sterling of the Skatalites. By the time that the Cavaliers disbanded in late 1966, Jackson's mastery of his instrument led Tommy McCook to recruit him for the Supersonics at Treasure Isle.
Initially earning five shillings per song, Jackson played on significant hits for leading rock steady acts such as the Paragons, the Melodians, the Techniques, Hopeton Lewis and Phyllis Dillon. Moonlighting for various producers, he appeared on Prince Buster's anti rude boy saga Judge Dread and Roy Shirley's peculiar rock steady hit Hold Them for upcoming producer Joe Gibbs, as well as the Wailers' self-produced singles Hypocrites, Nice Time and Pound Get a Blow.
Later years and legacy
From 1968 Jackson was playing regularly with Toots and the Maytals, and by 1973 reduced his session work to concentrate on the group, whose status was on the rise following the release of their Funky Kingston album overseas. Nevertheless, continuing his association with Cliff, he played on the Unlimited and House of Exile albums, and on high-calibre fusion projects made by foreign artists in Jamaica, including the American folk singer Peter Yarrow's That's Enough for Me, the New York rocker Garland Jeffreys' self-titled Atlantic debut, the jazz saxophonist Robin Kenyatta's Terra Nova, the flautist Herbie Mann's Reggae and soul singer Doris Troy's Stretchin' Out, among others.
Tired of the rigours of the road with the Maytals, and of the unreliable nature of session work, Jackson retreated from touring and recording in late 1982, launching a new career as an entertainment consultant specialising in the staging of live music events. Based in Montego Bay on Jamaica's north coast, he ran the business successfully until 1995, when he rejoined the Maytals, remaining on the road with the group until the restrictions imposed on live music by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2012 Jackson was awarded the Order of Distinction (Commander class) for his services to Jamaican popular music. His wife, the cabaret singer Karen Smith, whom he married in 1989, died in 2021. He is survived by their daughter, Courtni, and three daughters from other relationships, Marie, Jheanell and Jhanine. Jackie (Clifton Courtney) Jackson, bass player, born 22 March 1947; died 23 September 2026.
