Chuck Jackson is dead: “Any Day Now” singer with two dozen chart hits was 85

Chuck Jackson, an R&B singer who blew “Any Day Now” into the Top 25 in 1962 and had about 20 singles on the Hot 100 over the course of the decade, has died. He turned 85.

Kent Records’ Ady Croasdell, who worked on reissuing Jackson’s music, confirmed on social media that the singer died on February 16 in Georgia, but gave no further details.

Dionne Warwick, who recorded for the same label as Jackson in the 1960s, paid tribute to her friend today. “Another heartbreak crossed my path. Chuck Jackson made his transition,” she said in a statement from her label. “He was my label mate at Scepter Records and was like a big brother to me. I will greatly miss his daily calls and beautiful voice. Rest in heavenly peace my dear friend.”

Born on July 22, 1937 in Winston-Salem, NC and raised in Pittsburgh, Jackson dropped out of college in 1957 to sing with a gospel group. Later that year, he joined the Del-Vikings (aka Dell-Vikings), who had two Top 10 hits, “Come Go With Me” and “Whispering Bells.” He remained with the group until 1959 before leaving for a solo career.

He signed to Clock Records in 1959 and recorded as Charles Jackson, but it didn’t work out. He then signed with Florence Greenberg’s Zepter subsidiary, Wand Records.

Jackson’s first solo hit was “I Don’t Want to Cry”, arranged by teen star Carole King. It hit the Billboard Top 40 in 1961, and a handful of follow-up singles also made the Hot 100. His breakthrough hit was Any Day Now (My Wild Beautiful Bird), co-written by Burt Bacharach, who died that month. The song peaked at number 23. “Any Day Now” was later covered by Elvis Presley and Ronnie Milsap, whose version topped the Billboard Country chart in 1982.

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Jackson continued to climb the pop charts throughout 1968, but failed to crack the top 40 again. He had more success on the R&B charts where “Any Day Now” reached #2. Jackson hit the top 10 twice in 1964 with “Something You Got” and “Beg Me.” The latter features backing vocals from Cissy Houston, Warwick’s aunt and later Whitney Houston’s mother.

About half a dozen of Jackson’s charting singles were duets with his Wand labelmate Maxine Brown.

Jackson had a total of 23 solo hits from 1961-68. He signed with Motown in 1968 and continued to record albums into the 1990s. In 1997 he released a CD single of If I Let Myself Go, a duet with Warwick.

Jackson, who was married twice and has two children, received the 1992 Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award.