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Millie Jackson

millie jackson.jpg

Photo: Bobby Bank

Photo: Roberta W. Bayley

It Hurts So Good (Mitchell): 
Recording the one and only Millie Jackson

Although Millie Jackson recorded most of her rhythm tracks at Muscle Shoals Recording Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, she did some basic work at Mediasound with players from the uptown clubs of the 50’s and 60’s called the Chitlin’ Circuit. It was typical of Jackson to rehearse and perform live for weeks prior to recording.  Jackson did not write charts for her crew. Her approach to recording was somewhere ‘in between’ the ‘professionals’ and ‘troubadours’. She brought life to her songs first in the clubs and then in the studio by simply feeling the groove. Her reputation for explicit talk and lyrics preceded her. Days before Jackson stepped foot into the studio, I heard that she was a bad ass and had colorful language. As it turned out, she was generally a loud straight-talking dame who was also very business-like and at times lighthearted.

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Jackson worked with ‘professional’ record producers and arrangers including Ray Godfrey (a/k/a Raeford Gerald), Brad Shapiro, Tony Camillo and Burt DeCoteaux. But on some cuts she was her own producer—probably the first African American female record producer in the world.

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Jackson communicated parts to the ‘Chitlins’ by singing the lines rather than using musical notations and/or charts. It was also apparent that Jackson trusted her players enough to work out phrases on their own in rehearsal as well as in the studio. This freedom allowed Jackson to focus on her lyrics and soulful vocal performance. The magic in her material came from her vocals and provocative lyrics and some could even say her shocking album covers—perhaps the most famous one where she’s sitting on the toilet.

 

In many ways, Jackson was ahead of her time but unfortunately at times without a solid sense of production. About the album, It Hurts So Good, Robert Christgau (Dean of Music Critics), wrote, “…If there isn’t a bad track on the record there isn’t a compelling one either, and in pop that’s the kiss of obscurity…” At least she got a “B” from Christgau—not a bad grade. JANTURAN chose to re-imagine the title song because of its bluesy vocal opportunities.

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