Jackie Verdell

Jackie Verdell
Jackie Verdell, c. 1983
Background information
Also known as	Jacqui Verdell
Born	November 5, 1937 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States
Died	August 3, 1991
Genres	Gospel, soul
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1955–1988
Labels	Savoy Records, Peacock Records, Duke Records, RCA Records, Decca Records(US), Coral Records, Stax Records, Gospel Truth Records, Respect Records, Motown Records, Spring Records, Ace Records (UK), Shanachie Records
Associated acts	The Davis Sisters, Brother Joe May, Wilson Pickett, Dee Dee Warwick, Van Morrison, Horace Silver, Clarence Wheeler & the Enforcers, Martha Veléz, Carman

Jackie Verdell (November 5, 1937– August 3, 1991) was an American gospel singer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

After leaving high school, she joined The Davis Sisters in 1955, at the start of their tenure with Herman Lubinsky and Ozzie Cadena's record label Savoy Records of Newark, New Jersey. How she came to sing with one of gospel's famous groups is a typical Golden Age gospel tale. Raised in the Church of God in Christ, she was a soloist in the choir of Faith Temple in New York, pastored by Bishop A.A. Childs (the church would later serve as the site of Malcolm X's last rites). Ruth Davis was attending a broadcast at which Jackie was singing and the rest is gospel history. Jackie Verdell possessed a powerful mezzo-soprano voice, and her performances on records such as "Lord Don't Leave Me", "Following Him", and "I Don't Know What I'd Do" made an impression on the young Aretha Franklin, amongst others. "I also considered Jackie Verdell of the Davis Sisters one of the best and most underrated female soul singers of all time" said Franklin in her 1999 autobiography Aretha: From These Roots. ""It was through Jackie that I learned the expression 'Girl, you peed tonight'--meaning you were dynamite. Several nights Jackie sang so hard she literally had a spot or two on her robe from peeing. Singing far too hard, I also peed here and there in the early days; I quickly realized no one should sing that hard." Verdell was second lead for The Davis Sisters between 1955 and 1960, featuring on many of their Savoy recordings.

Like Franklin, she left the gospel field in 1960 and began singing pop, her voice having deepened to a contralto and losing the upper register. She signed with Houston-based Peacock Records, releasing three singles between 1961 and 1964. None of them charted, but her own composition, "Why Not Give Me A Chance", produced by Dinah Washington's former producer Clyde Otis, seems to have attained a small level of popularity, being covered in later years by soul singers O.V. Wright on Peacock's subsidiary Back Beat Records in the late 1960s, and by Ruby Wilson on Malaco Records in the early 1980s. The Davis Sisters' recording session information in Gospel Records 1943 - 1969 suggests that Verdell was absent from the group during 1960 and 1961, returned in 1962 for further recordings on Savoy, was absent again in 1963, and then returned again in 1964 for more recordings on Savoy and RCA Records, apparently departing for good around 1966. Some television appearances with The Davis Sisters and Brother Joe May which were posted to YouTube in 2006 and 2007 appear to date from 1964. After several years of appearing with the Davis sisters, she relocated to Chicago, il and work very closely with the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Operation Push as the featured soloist. She appeared in the film documentary "Save The Children" Jesse Jackson's Operation PUSH exposition held in 1972 in Chicago. The film was released on September 18, 1973, by Paramount Pictures. She made her Theatrical debut in Alex Bradford play "Black Nativity" and sang in the Broadway bound musical "Don't Cry Mary". In 1979 she was nominated for a Grammy by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Science for her rendition of "Kum by ya". This was a high point in her career. When asked about this exciting event she replied "even if I don't win, it will be a thrill just to be there." In 1981, she once again recorded with The Davis Sisters, the last album by the group entitled "The Storm is Passing Over". This Album featured Jackie Verdell, Audrey Davis, Alfreda Davis, and Michele White.