Ted Jarrett

Theodore Roosevelt "Ted" Jarrett Jr. (October 17, 1925 – March 21, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter and producer of country, gospel, and soul music.

Jarrett was born into a prosperous African-American family in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1927, when Jarrett was two years old, his father was killed in a gunfight over a woman. The family became poor, and at the age of seven Jarrett was sent to live with his grandparents on a farm outside Nashville. His step-grandfather had a violent temper and threatened him with a beating when he found he was writing song lyrics, reportedly saying "Only white boys write songs. Black boys don't write songs." At 15, Jarrett rejoined his mother and worked his way through Pearl High School in Nashville. In 1944, during World War II, Jarrett was drafted into the military, just as he was about to attend Fisk University. He ultimately returned to Fisk in the 1970s, and graduated in 1974.

In 1951, Jarrett became a disc jockey for WSOK in Nashville. He also did talent scouting for Tennessee Records. While performing at a white Nashville club called the Pink Elephant in 1955, Jarrett wrote "It's Love Baby (24 Hours a Day)", which became a #2 R&B hit for Louis Brooks and His Hi-Toppers, although the vocals were actually by Earl Gaines, a friend of Jarrett's. The song, which also charted for Hank Ballard and Ruth Brown, launched Jarrett's songwriting career.

Later in 1955, country singer Webb Pierce recorded Jarrett's "Love Love Love", which spent eight weeks at the top of the country/western music charts. In his autobiography, Jarrett tells of being stopped by a policeman outside Nashville's Hermitage Hotel because he didn't believe a black man would be invited to the 1955 BMI awards ceremony, where Jarrett was to receive an award for "Love Love Love".

...
Wikipedia