R&B Singer Freddie Jackson Dies at 69

Freddie Jackson, the R&B singer who made a long string of smooth romantic hits from the mid-'80s to the early '90s, has passed away. In a social media statement posted this afternoon, Jackson's family shared the news that he "went home to rest last night." No cause of death has been revealed. Jackson was 69.

Frederick Anthony Jackson grew up in Harlem and learned to sing as a child in the neighborhood's White Rock Baptist Church. That's where he met the musician Paul Laurence, who would become his producer and songwriting partner. As a young man, Jackson joined Laurence's group LJE (Laurence Jones Ensemble). They played New York nightclubs, and Jackson sang on demo recordings and on Melba Moore records. For a time, he moved to California and sang for Mystic Merlin, a funk band who released a few early-'80s albums. But Jackson didn't take off until he returned to New York, signed to Capitol, and released "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)," a sleekly pleading single written and produced by Laurence.

"Rock Me Tonight" was a #1 hit on the R&B chart, and it crossed over to the pop charts, going top-20 in both the US and UK. Another single, "You Are My Lady," also went #1 on the R&B chart, as well as #12 on the Hot 100. Jackson's debut album Rock Me Tonight went platinum, as did his 1986 follow-up Just Like The First Time . That album had four singles that topped the R&B chart, as well as another, "I Don't Want To Lose Your Love," that peaked at #2.

In the years after Rock Me Tonight , Freddie Jackson was only a slight factor on the Hot 100, but he absolutely dominated Black radio. Between 1985 and 1990, Jackson topped the Billboard R&B chart ten times. Jackson had a cameo appearance as himself in Abel Ferrara's classic 1990 crime movie King Of New York , and "Love Survives," his duet with the late Irene Cara, appeared in the 1989 animated movie All Dogs Go To Heaven . His fluttery, frictionless sound epitomized R&B radio in the time just before rap took over.

Jackson's popularity took a dive in the '90s, but he endured as a reference point. Samples of Jackson's records have appeared on dozens, if not hundreds, of rap songs. Grand Puba sang a bit of "Rock Me Tonight" on Brand Nubian's "Slow Down," and Big Boi pronounced himself "cooler than Freddie Jackson sipping a milkshake in a snowstorm" on Outkast's "So Fresh, So Clean." Jackson himself continued to tour and record. His last album was 2018's Love Signals . Check out some of his work below.

_Originally reported by [Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/2513765/freddie-jackson-dead-at-69/news/)._