Soul and R&B singer Walter Jackson seemed, by every measure, destined for greatness when he first came onto the scene, but somehow his career never materialized quite the way that everyone predicted. Even so, he has left a legacy of some of the greatest songs from the era. He was born in Pensacola, Florida on March 19, 1938. He contracted polio as a young child, restricting him to crutches for most of his life. His spirit was never broken by the disease as he was ambitious and determined. He first started gaining fame as part of the group the Velvetones.

His big break came in 1962 when he caught the ear of the A&R director at Okeh Records, Carl Davis. Davis brought him to the studio and along with Curtis Mayfield started producing his first solo album. Both Davis and Mayfield were legends around the Chicago soul/R&B scene and the perfect ones to start Jackson's career. He started releasing singles like "That's What Mama Said" and "It's All Over" in the mid 1960s, but none of them had crossover success. He started being produced at Okeh by Ted Cooper, who helped to create a sound that had enough of a pop sound to push Jackson into the spotlight.

He released "Speak Her Name" and "It's an Uphill Climb" in 1967, finding success, but still not as much as was hoped for him. After his popularity started to dwindle even with R&B fans, he left Okeh and tried to find a career elsewhere. He again teamed up with Davis in the mid 1970s on Davis's Chi-Sound label, releasing covers of songs like "Feelings" and "Baby I Love Your Way." He continued to release more material with little success up until his death from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1983. After his death, numerous greatest hits and commemoration albums have been released.