| BIOGRAPHY |
Millie Jackson is much more than an
entertainment legend. The shapely, charismatic and multi-talented
entertainer is without a doubt, a music industry icon whose oft
criticized career paved the way for many of today's forward female
recording artists and entertainers. Not only has her lengthy career
attracted fans from all walks of life along the way; it's rumored
that Bette Midler and Roseanne took pages from Millie's high voltage
explicit approach to sex, to enrich their respective
careers.
In spite of being stamped bawdy, brash and bad,
Millie is the epitome of performance perfection on stage. She has no
peer in this department!!! Several years ago, she added a new
dimension to her established legendary career by creating,
financing, directing and starring in a 'hit' musical stage play that
was based on one of her previous recordings, "Young Man, Older
Woman". During the play's touring years, audiences (old and new)
discovered that Millie Jackson was equally at home as an actress, as
she was singing songs in a musical mesmerizing manner.
"Young
Man, Older Woman" broke numerous box office records and attracted
countless SRO audiences in cities and venues it played during its
close to four-year run. It's overwhelming success prompted David
Patrick Stearns of USA Today to write a feature article, citing
Millie as an astute businesswoman and lauding her, for her ability
to turn her brand of risqué music into stage play success. In Los
Angeles, actor/comedian Martin Lawrence created a special role for
her to play on his popular TV sitcom after seeing her perform in
"Young Man, Older Woman" at the Wiltern Theatre.
It's
definitely no stage joke that her career was launched in a New York
nite club on a bet. It happened in a Harlem nite club shortly after
she finished high school. Winning the bet by performing resulted in
Millie's metamorphic rise from a fledgling performer to a
world-renown electrifying entertainer.
Her first record
release, "A Child of God," on Spring Records, more or less set the
tone for what was to come with sexual and social hypocrisy from the
transplanted Georgia native. Her debut album resulted in Millie
being named 'Most Promising Female Vocalist' by a NATRA a now
defunct radio and record industry organization. The following year,
her single, "It Hurts So Good," was featured in the Warner Brothers
film, "Cleopatra Jones". The soundtrack album resulted in Millie
winning 'Best Female R&B Vocalist' honors from Cash Box
Magazine.
Both her powerful vocal prowess and her ability to
gather material to fit perfectly into the philosophical tune trends
of the times surfaced when her next album was released. Then, with
the help of Brad Shapiro she started producing herself. Their team
efforts produced 'gold' for the album "Caught Up". They also wrote
history in the annals of the recording industry. Over the ensuing
years, Millie's name became synonymous with a streak of hit albums.
"Get It Out Cha System," "Feelin' Bitchy," "Hard Times," "A Moment's
Pleasure," "Live and Uncensored," "For Men Only," "I Had To Say It,"
"A Little Bit Country" and "Live and Outrageous" were some of the
albums that earned Millie more 'gold' on Spring Records and added to
her liberated lyrical approach. A few years later she produced and
performed on an album with Isaac Hayes. The collaboration was
entitled "Royal Rappin's".
Her next duet recording effort was
in 1985 with pop recording star Elton John. The single's release and
music video, "Act of War" made the national pop charts and resulted
in Millie becoming a crossover artist. The success of this duet with
Elton paved the way for her first booking as a headline act at
Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Millie's Amphitheatre
performance earned her a tie for a 'Best Concert Performance Award'
with Sting, in an annual poll conducted by the Los Angeles Reader
Newspaper.
Jive/Zomba Records, an English-based record label
distributed by RCA Records was Millie's next label after Spring
Records. Four albums and several singles were released during her
tenure there. Two of the singles reached the national Top Ten
R&B music charts. Ironically, "Young Man, Older Woman" was the
last album Millie recorded for the label. It was also the title that
caught her fancy when she decided to write and produce her first
play.
To satisfy public demands for the play's soundtrack
album, Millie struck a deal with Georgia-based Ichiban Records to
record and release the "Young Man, Older Woman" cast album. Its
success prompted a second album, "Rockin' Soul". This album
showcased her ability to successfully bridge the musical gap between
'soul' and pop music.. Her third album with Ichiban Records was
entitled "It's Over!??" This was the soundtrack album for her second
musical stage play, "The Sequel (It Ain't Over)". In her humorous
innate way she described her third album for Ichiban, as. "Well, we
finally got the punctuation dilemma settled!"
Promotional
differences and directions resulted in Millie's second musical stage
play being short lived after successful runs in New York City and
Detroit. It also robbed waiting audiences around the country from
seeing and hearing the legendary R&B singing trio of Ray,
Goodman and Brown; Douglas Knyght Smith (her "younger" co-star from
the first play), Keisha Jackson, and Antonio Fargas ("Huggie Bear"
from Starsky & Hutch) on stage with Millie Jackson, doing their
acting and singing thing in her all new hilarious musical stage
play.
Of the many songs recorded and released by Millie over
the years, her "Phuck-U-Symphony" remains the most re-recorded. She
appeared in the movie "Wigstock," and was dubbed the Mother of Hip
Hop by Da Brat who asked Millie to appear on her last album. This
record session lead to Millie being called on to do a Sprite
television commercial.
For the past several years Millie has
been doing her daily radio show on KKDA in Dallas, Texas, from
various locations around the country. More recently she was inspired
to record again. Rather than go through changes with other record
labels, she decided to launch her own label and record the types of
songs and materials that made her the outspoken, sexually liberated
Millie Jackson that people loved and flocked to see.
The name
of her new record label is Weird Wreckuds - git it!! Her new single
"Butt-A-Cize" is currently available, and her new album entitled
"Not For Church Folk!" will be released shortly. |
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