Jackie Wilson Biography

Jackie Wilson's astonishing vocal range and exuberance on stage earned him the nickname "Mr. Excitement," and he had dozens of hit records from the late 1950s into the early 1970s, including "Lonely Teardrops," "Baby Workout" and "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher." Wilson was performing for Dick Clark's Good Ol' Rock 'n' Roll Revue in Cherry Hill, New Jersey when suffered a heart attack on 29 September 1975. Wilson fell from the stage and hit his head; he spent more than eight years in a coma before dying. Wilson's early death diminished his popularity, but not his influence on modern entertainers such as Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and Prince. Jackie Wilson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.