#102: (You Were Made For) All My Love by Jackie Wilson

City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CKOY
Peak Month: September 1960
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #1
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #29
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #12
Peak Position on Australian Singles chart ~ #30
YouTube: “All My Love”
Lyrics: “All My Love”

Jackie Wilson was born in suburban Detroit in 1934. Wilson began singing as a youth, accompanying his mother, an experienced church-choir singer. In his early teens, Wilson joined the Ever Ready Gospel Singers. Wilson dropped out of high school at age 15, having been sentenced twice to detention in the Lansing Corrections system for juveniles. During his second stint in detention, Wilson learned to box and began competing in the Detroit amateur circuit at age 16. His record in the Golden Gloves was 2–8. After his mother forced him to quit boxing, Wilson got his girlfriend, Freda Hood, pregnant, and her father forced him to marry her. Wilson became a father at age 17.

Wilson began working at Lee’s Sensation Club as a solo singer, then formed a group called the Falcons (not to be confused with the Detroit-based group that recorded the 1959 hit, “You’re So Fine”). Wilson recorded his first version of “Danny Boy” and a few other tracks on Dizzy Gillespie’s record label under his nickname, Sonny Wilson. He was eventually hired by Billy Ward in 1953 to join a group Ward formed in 1950 called the Dominoes after Wilson’s successful audition to replace the immensely popular Clyde McPhatter, who left the Dominoes and formed the Drifters. Wilson almost blew his chance that day, showing up calling himself “The shit” Wilson and bragging about being a better singer than McPhatter.

Billy Ward felt a stage name would better fit the Dominoes’ image, hence Jackie Wilson. Before leaving the Dominoes, McPhatter coached Wilson on the sound Billy Ward wanted for his group, influencing Wilson’s singing style and stage presence. Wilson said, “I learned a lot from Clyde, that high-pitched choke he used and other things … Clyde McPhatter was my man. Clyde and Billy Ward.”

Wilson was the group’s lead singer for three years, but the Dominoes lost some of their stride with the departure of McPhatter. They made appearances riding on the strength of the group’s earlier hits, until 1956 when the Dominoes recorded Wilson with an interpretation of the pop hit “St. Therese of the Roses”, giving the Dominoes another brief moment in the spotlight.

In 1957, Wilson began a solo career, left the Dominoes, collaborated with his cousin Levi, and secured performances at Detroit’s Flame Show Bar. That year, he signed with Brunswick Records. His debut release, “Reet Petite” stalled at #62 on the Billboard pop charts. However, it climbed to #5 on the R&B chart. Internationally, the single peaked at #6 in the UK, and #10 in Australia. It also reached #6 in Windsor (ON) and #8 in Toronto. In 1987, the song had a revival and it topped the pop charts in Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK. “Reet Petite” was the first of many songs recorded by Jackie Wilson and cowritten by Berry Gordy Jr., the future head of Motown Records.

In 1958, Wilson had a #7 R&B hit with “To Be Loved” which also cracked the Top 30 in both the UK and USA. Late that year “Lonely Teardrops” topped the R&B chart and #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Belatedly, in 1961, “Lonely Teardrops” earned Jackie Wilson a Grammy Award nomination for “Best R&B Performance. He lost out to Ray Charles recording of “Let the Good Times Roll” from his 1959 album The Genius of Ray Charles. The song would later be ranked at #308 in Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

In 1959, Jackie Wilson’s “That’s Why (I Love You So)” peaked at #2 on the R&B chart and #13 on the Hot 100. And “I’ll Be Satisfied” was a Top 20 pop hit which peaked at #6 on the R&B charts. With his next release, Jackie Wilson gave Berry Gordy Jr. a break and wrote the lyrics himself to “You Better Know It”. The single topped the R&B chart. His followup, “Talk That Talk” was a #3 R&B hit at the end of ’59.

In 1959, Jackie Wilson appeared in the Alan Freed rock n’ roll flick Go Johnny Go, co-starring Jimmy Clanton, Eddie Cochran, Chuck Berry, Ritchie Valens, The Cadillacs, The Flamingos, Harvey Fuqua (of The Moonglows) and Sandy Stewart.

In 1960, Jackie Wilson recorded a song whose melody was written by French composer Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns. It was based on the classical composer’s aria “my heart at thy sweet voice.” It was given English lyrics that were adapted by Johnny Lehman, and “Night” reached #3 on the R&B chart and #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The next release, “Doggin’ Around”, reached number-one on the R&B chart.

His next release in 1960 was “(You Were Made For) All My Love”.

“(You Were Made For) All My Love” was cowritten by Jackie Wilson and Billy Myles. Born in 1924, William “Billy” Myles Nobles wrote “Tonite, Tonite” which was a minor pop hit for the Mello-Kings in 1957. That year, Myles had his only Top 30 hit, “The Joker (That’s What they Call Me)”. It reached #13 on the Hot R&B Sides chart. Later that year Johnny Mathis released “No Love (But Your Love)” which peaked at #21. He penned “The Hoochi Coochi Coo”, which reached #23 for Hank Ballard & the Midnighters in 1960. He subsequently penned two more minor Top 40 hits for Jackie Wilson: “Your One and Only Love” (#40 in 1961); And “The Greatest Hurt” (#34 in 1962); And “Let’s Go Again” for Hank Ballard & the Midnighters in 1961. Other songs Myles wrote were recorded by Big Maybelle, Brook Benton, Mongo Santamaría, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Baby Washington, Freddie King, The Dubs, and Lou Rawls. Eric Clapton began performing Billy Myles “Have You Ever Loved A Woman” as early as 1965. Billy Myles died at the age of 81 in 2005.

“(You Were Made For) All My Love” is a song about a guy who begs for his sweetheart to share her destiny so he can give her all his love. After all, “it’s written in the stars that you were made for all my love.”

“(You Were Made For) All My Love” peaked at #1 in Ottawa, #2 in Bethesda (MD), Portland (OR), Philadelphia, and Birmingham (AL), #3 in Nashville, #4 in Denver, Hull (PQ), and Erie (PA), #6 in Wheaton (MD), Fort Myers (FL), Modesto (CA), Pittsburgh, and Akron (OH), #7 in San Francisco, #8 in Washington DC, Calgary, and Cleveland, #9 in Boston, Oklahoma City, Fairfax (VA), Arlington (VA), Trenton (NJ), and Rochester (NY), #10 in Potsdam (NY), and Ogden (UT), and #11 in New York City, Toronto, New Haven (CT), Montreal, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. The song climbed to #2 on the Billboard Hot R&BB Sides chart, #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #33 on the UK pop chart.

Wilson’s followup hit, “A Woman, A Lover, A Friend”, topped the Billboard Hot R&B Sides chart for four weeks in August ’60. Later in 1960, Johnny Lehman adapted Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto in b flat to write “Alone at Last”. The single reached #8 in the USA and #11 in Australia. Wilson ended the year with his fifth Top Ten hit on the R&B charts – “Am I the Man”. On December 4, 1960, Jackie Wilson made his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. 

The 1960 liner notes for A Woman, A Lover, A Friend, which included “(You Were Made For) All My Love”, excitedly showcased Jackie Wilson’s star power.

The attitude and nature of one Jackie Wilson can be summed up best by his ability to defy the impossible. In Jackie’s case, the impossible took three short years. From the birth of his very first Brunswick recording, Reet Petite, which also was his first big hit, Jackie has amassed a string of best selling singles and albums the likes of which few, if any, of his contemporaries can match.

Rarely is an artist so completely accepted by critics and the public alike. His success, both artistically and commercially, is unquestioned, and unqualified. His accomplished versatility with all types of songs, whether they be ballads, rhythm, or blues, is plainly evidenced in his past recordings…. Jackie can do no wrong. He is the master of his profession.

Blessed with his God-given voice, plus natural greatness of a polished performer, whatever the medium… His manager, Nat Tarnopol, has supervised Jackie’s zooming career with unerring accuracy…. the selection of material to record, the places in which Jackie appears, the many and varied details… are given the utmost scrutiny by Tarnopol before each is finalized.

….Here then, is the newest collection of vocal moods by Mr. Excitement…. Here now, as Jackie gives vent to his emotions, and continues to do the impossible – right now! 

1961 was another productive year for Jackie Wilson as he released another ten singles. He scored Top Ten hits on the pop charts with “My Empty Arms”, and on the Hot R&B Sides chart with “The Tear of the Year” and “I’m Comin’ On Back to You”. That year he appeared in the comedy film Teenage Millionaire, alongside Dion DiMucci, Jimmy Clanton, Chubby Checker, Marv Johnson, and Bill Black’s Combo.

On February 26, 1961, Jackie Wilson appeared again on The Ed Sullivan Show. In February that year he was shot at and critically injured, losing a kidney, when a jealous fan named Juanita Jones attacked him when he opened the door to his apartment at 3AM one late February morning. She was paroled for $2,500 on February 28, 1961. She told police she was “all mixed up and didn’t mean to hurt him” when she pulled out her gun. Wilson was performing later that spring, including a return appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on May 28, 1961. He was back on The Ed Sullivan Show on January 21, 1962, April 1, 1962, May 27, 1962, March 31, 1963, December 15, 1963, and October 13, 1968.

Between December 27, 1958, and August 20, 1960, Jackie Wilson appeared on ten occasions on the Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show. Separately, he appeared five times on American Bandstand between October 4, 1957, and March 27, 1965. Wilson also appeared as a guest on Hollywood A-Go-Go, Where the Action Is, ABC’s Nightlife, The Clay Cole Show, The Joey Bishop Show, Hits A Poppin’ (hosted by Terry David Mulligan from Vancouver, BC), Upbeat (from Cleveland, OH), The Lloyd Thaxton Show, and the Los Angeles based variety show Shivaree.

Wilson also had an uncredited appearance as a member of an audience in the 1962 Elvis Presley film Girls! Girls! Girls!

Wilson had to wait until 1963 for more notable hits. “Baby Workout” topped the Hot R&B Sides chart, and reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. He waited until 1966 to have another Top Ten hit. This was with “Whispers (Getting Louder)” (#5 R&B, #11 Hot 100). In the mid-sixties, Jackie Wilson appeared a half dozen times on Shindig! alongside The Righteous Brothers, Bobby Sherman, Willy Nelson, The Honeycombs, Jay & The Americans, Glen Campbell, Gale Garnett, The Hondells, Leon Russell, Peter & Gordon, The Kinsmen, Dick and Dee Dee, Shirley Ellis, Bobby Goldsboro, The Standells, The Tradewinds, Chad and Jeremy, Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Preston, Gene Chandler, Patty Duke, Barbara Lewis, The Searchers, The Zombies, Fontella Bass, The Rolling Stones, The Strangeloves, and Billy Joe Royal.

In 1967, Jackie Wilson covered a non-single release by The Dells titled “(You’re Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher”. That year he took the song to number-one on the R&B chart, #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and in 1969 to #11 in the UK. In 1968, he was nominated for a Grammy Award Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance – Male, for “Higher And  Higher”. He lost out to Lou Rawls “Dead End Street”. Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” was played to introduce President Joe Biden before his speech at the August 2024 Democratic National Convention. It has been featured in the films Ghostbusters II (1988), For Love or Money (1993), The Bachelor (1999), The Kid (2000), Death to Smoochy (2002), and Date Night (2010).

On June 5, 1969, he appeared on the British variety show Top of the Pops, alongside Cliff Richard and The Edwin Hawkins Singers. In 1970, Jackie Wilson had his last Top Ten R&B hit with “This Love Is Real (I Can Feel Those Vibrations)”. Throughout his career, Wilson released twenty-five studio albums. He appeared at a 3-night stand at the Marco Polo Restaurant in Vancouver (BC) in August 1968.

In 1970, Wilson’s 16-year-old son, Jackie Jr., was shot and killed on a neighbor’s porch near their Detroit home. Wilson became depressed for a period, remaining a near-recluse for the next few years. He turned to drug abuse and continued to drink in an attempt to cope with the loss of his son.

On February 26, 1972, Jackie Wilson appeared alongside the Four Tops, and Kool & The Gang on Soul Train. On February 15, 1974, Wilson joined Roy Orbison, The Drifters, Lloyd Price, Tommy Roe, Bobby Vee, and Del Shannon, on an oldies episode of the Midnight Special. 

In 1961, Wilson declared annual earnings of $263,000, while the average annual salary at that time was just $5,000, but he discovered that he was broke, despite being at the peak of his success. Around this time, the IRS seized Wilson’s Detroit family home. Wilson’s manager, Nat Tarnopol, and his accountants were supposed to take care of such matters. Wilson made arrangements with the IRS to make restitution on the unpaid taxes; he also re-purchased the family home at auction. Nat Tarnopol had taken advantage of Wilson’s naïveté, mismanaging his money since becoming his manager. Tarnopol also had power of attorney over Wilson’s finances.

Tarnopol and 18 other Brunswick executives were indicted on federal charges of mail fraud and tax evasion stemming from bribery and payola scandals in 1975. Also in the indictment was the charge that Tarnopol owed at least $1 million in royalties to Wilson. In 1976, Tarnopol and the others were found guilty; an appeals court overturned their conviction 18 months later. Although the conviction was overturned, judges went into detail, outlining that Tarnopol and Brunswick Records did defraud their artists of royalties, and that they were satisfied that there was sufficient evidence for Wilson to file a lawsuit. However, a trial to sue Tarnopol for royalties never took place, as Wilson lay in a nursing home semi-comatose. Tarnopol never paid Wilson monies he had coming to him, and Wilson died owing money to Brunswick Records and an estimated $300,000 to the IRS.

On May 9, 1975, Wilson appeared on the 23rd anniversary special of American Bandstand. On May 22, 1975, he was back on Top of the Pops with Judy Collins, and Slade. On September 25, 1975, Jackie Wilson appeared on The Merv Griffin Show. Four nights later, on September 29, 1975, Wilson was one of the featured acts in Dick Clark’s Good Ol’ Rock and Roll Revue, hosted by the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill (NJ). He was in the middle of singing “Lonely Teardrops” when he suffered a massive heart attack. On the words “My heart is crying”, Wilson collapsed on stage; audience members applauded as they initially thought it was part of the act. However, Clark sensed that something was wrong and ordered the musicians to stop the music. Cornell Gunter of the Coasters, who was backstage, noticed Wilson was not breathing. Gunter was able to resuscitate him, and Wilson was then rushed to a nearby hospital. But he slipped into a coma. Wilson briefly recovered in early 1976, and was even able to take a few wobbly steps, but slipped back into a semi-comatose-state. Wilson was deemed conscious but incapacitated in early June 1976, aware of his surroundings but unable to speak. He died in January 1984, from complications due to pneumonia. Over 1,500 people turned out at his funeral at a Baptist church in Detroit.

During a Jackie Wilson revival in the UK, “Higher And Higher” had another chart run across the Atlantic where it reached #15 in 1987. As well, “I Get the Sweetest Feeling”, a minor hit in 1968, climbed to #3 on the UK pop chart in 1987. The same year, “Reet Petite” topped the pop chart in the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands.

In 1985, the Commodores song “Nightshift” was a tribute to both Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye. In 1987, the Ritchie Valens biopic, La Bamba, featured a portrayal of Jackie Wilson. In 1999, Wilson was portrayed in the film Mr. Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Alan Freed Story. In 2020, he was portrayed in the film One Night in Miami.., about a fictionalized account of a night in Miami on February 25, 1964. Other cast members played Sam Cooke, Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sonny Liston, football player Jim Brown, and others.

In 1987, Jackie Wilson was inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. In 2013, he was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. And in 2019, he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

September 12, 2025
Ray McGinnis

References:
Peter Overby, “Jackie Wilson: The Singer And The Showman,” NPR, March 22, 2010.
“William Myles Nobles,” Selbonn Music Inc., April 4, 2011.
“200 Greatest Singers of All Time: Jackie Wilson – #121,” Rolling Stone, January 1, 2023.
“Singer-songwriter Jackie Wilson, whose 1958 best-seller ‘Lonely Teardrops’ made…,” UPI, January 22, 1984.
“Jackie Wilson – The Man Behind the Music…,” YouTube, December 22, 2010.
“Jackie Wilson Mourned by 1,500 During Funeral At Baptist Church in Detroit,” Jet, February 13, 1984.
“Rock N’ Roll Idol Jackie Wilson Felled By Fan’s Gun,” Jet, March 2, 1961.
Carol Ozemhoya, “Jackie Wilson gets star on Walk of Fame,” Our Weekly, Los Angeles, August 29, 2019.
“Jackie Wilson Interview,” 20/20, 1984.
“American Bandstand 23rd Anniversary Special,” ABC, May 9, 1975. (Jackie Wilson appears at minute 49 in the episode).

CKOY 1310-AM Ottawa Top Ten | September 10, 1960