Background
Actress Gaby Rodgers is cited as co-author of "Jackson", because Jerry Leiber used his then-wife's name as a pseudonym in writing the song with Wheeler. First recorded in 1963 by co-author Billy Edd Wheeler, he explains the evolution of the song, and Lieber's contribution:
'Jackson' came to me when I read the script for Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (I was too broke to see the play on Broadway)...When I played it for Jerry, he said 'Your first verses suck,' or words to that effect. 'Throw them away and start the song with your last verse, "We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout."' When I protested to Jerry that I couldn't start the song with the climax, he said, 'Oh, yes you can.' So I rewrote the song and thanks to Jerry's editing and help, it worked. I recorded the song on my first Kapp Records album, with Joan Sommer, an old friend from Berea, Kentucky, singing the woman's part. Johnny Cash learned the song from that album, A New Bag of Songs, produced by Jerry and Mike.
Read more about this topic: Jackson (song)
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