Memphis Horn Player Wayne Jackson Dies at 74
Wayne Jackson, a member of the great Memphis Horns duo that played on countless classic records over the years, has died. He was 74. He died last night of congestive heart failure at a Memphis hospital, according to the Associated Press.
Trumpet player Jackson, along with the late saxophonist Andrew Love, made up the Memphis Horns. Together, they played on hits by Al Green, Elvis Presley, Otis Redding, Dusty Springfield and many others.
Jackson was born in Memphis but raised in Arkansas, where he got his start while still in high school, playing sessions with the the Mar-Keys, the studio group that backed most of Stax Records' legendary artists in the '60s. Redding's Otis Blue, Springfield's Dusty in Memphis and Sam & Dave's "Soul Man" are among the many records he played on during this period.
By the end of the decade, he and Love had left Stax and formed the Memphis Horns, and continued to play on some of the best and most popular songs of the era, including Presley's "Suspicious Minds," Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" and Al Green's "Let's Stay Together."
Jackson's wife, Amy (whom he had been married to for 25 years), paid tribute to her late husband on his Facebook page last night, calling him "a beautiful soul who touched the world with his trumpet. As we mourn his passing, we also celebrate his incredible musical legacy, which he leaves us with."
Jackson played on more than 50 No. 1 hits over the course of his long career, racking up seven dozen gold and platinum albums along the way. The Grammys honored him and Love with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012, just a few months before Love's death. At the time, Jackson noted his "dance of love between me and that trumpet."
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