Jackie Jackson
Artist. Rocksteady, reggae
- Active
- 1966-2026
- Sunrise
- March 22, 1947, Kingston, Jamaica
- Sunset
- September 23, 2026, Montego Bay, St. James, Jamaica
- Also known as
- Clifton Jackson, Clifton "Jackie" Jackson
Clifton "Jackie" Jackson was a bassist whose playing ran from the rocksteady sessions at Treasure Isle to half a century on the road with Toots and the Maytals.
He came from central Kingston and switched from piano to bass after hearing Lloyd Brevett with the Skatalites; "When I had it in my hands it was love at first sight." He taught himself by playing along with James Jamerson on Motown records, "Note for note." He started out in Ty and the Titans and in Lester Sterling's Cavaliers, and in the mid-1960s joined Tommy McCook's Supersonics, the house band at Duke Reid's Treasure Isle; his first session was Alton Ellis's "Girl I've Got a Date," and the Supersonics also played on the Techniques' "Queen Majesty." Leroy Sibbles said he would "always remember Jackson for the Treasure Isle style," and singled out his bass line on John Holt's "Stealing." Harry J counted him among his session players, with McCook, Carl Bryan and Lynn Taitt, and for Leslie Kong he played on Desmond Dekker's "Israelites" and Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come." He also played in Lee Perry's Upsetters. In Kingston he played on Paul Simon's "Mother and Child Reunion" (1972), alongside Hux Brown and Neville Hinds.
From the early 1970s his bass was the bottom of Toots and the Maytals, on "Pressure Drop," "Funky Kingston" and "Sweet and Dandy," and he toured with the group for fifty years, sharing its Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2005. He received the Order of Distinction in 2012. He was married to the singer Karen Smith, and he departed in Montego Bay at seventy-nine, after nearly two months in hospital.
Last updated November 5, 2026
Connections
- Lee "Scratch" Perry (bandleader)
- Tommy McCook (bandleader)
- Toots Hibbert (bandleader)
- Hux Brown (bandmate)
- Lester Sterling (bandmate)
- Duke Reid (session work)
- Jimmy Cliff (session work)
- Leslie Kong (session work)
- Harry J (session work)
- Alton Ellis (session work)
- The Techniques (session work)
- Desmond Dekker (session work)
- Hugh Malcolm (session work)
- Treasure Isle (session work)
Notes
- Howard Campbell, "Jackie Jackson, Legendary Jamaican Bass Guitarist, Dies at 79," Jamaica Observer, September 23, 2026, https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2026/09/23/jackie-jackson-legendary-jamaican-bass-guitarist-dies-79/; "Reggae Bass Legend Jackie Jackson Has Died," Jamaica Gleaner, September 23, 2026, https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20260923/reggae-bass-legend-jackie-jackson-has-died.
- Angus Taylor, "Interview: Jackie Jackson Talks Treasure Isle," United Reggae, August 5, 2016, https://unitedreggae.com/articles/n2117/080516/interview-jackie-jackson-talks-treasure-isle.
- "Jackie Jackson (Bassist)," Wikipedia, accessed October 21, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Jackson_(bassist), citing David Katz's Guardian obituary and Angus Taylor's 2016 interview in United Reggae. On the Supersonics' hits: Campbell, "Jackie Jackson."
- Report of tributes to Jackie Jackson, Jamaica Observer, September 27, 2026, https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2026/09/27/jackie-jackson-remembered-impact/.
- Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd ed. (London: Rough Guides, 2004), 100. Campbell, "Jackie Jackson."
- "Jackie Jackson (Bassist)."
- Campbell, "Jackie Jackson." Wikipedia dates the session to 1971. "Jackie Jackson (Bassist)."
- Campbell, "Jackie Jackson," which also counts the fifty years. On the Grammy: "Jackie Jackson (Bassist)."
- Campbell, "Jackie Jackson."
- "Reggae Bass Legend Jackie Jackson Has Died," which says he had been at Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay for close to two months and leaves four daughters.
