Soul singer Jackie Ross is so much more than a one-hit wonder
The 1964 Chess Records smash “Selfish One” just happened to be the best-selling single from her decades of great songs.
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Since 2004 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who've been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in the first place.
As much as people love the famous songs of so-called one-hit wonders, they don't get much respect. Legit soul and R&B hits such as Jean Knight's "Mr. Big Stuff" or the Capitols' "Cool Jerk" often get lumped in with novelty numbers (Carl Douglas's "Kung Fu Fighting," Vicki Lawrence's version of "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia") on cheesy nostalgia-bait compilations. It's especially sad when an artist tagged a "one-hit wonder" actually had a substantial career making quality music, with a long list of forgotten minor successes in addition to their immortal smash. Such is the case with singer Jackie Ross.