Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)

Recording and composition

Morrison first recorded "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" in early 1972 at the Pacific High and Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco during one of the sessions for Saint Dominic's Preview. The song featured as the opening tune on the album released by Warner Bros. in July 1972.

According to Morrison "Jackie Wilson Said" was "particularly inspired" by a line in Jackie Wilson's song "Reet Petite". Morrison also acknowledged later in his career that his vocals are also influenced by the 1950s soul singer, remarking that Wilson's consecutive hits were an important influence in developing his early vocal style. According to biographer Peter Mills, Morrison's vocal performance, which borrows from early styles of rhythm and blues, pop, jazz and blues, "is prime time Morrison: tight, melodic, fully vocalised from the centre-back of the throat".

The tune is composed in the key of G major, with a chord progression throughout the song of Am-D-Am-D-G. It is written in a swung 4/4 time and has a moderately bright tempo of 156 beats per minute. It also features a walking bassline. The song begins with an a cappella scat over handclaps introduction, followed by the saxophone section in harmony with Morrison's vocal, which builds up until all the members of the band are playing on the track. Biographer John Collis writes that the "scat phrase kicking off the first track, 'Jackie Wilson Said', hotly pursued by a confident big band r'n'b arrangement, promises well." During the chorus, when Morrison sings the song's sub-title "I'm in Heaven", the band stops playing briefly. The vocal is accompanied by tapped out beats by Doug Messenger muting his guitar's strings. Morrison remembered in an interview that the song "came with just voice and guitar first ... I was just singing the sax riff."

Commenting on the joyful spirit of the song, Erik Hage describes "Jackie Wilson Said" as "about elation" and believes "the music inspires in the listener a sense of freewheeling abandonment and joy." Hage compared it to the pop R&B that Morrison "can summon at will" such as the songs, "Domino" and "Wild Night" and went on to write that, "Somehow he is able to congeal the feeling of listening to one's favorite music and/or looking at a loved one's smile into song, and it just may be the most immediate and euphoric recording in his entire catalogue—it inspires a rush of emotion."

Reception

"Jackie Wilson Said" was released as a single in July 1972 in the US and August 1972 in the UK, with the rare and never again released song, "You've Got the Power" as the B-side. It peaked at number sixty-one on the US Billboard Hot 100. Thomas Ryan wrote in 1996 that the song was "denied its commercial destiny by never gaining entry to the upper echelons of the singles charts, a fact as unacceptable as it is inexplicable."

In reviewing the album for the BBC, James Young describes the song as "soulful and uplifting" and comments that "it's awash with lyrical hooks powered by his increasingly mellifluous voice, and backed with pumping horns and rhythm section. It also showcases his signature utterances and vocalisations, the do-de-de-doos and dang-a-lang-a-langs, which are pure homage to his soul and doo-wop influences."

Robert Christgau wrote in his review of Saint Dominic's Preview, "'Jackie Wilson said it was reet petite,' he shouts for openers, and soon has me believing that 'I'm in heaven when you smile' says as much about the temporal and the eternal as anything in Yeats."

Reviewer Scott Floman states that the song was the best of "four monumental tracks" on the album commenting that, "The joyous 'Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)' starts the album off with three minutes of pop perfection, thereby continuing his recent trend of beginning each album with a great concise upbeat number. This grand horn heavy homage to another great r&b performer is the best of the bunch."

Other releases and in the media

In addition to its appearance on Saint Dominic's Preview, "Jackie Wilson Said" was included on Morrison's 1990 multi-platinum compilation album, The Best of Van Morrison. In 2007, it was also included on two other compilation albums, Van Morrison at the Movies - Soundtrack Hits and Still on Top - The Greatest Hits. The recording released on Still on Top was remastered and featured as the album's opening track.

It has featured in two movies: the 1984 film, The Pope of Greenwich Village, and as the opening theme of the film, Queens Logic, released in 1991. Actress Whoopi Goldberg included the song as one of her eight Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 on 10 May 2009.

Live performances

Morrison has performed "Jackie Wilson Said" four-hundred and sixty-one times in concert (as of 2009); despite its frequent appearances at live shows, the only officially released live version was on the 1999 single, "Precious Time". This version was recorded on 7 December 1998 at a concert in Bierhuebeli, Bern, Switzerland. Live television broadcasts of the song have been aired twice: on 19 December 1998 in Phillipshalle, Düsseldorf, Germany for the Rockpalast television series and again on 10 June 2000 from the Frognebadet in Oslo, Norway.

Following the song's release in 1972, Morrison only performed it twice in concert throughout the 1970s. Regular performances began in the mid 1980s on tours from 1984 to 1986. Subsequently, the next occasion of frequent performances was on Morrison's 1990 tour of Europe and the United States. After a four-year absence from concerts, it became a staple of live shows in the 1990s and 2000s.

Personnel

Dexys Midnight Runners

British pop band Dexys Midnight Runners originally recorded a live version of "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" in November 1981 at the Old Vic Theatre, London.

In the summer of 1982, the band recorded it for their album Too-Rye-Ay, released in August 1982. As Dexys Midnight Runners' frontman Kevin Rowland admitted to writer Peter Mills, one of the reasons that the band recorded it was because he "had a soft spot for the song". It was released as the follow-up single to their number-one hit "Come On Eileen" and reached number five on the UK Singles Chart, as well as sixteen on the Dutch Top 40. The band's record label, Mercury Records, originally wanted "Jackie Wilson Said" to be released as the first single from Too-Rye-Ay, but "Come On Eileen" was considered a better take. Van Morrison was requested to contribute to this cover of "Jackie Wilson Said". Instead Morrison intoned comments for fans in a monologue intended as an album coda, but this was eventually cut from the album.

At the time of Too-Rye-Ay's release, the album was often written up by the media as being a "Van Morrison rip-off". Rowland later denied this and commented, "They weren't saying I was influenced by Van. They were saying it was a rip off. But I made that clear, I spoke about that. I covered one of his songs for god's sake!"

The song was later reissued on several compilation albums including The Very Best of Dexys Midnight Runners, Dexys Midnight Runners – Mercury Master Series, Let's Make this Precious: The Best of Dexys Midnight Runners and it also was featured on the live album BBC Radio One Live in Concert.

Dexys Midnight Runners' version of "Jackie Wilson Said" was included in "Bomb", a 1982 episode of the television series The Young Ones. They performed it on Top of the Pops, but in front of a picture of Scots darts player Jocky Wilson. There remains some debate as to whether it was a misunderstanding or a deliberate act.

This version was also used in the 2012 romantic comedy film The Five-Year Engagement, the sound track of which includes a number of Van Morrison originals and covers.

Personnel

The Emerald Express:

Other covers

It was covered by Tommy McLain in 1999 on the album The Cajun Rod Stewart: Crazy Cajun Recordings. A cover version of the song by Syl Johnson was released on the 2003 tribute album Vanthology: a Tribute to Van Morrison. Irish band Darby O'Gill covered the song on the 2004 album The Gettin's Good. David Campbell recorded a version on his 2008 album Good Lovin'. Head Automatica also released an acoustic cover of the song as part of the 2014 Fadeaway Records compilation Friends.