Freddie Jackson Dead At 69

Freddie Jackson, the R&B singer who made a long string of smooth romantic hits from the mid-'80s to the early '90s, has passed away. In a social media statement posted this afternoon, Jackson's family shared the news that he "went home to rest last night." No cause of death has been revealed. Jackson was 69.Frederick Anthony Jackson grew up in Harlem and learned to sing as a child in the neighborhood's White Rock Baptist Church. That's where he met the musician Paul Laurence, who would become his producer and songwriting partner. As a young man, Jackson joined Laurence's group LJE (Laurence Jones Ensemble). They played New York nightclubs, and Jackson sang on demo recordings and on Melba Moore records. For a time, he moved to California and sang for Mystic Merlin, a funk band who released a few early-'80s albums. But Jackson didn't take off until he returned to New York, signed to Capitol, and released "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)," a sleekly pleading single written and produced by Laurence."Rock Me Tonight" was a #1 hit on the R&B chart, and it crossed over to the pop charts, going top-20 in both the US and UK. Another single, "You Are My Lady," also went #1 on th...