Deon Jackson
Soul singer and songwriter
Deon Jackson sat in front of me in English class at Ann Arbor (Pioneer) High School in 1964. He was on the bus with me to Detroit's historic Fort Wayne facility for our US Military Draft Physical and was managed by the same man who discovered Del Shannon, Ollie McLaughlin of "Ollie's Caravan" on local station WHRV 1600, now WAAM in Ann Arbor. The 50th Class Reunion of AAHS is coming up in July. Deon almost made it. Damn shame.
He was best known for the #11 pop hit, "Love Makes The World Go Round," and died at his home near Chicago April 19. He was 68. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Deon was signed by producer Ollie McLaughlin while still in high school. After a couple of regional Detroit hits on Atlantic Records and much touring, he broke through with his composition of "Love Makes The World Go Round" on the Carla label in 1966. The song reached #3 on the R&B charts. Three more singles, however, failed to crack the top 60, but Deon kept performing—a fact that he kept secret from his students at a Wheaton, Illinois school where he later served as a counselor. They finally discovered him in 2008 on YouTube.
