Born in 1919 in Hamilton, Ontario, Jackie Washington was born into a large musical family, and began singing at a young age. He would sing in clubs with his siblings at the age of five as The Four Washington Brothers, which would later be renamed The Washington Brothers. They performed around the city and throughout southern Ontario in the 1930s. He worked as a disc jockey (noted as Canada’s first Black disc jockey) and by the end of the 1940s and in the 1950s, he was singing at nightclubs. Later, Washington was featured in festivals all over Canada. He appeared in small parts in feature films and was the subject of the 2005 documentary, I Want To Be Happy: The Jackie Washington Story.

His first solo blues release was in 1976 with Blues and Sentimental. He appeared in recordings by Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Joni Mitchell, and Gordon Lightfoot. In addition to working with this talented repertoire, he released many albums of his own including Where Old Friends Meet (1991), Keeping Out of Mischief (1995) and Midnight Choo Choo (1998). In 1995 he was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ontario Arts Council.

Struggling with diabetes and other health issues, Jackie Washington passed away in 2009 in his hometown of Hamilton. His resilience and impressive talent led him through a successful 70 year career. An inductee into the Canadian Jazz and Blues Hall of Fame, he has been honored in Hamilton with a park named in his honor, and is remembered as an outstanding musician who could liven the mood of any crowd.