Born in Toronto, Ontario, Jay Jackson first started singing at the age of 12 at the First Baptist Church on Huron Street. He was later given the opportunity to sing backup for the ‘Drifters’ lead vocalist Ben E. King at the Toronto Ascot Hall. In the mid 1960s Mr. Jackson joined the band ‘The Majestics’ as a lead vocalist alongside his sister Shawne Jackson and went on to release several albums and singles. During this time Mr. Jackson was also a presenter on Toronto-based shows like ‘Where It’s At’, a CBC music program which ran from 1968 to 1969.

When The Majestics split up in 1969, Mr. Jackson joined another group called ‘Head of Our Time’ while continuing his career in entertainment up until the 2000s. While he was with Head of Our Time, they went on to release one album and the single “With a Little Help From My Friends”. Despite the Majestics splitting up in 1969, the group would still reunite for shows during the past 50 years and Jackson himself would perform at the after-hours joint Club Bluenote on Younge Street. He was also a frequent guest artist at Club Bluenote in the Yorkville neighborhood up until the 1990s.

Aside from his music career, Mr. Jackson also worked for various government organizations like, the Ministry of Tourism and Recreation, Canadian Dispute Resolution Corporation, and the Toronto Metro Housing Authority.

On September 15th, 2020, Mr. Jackson unfortunately passed away, however, his contributions towards fostering the Toronto R&B sound of the late 1960s will always be remembered.