Melvin Jackson

Jackson's mother played gospel guitar, and he played early on in a gospel group, the Blue Eagle Four. He became a mechanic and served in the Army during World War II, after which he pursued a career as a blues musician He recorded a demo and sent it to Bill Quinn, the owner of Gold Star Records, in 1946. Quinn signed him to a recording contract and released "Freedom Train Blues" in 1948, which became a nationwide hit in the United States. Jackson recorded for Imperial Records between 1950 and 1954, both as a solo artist and with a backing band. His 1950 song "Rockin' and Rollin" was recast by later musicians as "Rock Me Baby".

Jackson was injured in a car crash in the mid-1950s and gave up his music career, returning to work as a mechanic. He recorded an LP released by Arhoolie Records in 1960 but did not resume his career as a musician during the blues revival in the 1960s. He died of cancer in 1976 in Dallas, at the age of 60.

B.B. King covered Jackson's "I Got to Leave This Woman", on his 2000 album, Makin' Love Is Good for You. Eric Clapton covered Jackson's "Travelin' Alone", on his 2010 album, Clapton.