Jackie Verdell

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Jackie Verdell (1937-2002) was an American gospel singer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

After leaving high school, she joined the The Davis Sisters in 1955. How she came to sing with one of gospel's greatest groups is a typical Golden Age gospel tale. Raised in the Church of God in Christ, she was a soloist in the choir of Faith Temple in New York, pastored by Bishop A.A. Childs (the church would later serve as the site of Malcolm X's last rites). Ruth Davis was attending a broadcast at which Jackie was singing and the rest is gospel history. Jackie Verdell posessed a powerful mezzo-soprano voice of intense brightness and clarity, and had extraordinary breath control, allowing her to make records such as "Lord Don't Leave Me", "Following Him", and "I don't know what I'd do". Verdell's performances made an impression on many young singers, one of whom was Aretha Franklin.

In 1960, she left the gospel field and began singing pop. By that time, her voice had deepened to a contralto and she lost the upper register that had made her voice so effective, although the voice retained its crystalline quality. She was by no means happy in the pop field and returned to gospel for a few tours with the Davis Sisters, but by the time she returned to gospel's fold, it was too late. She once complained to gospel maven Anthony Heilbut: "I'd like to be an evangelist, but these crooked promoters won't pay my money". She died in 2002 without receiving the acclaim or financial remuneration she felt was due in either the pop or gospel fields.