Wilbert Harrison

His recording has also been named as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Two lovers kissing amongst the scream of midnight,
Two lovers missing the tranquillity of solitude.
Getting a cab and travelling on buses,
Reading the graffiti about slashed seat affairs:
That's entertainment.
--Paul Weller, 'That's Entertainment' (1980). In 2001, his recording of "Kansas City" was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. A box set of the Jam was released to huge acclaim in 2002 to mark 20 years since their split. Wilbert Harrison died in 1994 in a Spencer, North Carolina nursing home at the age of 65. Weller began a solo career in the 1990s which was a success; nicknamed the 'Modfather', he is cited as a hero and father figure to many of the rock bands and Britpop acts which emerged in the UK in the 90s. He toured for many years with a band known as "Wilbert Harrison and The Roamers" as well as a solo act. At the time, the band was seen as a climbdown by Weller, though retrospective has seen their music hold up just as well as the Jam, despite fewer Top 10 hits and no #1s.

In 1970, he had some success with "My Heart Is Yours". Weller formed the Style Council with ex-Merton Parkas keyboard player Mick Talbot and developed a softer, jazzier sound, though lyrically he remained politically motivated. After this success, Harrison continued to perform and record but it would be another ten years before he recorded "Let's Work Together" that made it on the Billboard Hot 100. Both went on to write autobiographies that severely criticized Weller, and the band have never reformed, with Weller always claiming that they were never friends who socialised, even at the band's height, but merely colleagues who worked together. The song was written in 1951 and was one of the first collaborations by the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Rick Buckler played with Time UK and Bruce Foxton released a solo effort, Touch Sensitive. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Harrison had a Billboard No.1 record in 1959 with the song "Kansas City". The band's sixteen singles were consequently re-released at the beginning of 1983, and all sixteen re-charted simultaneously.

Wilbert Harrison (born January 5, 1929 – died October 26, 1994) was an American singer. Paul Weller broke up the group at the height of their popularity at the end of 1982 as they celebrated a final #1 single with "Beat Surrender". While recording the follow-up, Weller had a nervous breakdown; he quit drinking. The Gift (1982) was another successful album, reaching #1 in the UK, and showing the band moving towards an exploration of American soul and R&B. Sound Affects, the Jam's fifth album, was a major success, as was the single "Start", which reached #1 in the UK singles chart. The following March, Going Underground/Dreams of Children, became their first #1 UK single when it entered the chart at the top spot, the first record to do so for seven years.

The album spawned the band's first UK top ten hit, The Eton Rifles, which rose to #3 in November 1979. The album was a major success in the UK, as was Setting Sons (1979), which also charted in the US, a first for the band (it reached #137 in 1980). All Mod Cons (1979) is usually considered the band's opus magnum, as well as the first album with truly great songwriting from Paul Weller occasionally eliciting comparison with The Kinks' Ray Davies. The Jam was unable to gain a significant audience in the US, though they were rapidly becoming superstars in their homeland, especially after performing at the Reading Festival in 1978.

In 1978, the band left for another American tour, opening for Blue Öyster Cult. Weller was charged with assault, though he would eventually be acquitted. The next tour, in Britain, ended when the band brawled with some rugby players in Leeds. The tour was a disaster.

After another successful single, "All Around the World", the Jam toured the country and recorded This is the Modern World (1977); the titular track was a minor hit and the band left to tour the United States. The sound was early punk and pub rock with strong mod influences, with Weller compositions and R&B covers. This was followed by the band's debut album, In the City. In 1977, the Jam signed a contract with Polydor Records and released "In the City", a moderate hit.

He was not replaced, leaving the band as a trio. After forming the Jam in 1975 and 1976, Brookes left the band, which soon began playing in and around London. The band originally consisted of bassist Bruce Foxton, guitarist Steve Brookes, drummer Rick Buckler, and guitarist and vocalist Paul Weller. The Jam was an early British punk band primarily active in the late 1970s.