Jackson is a country song written in 1963 by Billy Edd Wheeler and Jerry Leiber (credit sometimes given to Leiber’s wife as Gaby Rodgers). It tells the story of a married couple whose relationship has cooled as they argue about going to Jackson, each hoping for a different kind of excitement while the other watches and waits. The song was first recorded in 1963 by Wheeler, with earlier versions by the Kingston Trio and Flatt and Scruggs; its fame grew in 1967 with two major hit duets: Johnny Cash and June Carter on Carryin’ On with Johnny Cash and June Carter, and Nancy Sinatra with Lee Hazlewood. Cash and Carter’s version reached No 2 on the Billboard Country Singles chart and won a 1968 Grammy for Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio or Group. The tune has continued to evolve through covers by artists such as INXS and Jenny Morris, and is regarded as a classic example of narrative country songwriting. Wheeler has explained that he was drawn to the sharp sound of the word Jackson rather than a specific city, and the lyric line about a fever and a pepper sprout was refined by Leiber in the editing process.
