Memorial event for legendary Merced musician Roddy Jackson scheduled for Saturday

EDITORS NOTE: This event has been canceled due to weather.

A celebration of life for legendary Merced musician Roddy Jackson is scheduled to be held 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at American Legion Post 83, 939 W. Main St. in Merced.

A reception and a special raffle will follow the service. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Jackson’s family with expenses.

Jackson died at age 80 last month from complications following surgery.

Dubbed the “Central Valley Fireball,” Jackson was a teenage musical prodigy who was one of the first members of The Merced Blue Notes.

It was Jackson’s style and raspy voice that eventually led to him being signed as a solo artist by Sonny Bono and Specialty Records, the label that helped launch the career of Jackson’s idol Little Richard.

Under Specialty Records, Jackson released songs like “Love at First Sight,” “Hiccups,” “Any Old Town” and “Moose on the Loose.”

Jackson also co-wrote the song “She Said Yeah” with Bono that was later covered by The Rolling Stones, The Animals and Paul McCartney.

In 1981, Jackson moved back to Merced and began his career as a music teacher. Later in life, Jackson garnered a huge fan base of British fans with an appreciation of early rock ‘n’ roll music.

He subsequently played several music festivals in Europe.

In 2013, Ace Records released “Central Valley Fireball,” a compilation of Jackson’s recorded songs from Specialty Records, including a previously unreleased version of “She Said Yeah” performed by Jackson.

This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 11:25 AM.