The following passage is taken from The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's page on Jackie Wilson:
Wilson replaced Clyde McPhatter as lead singer of Billy Ward and the Dominos when
McPhatter joined the Drifters in 1953.
His first solo single, "Reet Petite," was written by his friend Berry Gordy Jr. in 1957, two years
before he founded Motown Records. Another Gordy song, "Lonely Teardrops," was a No. 1
rhythm and blues and No. 7 pop hit in 1958.
In 1966, Wilson's "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" reached No. 6 on the pop
charts. Wilson suffered a heart attack on stage in Cherry Hill, N.J., in 1975, lingering in a coma
for more than eight years before his death.