On Revisiting 3614 Jackson Highway (1969)
By Mara Tatevosian
When most people think about Cher, they think diva. They think about her “Believe” era in the 90s or maybe the “Sonny and Cher” show in the 70s; but before the platinum wigs and the Bob Mackie gowns, Cher was a country folk singer – or tried to be, at least. In the early 60s, she made a career singing backup for Phil Spector’s studio and eventually went on to record a single called “Ringo, I Love You” under the alias Bonnie Jo Mason. Though radio stations refused to play the song because her cavernous contralto voice made it seem that it was a gay man singing about his love for Ringo Starr. But by 1965, Sonny and Cher were in vogue thanks to their bizarre industrial outfits and awkward stage presence. They had become an unexpected success, selling 40 million records in just two years. Then came the Sexual Revolution and Sonny Bono refused to adapt with the times, fiercely sticking to their image that rejected sex, drugs, and rock n roll. Alas, Sonny and Cher went mute and stayed mute until 1971, when they landed their own variety show at CBS.
In spite of their floundering relevance, something rather spectacular happened within those quiet four years – Cher recorded 3614 Jackson Highway (1969). Though it was a commercial disappointment and ultimately never released in its entirety until 2001, the album issued 5 singles in the summer of 1969, hoping to salvage what remained of her career. While Jackson Highway did very little for Cher’s unbegun country folk career, it’s become somewhat of a welcomed outlier in the vastness of the Cher legacy. Its underrated charm became obvious to me when Run Out Groove revived the album on vinyl in 2019, setting off my romance with what could have been.
With the direction of Jerry Wexler, who famously had his hand in Aretha Franklin’s success, Cher recorded 3614 Jackson Highway in Alabama with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, the band that had once backed Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett, and countless other soul superstars. At only 23 years old, there was little evidence of Cher’s intrinsic ability to adopt the essence of Southern pop blues, yet she took to it as if she’d been doing so for decades. And while Cher is no Aretha, she thrives in the grittiness of this album, welcoming a more forceful approach than her earlier works. It’s impressive how quickly she takes authorship of these songs.
The prior half of the album is arguably the most important niche in Cher’s discography. She opens with a cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What it’s Worth,” introducing the tight percussion, plucky guitar licks, and her sultry vocals that sustain throughout the album. The tender strings and creeping horns introduce themselves in “(Just Enough to Keep Me) Hangin’ On,” bringing the album to a bracing lull and proving Cher’s ability to keep listeners in the palm of her hand. For a minute, you forget that only a decade later, she would go on to be a disco superstar. Especially when she does “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” with the same debonair as Otis Redding himself. Cher’s arrangement is evidently more country than Redding’s and heavily depends on the weepy notes of steel guitar, but it’s her characteristic Cher voice-crack that fills the room with sorrow. Above all else, she is a good storyteller in song, cusping on the same musical intimacy as Linda Ronstadt, or dare I say, Emmylou Harris.
The aimlessly curated album certainly relies on the strength of songwriting, including three songs from Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline. Though Cher’s early solo career was privy to Dylan covers, she brings a new maturity to these songs that her prior covers lacked. She revives the iconic voice-crack in “I Threw It All Away” and she gets away with sporadic pitchiness by conflating it to the song’s reminiscent feel. For perhaps the first time, she puts a personal stamp on these songs and shows that she is truly at her best in freewheeling southern material. These are not perfect songs but it’s difficult to ignore the vocal assertiveness from Cher that wouldn’t be seen again for decades. In hindsight, material like “(Just Enough to Keep Me) Hangin’ On” and “Tonight I’ll be Staying Here With You” testify to the fact that with proper direction, Jackson Highway could have been Cher’s Dusty In Memphis.
Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect. Her singles went uncharted and at least a dozen songs collected dust on the shelves for three decades until Rhino Handmade rediscovered them in 2001. These unreleased songs are rather shocking, revealing a desperation in Cher’s voice. She is trying to scratch her way out of a collapsing career and it’s much easier to listen with the knowledge that she eventually did find her way out. A few solo cuts do excel, particularly “It Gets Me Where I Wanna Go,” the only original song on the tracklist. The combination of bold strings, layered horns, and a folksy electric guitar imply it was aiming for commercial success. Yet her vocals exude the emotional maturity in the likes of Bobbie Gentry. Again, proving that with proper guidance, Jackson Highway could have favorably altered the course of her career. The last solo cut was “Superstar” recorded in 1970. It’s lacking in cohesion and the arrangement steals from the power of her distinct sound. Cher, herself, completely outshined this version a few years later in a live recording of her show in Las Vegas. The latter version is dripping with sexual excellence, giving Karen Carpenter something to worry about.
The lack of affection for 3614 Jackson Highway is a shame because even at its weakest, there is a sincerity to it that makes the heart tingle. It’s amazing to be in the company of obscure songs only a handful of people knew existed. In the album’s fold out cover lies a letter from Cher in 1969. “I wanna write something really groovy but all I can tell you is what’s in my heart, and if you can dig it then I’m happy,” she writes. “And if you can’t then I’m sorry.” The letter is equally sincere as it is witty but its essence parallels the album’s charm. These hidden gems have been mute for far too long and deserve an honest listen.