Jackie Wilson - To Be Loved

Year Released: 1957
Genre: R&B / Doo-Wop / Soul

Description:

Released on Brunswick Records in 1957, “To Be Loved” was Jackie Wilson’s breakout solo single after his tenure with Billy Ward and His Dominoes — a lush, heart-wrenching ballad that introduced the world to his extraordinary vocal range and emotional precision. Co-written by Berry Gordy Jr. (before the founding of Motown), the song pairs doo-wop tenderness with orchestral sophistication, perfectly framing Wilson’s soaring delivery.

His impassioned cries of “To be loved, to be loved!” captured the yearning of postwar R&B and pointed toward the soul explosion of the 1960s. Both romantic and spiritual, the song became one of Wilson’s signature tunes and a foundational influence on the emerging soul vocal tradition.

“To Be Loved” remains a cornerstone of early soul — a timeless declaration of devotion sung with the kind of sincerity only Wilson could summon.