Freddie Jackson, Platinum-Selling R&B Singer, Dies at 70

Freddie Jackson appears during a 2019 interview on "Sister Circle Live." The R&B singer, whose hits included "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)" and "You Are My Lady," died Monday at 70. (Sister Circle TV via screenshot)

Freddie Jackson, whose unmistakable voice and string of chart-topping love songs made him one of R&B's biggest stars of the 1980s, has died. He was 70.

Jackson died Monday, three days after his birthday, his family announced Tuesday on his official Instagram account. No cause of death was disclosed.

The Harlem-born singer ruled R&B radio with hits including “Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake),” “You Are My Lady,” “Tasty Love” and “Have You Ever Loved Somebody,” collecting 10 No. 1 singles on Billboard's R&B chart and two platinum albums along the way.

His family remembered him as a “kind, generous soul” and thanked the listeners who had supported his music and performances over the decades.

FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENT

Jackson's family announced his death Tuesday on his official Instagram account. Read the family's original statement.

Jackson's rise was immediate.

His 1985 Capitol Records debut, Rock Me Tonight, produced four Top 10 R&B singles. The title track spent six weeks at No. 1, while “You Are My Lady” became his biggest crossover hit, introducing him to pop audiences without sacrificing the sound that had made him a favorite on Black radio.

Freddie Jackson performs "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)," his 1985 breakthrough hit. (Capitol Records/YouTube)

His follow-up, 1986's Just Like the First Time, kept the hits coming. “Tasty Love,” “Have You Ever Loved Somebody” and “Jam Tonight” all topped the R&B chart, establishing Jackson as much more than a balladeer.

He also reached No. 1 with “A Little Bit More,” a duet with Melba Moore, and continued his run of hits into the 1990s.

Jackson's commercial success placed him among the leading male R&B singers of a period dominated by artists including Luther Vandross. But it also reflected the power of Black radio, where an artist could build a major career without achieving comparable success on the pop charts.

Jackson was keenly aware of that distinction.

In a 1988 interview with the Los Angeles Times, he discussed the pressure on Black performers to change their music in pursuit of crossover success.

“Crossover is just icing on the cake,” he told the newspaper.

Freddie Jackson performs "You Are My Lady," one of his signature R&B hits. (Capitol Records/YouTube)He was equally clear about changing musical tastes. As Keith Sweat and Al B. Sure! helped usher in a more hip-hop-influenced era of R&B, Jackson told Billboard in 1988 that he respected the emerging sound but intended to remain rooted in the traditional soul music his audience expected.

The approach continued to pay off. His third album, Don't Let Love Slip Away, produced more R&B hits, including “Hey Lover” and “Nice 'n' Slow.” The title track from his 1990 album Do Me Again also reached No. 1.

His cultural footprint stretched beyond the charts. In 2000, Big Boi name-checked Jackson and Teddy Pendergrass in OutKast's “So Fresh, So Clean,” placing two generations of soul singers in the middle of a hip-hop classic.

Born Oct. 2, 1956, Jackson began singing gospel at Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church, where he met future producer and songwriter Paul Laurence. After working New York clubs and singing with the group Mystic Merlin, he recorded demos and sang backup for Moore before launching his solo career.

His breakthrough earned two Grammy nominations in 1986: best new artist and best male R&B vocal performance for “You Are My Lady.”

Jackson continued recording long after his chart dominance faded, releasing music independently and returning in 2023 with My First Love.

In 2024, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with kidney disease and partnered with the National Kidney Foundation to promote awareness. His family has not linked the illness to his death.

The family said details of memorial arrangements and opportunities for fans to honor Jackson would be announced later.

Chris Brown Says Ex Is Keeping Daughter From Him as She Alleges Threats and Harassment

Chris Brown performs at Jamaica National Stadium on Aug. 27, 2023. Brown is disputing harassment allegations made by Diamond Brown, the mother of his daughter Lovely, in an ongoing custody and child-support case. (Pelpa Time Production via Wikimedia Commons)

Chris Brown and the mother of his 4-year-old daughter are offering sharply different accounts of why the singer has gone months without seeing the child as their custody dispute expands to include allegations of threats, harassment and a request for at least $30,000 a month in child support.

Diamond Brown alleges in an Oct. 1 court declaration that Chris Brown threatened men she dated after their relationship ended and has harassed her both privately and on social media.

The singer denies the allegations.

He responded Monday on Instagram, accusing Diamond Brown of preventing him from seeing their daughter, Lovely Symphani Brown, while presenting what he called a “false narrative” to the court.

“I JUST WANNA SEE LOVELY!” Brown wrote in one of several posts responding to the allegations.

The dispute exposes directly conflicting accounts of the singer’s absence from his daughter’s life in recent months.

Diamond Brown alleges Chris Brown has not asked to see Lovely in six or seven months and has been uninterested in her attempts to arrange time between them, according to the declaration obtained by USA Today.

Chris Brown says the opposite.

“I HAVEN’T SEEN MY DAUGHTER IN 7 months,” he wrote Monday, accusing Diamond of not allowing him to spend time with Lovely.

Neither version has been established by the court.

Diamond Brown filed the Los Angeles case April 3, seeking legal and physical custody of Lovely while proposing visitation for Chris Brown. Her filing said the singer had previously acknowledged paternity through a voluntary declaration.

Chris Brown responded by asking for joint legal and physical custody.

Lovely was born Jan. 7, 2022.

Instagram Story screenshot

A CLOSER LOOK: In this screenshot from Instagram Stories, Chris Brown responds Monday to allegations made by Diamond Brown in an ongoing custody and child-support dispute involving their daughter, Lovely. (Chris Brown/Instagram Stories via screenshot)

The case has since widened beyond custody.

In her new declaration, Diamond Brown alleges the singer became angry when she began dating other men after their relationship ended about two years ago.

She alleges he made death threats against her most recent boyfriend and threatened the man’s twin brother. She also alleges third parties made threats and that similar conduct by Brown contributed to the end of an earlier relationship.

No court has ruled that those allegations occurred.

Diamond Brown also describes Brown’s behavior toward her as frightening and alleges he recently became angry with her in front of Lovely at a birthday party.

She says her attorney has asked Brown’s attorney since March to have him stop the alleged conduct.

According to TMZ, an email attributed to Brown’s attorney denied the allegations and asked Diamond Brown’s legal team for specific incidents that could be addressed.

Diamond Brown says in the declaration that she has tried to avoid seeking a domestic violence restraining order.

She is not requesting one in the current filing.

“I feel that I have been living under siege,” she wrote, according to USA Today.

Money has become another major point of contention.

Diamond Brown says Chris Brown agreed to pay $7,000 a month but alleges he sometimes deducts money from that amount. She is now asking the court for at least $30,000 a month in child support, along with full payment of certain additional expenses for Lovely, including medical costs, insurance, school tuition and extracurricular activities.

She is also seeking $350,000 in attorney and accounting fees.

Diamond Brown reports earning about $1,500 a month as a social media influencer and esthetician and contends that Chris Brown has not turned over financial records she says are necessary to determine support.

She estimates his net worth at more than $50 million but acknowledges in the filing that his actual income remains unknown, according to USA Today.

A separate income-and-expense declaration reported by TMZ lists Diamond Brown’s current monthly expenses at about $8,400 and proposed expenses exceeding $45,000.

That figure is not her requested monthly child-support payment.

Chris Brown disputes her characterization of what he provides.

He said Monday that he pays for two vehicles, her housing and Lovely’s schooling and medical expenses in addition to $10,000 a month.

“There is no 50/50 co parenting,” Brown wrote. “I LITERALLY PAY FOR EVERYTHING.”

The singer said those payments are documented and accused Diamond Brown of trying to provoke him into giving her material to use in court.

Diamond Brown, meanwhile, argues that the support being provided is insufficient for their daughter and alleges Brown has delayed efforts to obtain financial information in the case.

Bill Withers Publisher Sues Music Giants Over Olivia Dean’s ‘I’ve Seen It’

Bill Withers, left, is shown in a 1976 Columbia Records publicity photograph. Olivia Dean performs at BST Hyde Park in London on July 6, 2025. Mattie Music Group, doing business as Bleunig Music, alleges Dean’s “I’ve Seen It” copies protectable elements of the melody of “Just the Two of Us,” which Withers co-wrote with Ralph MacDonald and William Salter. Dean is not a defendant in the lawsuit. (Columbia Records/Public domain; Raph_PH/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0; composite image modified from originals)
A music publishing company founded by Bill Withers has gone to federal court over one of his best-known songs, alleging that a track by Grammy-winning singer Olivia Dean repeatedly copies the melody of “Just the Two of Us.”

Mattie Music Group, doing business as Bleunig Music, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles against Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Publishing (US) LLC and Kobalt Music Publishing America.

Dean is not a defendant.

Neither is either of her co-writers, Bastian Langebæk and Max Wolfgang.

Instead, the lawsuit targets companies involved in the recording, publishing and commercial exploitation of “I’ve Seen It,” the closing track on Dean’s 2025 album, “The Art of Loving.”

Mattie alleges the song copies “Just the Two of Us” in large and significant part, including repeated use of what the complaint describes as its protectable melody.

According to the filing, representatives of the publisher listened to Dean’s song several times in early August and reached what they called an “obvious and inescapable” conclusion that it copied the earlier composition.

The company then hired musicologist Alexander Stewart, Ph.D., to compare the songs.

Mattie says Stewart conducted a preliminary musicological analysis, searched for similar earlier material and found substantial similarities in protectable musical expression.

What the seven-page complaint does not include is Stewart’s analysis.

There is no musical notation comparing the songs, no measure-by-measure breakdown, no timestamps identifying the disputed passages and no copy of his report.Mattie says it sent written notice to all four defendants on or about Aug. 17, identifying the copyright registration, Dean’s song and the musical similarities it believed infringed its rights.

LISTEN: Olivia Dean — “I've Seen It”

LISTEN: Grover Washington Jr. featuring Bill Withers — “Just the Two of Us”

The lawsuit alleges the companies continued reproducing, distributing, licensing, performing and commercially exploiting “I’ve Seen It” afterward.

No court has determined that the song infringes “Just the Two of Us.”

Billboard reported that representatives for UMG, Sony and Dean did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Kobalt representative declined to comment.

The history of the song at the center of the case makes the dispute more complicated than the shorthand description of “Just the Two of Us” as a Bill Withers classic might suggest.

The recording originated with jazz saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. and appeared on his 1980 album, “Winelight,” with Withers singing lead.

Withers shares the songwriting credit with Ralph MacDonald and William Salter.

Released as a single in 1981, “Just the Two of Us” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. MacDonald, Salter and Withers won the 1982 Grammy Award for best rhythm and blues song.

Withers was also unusually candid about how he entered the collaboration.

“I came in after the foundation was already there,” he told American Songwriter.

Withers recalled that MacDonald and Salter already had a demo when they approached him about singing it. He said he wanted to improve the words, memorably describing the existing lyrics as wearing overalls and his revisions as an attempt to put them in a tuxedo.

“I wasn’t the genesis” of the song, Withers said.

That history does not by itself determine Bleunig’s rights in the composition.

It is nevertheless particularly interesting here because Mattie’s lawsuit focuses not on Withers’ lyrics but on alleged copying of the song’s melody.

The complaint says Withers was under contract with Bleunig when he co-wrote “Just the Two of Us” and describes Mattie as a copyright proprietor of the composition.

Bleunig is one of three publishers credited on the song, along with Antisia Music and BMG Ruby Songs. Neither of those companies joined the lawsuit.

Bleunig is not a company that bought its way into the Withers catalog decades later.

Withers founded Golden Withers Music in 1974 after deciding he wanted greater control over his songwriting rights, according to Mattie Music Group’s company history. He established Bleunig in 1978 as he expanded his publishing interests and formed Mattie Music Group in 1997 as an umbrella for those businesses.

He named Mattie Music Group after his mother.

The company identifies Bleunig as a co-publisher of “Just the Two of Us.”

Dean arrives at the dispute from the other end of the song’s 45-year history.

“I’ve Seen It” was written by Dean, Langebæk and Wolfgang. Langebæk, Wolfgang and Zach Nahome are credited as producers.

Dean’s career has surged since “The Art of Loving” arrived in September 2025. She won the Grammy Award for best new artist in February.

Now a song from that album is at the center of a copyright case involving a composition that won its own songwriting Grammy more than four decades earlier.

Mattie is seeking an injunction, its alleged losses, profits attributable to the alleged infringement, interest, costs and attorneys’ fees.

The complaint also asks the court to allow the seizure, impoundment or destruction of copies found to infringe its rights.

It does not demand a specific dollar amount.

For now, Mattie has put its allegation before a federal judge: that a melody heard around the world for 45 years can be heard again in “I’ve Seen It.”

What it has not yet put in the public record is the musical analysis it says shows why.