John Scott's Top 40 Songs from Jacksonville (Part II)

Jacksonville’s contributions to pop music are enormous and sadly, mostly overlooked. This list of Jacksonville’s Top 40 hopes to end the overlooking and start the appreciating.  Just to explain some guidelines in this list, the songs used in this list had to be released as singles and had to have charted on a Billboard US chart. What constitutes “from Jacksonville”? Those born here, those that lived here for at least a year or so, or bands that were formed here.

The rankings are subjective, I’ve tried to combine the longevity of living in this area with the enormity of the actual song (and actually, it’s just fun to put Limp Bizkit and Pat Boone adjacent to each other), so please don’t take the adjoining numbers too seriously, just enjoy the incredible variety of music that has come forth from the area.

The list is in two parts. 40 - 20 are found on here.





19. Ramblin’ Man – Allman Brothers (1973) Although Macon is the official home of the Allmans, Jacksonville was the first place the band played as The Allman Brothers Band and drummer Butch Trucks was born and raised here. This is their biggest pop hit, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

18. “Boys of Summer” – Don Henley (1984) Although Ribault High grad Mike Campbell is best known from his association as Tom Petty’s right hand man in the Heartbreakers, the biggest pop hit he is associated with is this Don Henley classic, which he co-wrote, co-produced and added that signature guitar lick.

17. “Caught Up in You” – 38 Special (1982) 38 Special’s first couple of albums were in the normal Southern Rock vein, good stuff, but it didn’t stand out. Then the Jacksonville band co-wrote with veteran hit songwriter Jim Peterik whose more streamlined, pop radio-friendly songs took 38 Special to platinum status without losing their Southern flair. “Caught Up in You” was number one on the Rock Charts and a top 10 Pop Hit.

16. “Whoot, There it Is” – 95 South (1993) The Jacksonville duo of AB and Daddy Black drove this Miami sound to a top 20 hit. The bigger hit came from an Atlanta group Tag Team, whose similarly titled “Whoomp, there it is” was the massive hit most people know.

15. “Higher and Higher” – Rita Coolidge (1977) Of all the songs from Jacksonville, I would’ve never pegged this one to be one of the most played songs in radio history, yet here it is, amassing over 6 millions plays on radio. The laid-back lite R&B groove of the Jackie Wilson song was the biggest hit in Jackson grad Rita Coolidge’s career.

14. “Oh, Pretty Woman” – Roy Orbison (1964) Robert Nix is the only person to make it on this list in three separate incarnations. He is represented already as a member of Atlanta Rhythm Section and Classics IV and makes it here on one of THE Rock n Roll classics. That unmistakable snare drum is Robert Nix, making the first noise for Roy’s best known song.