SAN DIEGO — Freddie Jackson — the suave, debonair singer who died Monday at the age of 69 — was a reluctant sex symbol. Or, as he noted in his 1989 San Diego Union interview: “Some people might think I’m sexy, some not. But I don’t take it seriously. What I’m selling is my voice, not my looks.” Blessed with a supple, soulful tenor voice, Jackson soared to fame in the 1980s with such ...

Singer Freddie Jackson attends 2019 Black Music Honors at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on Sept. 5, 2019, in Atlanta.

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SAN DIEGO — Freddie Jackson — the suave, debonair singer who died Monday at the age of 69 — was a reluctant sex symbol.

Or, as he noted in his 1989 San Diego Union interview: “Some people might think I’m sexy, some not. But I don’t take it seriously. What I’m selling is my voice, not my looks.”

Blessed with a supple, soulful tenor voice, Jackson soared to fame in the 1980s with such chart-topping R&B hits as “Rock Me Tonight,” “You Are My Lady,” “Tasty Love,” “Have You Ever Loved Somebody” and “Jam Tonight.”

He was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2024, although no official cause of death has been disclosed as yet.

Jackson’s sex symbol status in his prime notwithstanding, his seductive songs were his calling card. He discussed his music and his public persona in a 1989 San Diego Union interview. It is published in full below.

Freddie Jackson says Mom rates first

By George Varga, San Diego Union

July 26, 1989

Freddie Jackson may be one of pop music’s reigning sex symbols, but his heart still belongs to Mom.

“I just bought her a new condominium, completely furnished, in Manhattan; all she has to bring is her toothbrush,” the dapper soul singer said recently. “She’s my sweetheart, and I’d do anything for her.”

Judging by the droves of screaming, swooning women who flock to Jackson’s concerts, it’s clear that many of his fans would do anything for him.

While he laughingly acknowledges “the rewarding fringe benefits” of his fame, the Harlem-born singer maintains his sex symbol status is merely in the eyes of his beholders.

“For no reason have I ever felt like I was a sex symbol,” said Jackson, 31, who performs here Friday night at Golden Hall.

“I see kids on TV sitcoms who probably haven’t even reached puberty yet, and people are calling them sex symbols!

“Some people might think I’m sexy, some not. But I don’t take it seriously. What I’m selling is my voice, not my looks.”

That voice, a powerful, gospel-tinged tenor, probably would have propelled Jackson to stardom even without his matinee idol looks.

But sex appeal — at least in his songs — has played a key role in his career.

Witness his current Capitol Records album, “Don’t Let Love Slip Away,” and such popular Jackson songs as “I Don’t Want to Lose Your Love,” “Nice and Slow,” “You Are My Lady,” “Rock Me Tonight” and “Tasty Love.” Suggestive without being lewd, Jackson’s songs promise a world of romantic bliss and rapture.

Alternately steamy and supple, soft and tempestuous, his smoldering vocals are the aural equivalent of a seduction — and he knows it.

“I like romancing people with my music,” Jackson said.

“…I think every woman likes to be told, in a song, ‘You are my lady.’ “

This was borne out by Jackson’s 1985 San Diego debut concert.

Performing on a rainy night at Humphreys, the singer evoked such hysteria from the mostly female crowd that Humphreys promoter Kenny Weissberg likened the response to “a religious experience.”

Recalled Weissberg: “Women rushed the stage, throwing themselves, flowers and anything else they had, at him. The amazing thing is, he only had one hit single (‘Rock Me Tonight’) out at the time. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Jackson laughed when discussing his Humphrey’s appearance, which came midway through his first national tour as the opening act for singer Melba Moore.

It was Moore who helped launch Jackson’s career, which had stalled so badly that he was working full time as a word processor. During the tour, he got used to the screaming.

“I think that’s the greatest peak, when you’re performing and someone can’t control themselves,” he said. “It doesn’t distract me. I think a good performer has to be ready for anything that happens.”

Jackson lives on a 17-acre estate in the mountains of Pennsylvania, where he spends his spare time writing songs and learning to ride his two horses.

“If I get thrown one more time, I’ll have them made into horseradish!” quipped the singer, who hopes to expand his career into comedy film work.