George Rodrick "Roddy" Jackson (born 9 April 1942) is an American rockabilly and rock and roll singer, songwriter, pianist and saxophonist, who recorded for Specialty Records in the 1950s. He was born in Fresno, California, moving to Merced as a child. His father was a singer and pianist who toured with The Sons of the Pioneers. Jackson learned to play drums and piano, forming his first group, The Dreamers, when aged 12 in 1954, and began performing on radio station KYOS. He also learned to play clarinet, trumpet and trombone, but concentrated on the alto saxophone and later tenor sax. In 1956, after becoming influenced by Fats Domino and Little Richard, he formed a new multi-racial rock and roll band, the Blue Notes, from among his friends at high school. They quickly became popular around Merced, and were mentored by local fire chief George Coolures, who helped win them an audition at Specialty Records with the label's A&R man, Sonny Bono. Bono convinced label owner Art Rupe to sign Jackson as a solo artist, but not the rest of the Blue Notes. The Blue Notes continued to perform with Jackson for a while, but did not play on his records. After Jackson left the band, Coolures replaced him on stage, and, renamed as the Merced Blue Notes, they remained a popular live act in the area into the 1960s. Jackson's first session as a solo singer was in December 1957, when he recorded Sonny Bono's composition "I've Got My Sights On Someone New" with a band comprising René Hall (guita