| Four Jacks and a Jill | |
| Origin: | South Africa |
| Genre: | Folk rock |
| Years Active: | 1964–1983, 2000–present |
| Website: | http://www.4jacksandajill.co.za |
Four Jacks and a Jill is a South African folk rock ensemble.
They originally formed in 1964 without a "Jill" under the name "The Nevadas". Subsequently, they became the first group in South Africa to wear their hair long and they changed their name to "The Zombies" (different from the well-known British group). Later they added lead singer Glenys Lynne and changed the group's name to "Four Jacks and A Jill". The group included Clive Harding (bass guitar), Keith Andrews (rhythm guitar and organ), replaced by the late Mark Poulos (guitar and organ) during 1966–1967 and subsequently Till Hanneman who joined in 1967 (rhythm guitar, organ and trumpet), Bruce Bark (lead guitar, harmonica and saxophone), Tony Hughes (drums) and Glenys Lynne (lead vocal and organ). In South Africa, they had a hit song, "Timothy". In 1968 they cracked the American charts with the song "Master Jack", hitting the Billboard Hot 100 at no. 18 and reaching no. 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[1] The song also reached no. 10 on Cashbox and went to no. 1 in South Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). The follow-up single, "Mr. Nico", peaked at no. 98 in the United States. That was their last hit in the U.S., but the group continued to score hits in their native country.[2]
They have recorded and produced albums for a range of sing-along educational story books for various South African charities.
Bass Guitar:
Lead Vocals:
Drums:
Guitar:
Trumpet:
Piano:
Keyboard:
| Year | Album | Billboard 200 | Record Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Jimmy Come Lately | – | RCA Victor |
| 1966 | Listen | Listen! | – |
| 1967 | The House with the White Washed Gables | – | |
| Timothy and Other Hits | – | ||
| 1968 | Master Jack | 155 | |
| Fables | – | ||
| 1976 | Sell a Million | – | Gallo Record Company |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Record Label | B-side | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=centre | US | align=centre | AC | align=centre | SA | align=centre | AUS | |
| 1965 | "Jimmy Come Lately" | – | – | 2 | – | RCA Victor | "Can't Help Lovin' You" | Jimmy Come Lately |
| 1967 | "The House with the White Washed Gables" | – | – | 20 | – | "Walk the World" | The House with the White Washed Gables | |
| "Timothy" | – | – | 1 | – | "Leaves Are Falling" | Master Jack | ||
| "Master Jack" | 18 | 3 | 1 | 18 | "I Looked Back" | |||
| 1968 | "Mister Nico" | 98 | 25 | 12 | 81 | "Sunny Side of Somewhere" | ||
| "Hey Mister" | 130 | 34 | – | – | "Sad Little Pidgeon" | Fables | ||
| 1969 | "Grandfather Dugan" | – | – | – | – | "Stone in My Shoe" | ||
| "Pretty Belinda" | – | – | – | – | "Makin' Music" | |||
| 1971 | "Ketchup on My Ice Cream" | – | – | – | – | "Old Soul" | ||
| 1973 | "Universal Feeling" | – | – | 11 | – | Epidemic Records | "If All the World Were Apple Pie" | |
| "Jack-A-Dandy" | – | – | – | – | Ariola Records | "Love" | ||
| 1975 | "Sell a Million" | – | – | – | – | Delta Records | "Sweet Sweet Lovin'" | Sell a Million |
In the mockumentary film This is Spinal Tap, the character Lt. Robert Hookstratten recommends Four Jacks and a Jill to the members of Spinal Tap.