In a society preoccupied with cyberspace, cell phones, and virtual reality, many important facts and faces, unfortunately, go unnoticed. For instance, Columbus, Ohio has been called "The largest, unknown city in the United States" and few Americans realize that Houston, Texas now ranks as the fourth largest city in the U. S., closely behind New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. On a similar note, Carl Jackson, a man whose musical talents run as deep as the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, could be dubbed "The Stealth Superstar," as he has managed to elude the radar of many devout music fans.

The music industry' "inner-circle" has long appreciated Carl's polygonal talents, but few fans recognize the high esteem in which he is held as a musician, singer, songwriter, producer, and music publisher by the superstars of pop, country, and bluegrass. Music aficionados may come up with a few names that possess several of Jackson's talents, but only rarely does an era spawn an individual that excels in five distinct areas of the music industry. As Mark Newton has observed, "When you combine his musical heritage and inherent understanding of the derivation of music with his talent for playing stringed instruments (banjo, guitar, mandolin), his vocal ability to sing all parts (lead, baritone, tenor), and his songwriting skills, you have what they call in professional baseball a "five-tool player."

Carl's influence spans the globe, but many of his accomplishments are known only to those fans that rabidly read liner notes and regularly check recording credits. Pick up a few of your bluegrass and country CDs from the past 25 years and note how often his name appears as the songwriter, vocalist, instrumentalist, or producer and, on a surprisingly large number of recordings, he dons all four caps.

Born September 18, 1953, in Louisville, Mississippi, a small town about 80 miles northeast of Jackson, Carl Eugene Jackson inherited from his parents, Lee and Ruby Jackson, a burning desire to succeed in music. By the age of eight, through the encouragement of his parents, Carl's mastery of the banjo resulted in his being invited to join The Country Partners, a band made up of his father, Uncle Pete, and Uncle Sock. At the age of 14 his banjo talents gained the attention of Jim and Jesse McReynolds and following a brief backstage audition, arranged by his father, the famous brother duo invited Jackson to become one of the The Virginia Boys, as their banjo player. While still in his early teens, Carl Jackson found himself on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.

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