Jackie Wilson was Mr. Excitement -- a voice with a four-octave range and stage moves that made Elvis Presley nervous. A boxer before he was a singer, he brought that physicality to every performance: splits, spins, one-footed slides across the stage. Higher and Higher is three minutes of pure ascension.

He replaced Clyde McPhatter in the Dominoes, then went solo in 1957. Lonely Teardrops -- written by Berry Gordy before Motown existed -- was his breakthrough. Higher and Higher. To Be Loved. He was a showman of the highest order, a man whose body seemed to operate on different physics than everyone else's.

In 1975, at the Latin Casino in New Jersey, he collapsed onstage mid-song from a heart attack. He never regained consciousness. He spent the next eight years in a coma, cared for by his family. He died in 1984 at 49. Higher and Higher is still climbing.

Jackie Wilson was Mr. Excitement. Four-octave voice. Split and slid across stages. Collapsed onstage in '75. Eight years in a coma. Higher and Higher is still climbing.