“Back In Our Minds” (PDF) from the Funkadelic album, Maggot Brain

Detroit trombonist McKinley Jackson is one of the few Motown musicians who actually grew up in the Motor City, as noted by researcher Dave Thorely. Detroit’s industrial labor market in post-War America sparked a migration of aspiring Black homeowners and created an audience for regional performers throughout the Midwest. While Motown Records provided steady day work for the musical veterans of the touring circuit, recording sessions were how Jackson began his professional career as a teenager in 1965, skipping school to perform on the Smokey Robinson’s “Ooo Baby Baby.”

The trombonist eventually matured outside of the recording studio as the bandleader of The Politicians, a Detroit house band that provided backing for touring performers; a skill that translated back to the studio where Jackson provided the arrangements for some of Motown’s later hits. When the songwriting team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland left Motown in 1968 to form Invictus Records, they recruited the trombonist as a producer for the new record label, which led to the 1972 self-titled album by The Politicians featuring McKinley Jackson.

George Clinton’s band, Funkadelic, was a product of the Motown fallout while his vocal group, Parliament, signed with Invictus Records shortly thereafter. So when Funkadelic wanted to enhance its 1971 recording of “Fuzzy” Haskin’s song “Back In Our Minds,” the obvious choice was Detroit trombonist McKinely Jackson.

Here is a YouTube video of McKinley Jackson in conversation about his Motown years:

Recommended reading: “A Reluctant Star - Mckinley Jackson Interview” by Dave Thorley. Published by Soulsource. 05 April 2007 - https://www.soul-source.co.uk/articles/soul-articles/a-reluctant-star-mckinley-jackson-interview-by-dave-thorley-r1714