This is the story Barbara Jackson told police about what happened on that fateful night 51 years ago when her husband, famed Stax drummer Al Jackson Jr., was shot and killed in the living room of their Central Avenue home.

Barbara arrived home around 11 p.m. on Sept. 30, 1975, after spending some time at a beauty salon. When she walked into the house at 3885 Central Ave., she said she found a tall, young Black man with a mustache who had broken into the home.

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The burglar tied Barbara’s hands behind her back, then bound her to a chair before ransacking the home looking for valuables. As this was happening, an unexpected knock came at the door. The burglar untied Barbara and made her answer the door.

It was Al. The burglar, with his pistol raised, forced Al to come inside and then demanded money. He again tied Barbara up, then put her back in the chair. The burglar forced Al into the living room, made him turn around and then shot him five times in the back before fleeing.

Barbara managed to free herself from the chair, run outside and flag down an off-duty Memphis police officer who happened to be passing by. Police found Al dead on the living room floor, and photos from that night show the coroner wheeling Jackson’s lifeless body, wrapped in white sheets, out of the home.

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