Roland John Jackson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1925. His mother was an amateur pianist and his father was a public-school teacher. As a child, Jackson was attracted to music, books, and learning. This continued into adolescence, where his experiences revolved around playing the piano and traveling weekly to Chicago for lessons. He continued studying piano music at Northwestern University where he received his Bachelor and Master of Music in 1947 and 1948, respectively. After graduating he taught music history at Northland College (1948-1950) where he developed the desire to become a musicologist.


Jackson spent the next two years in Europe on a research fellowship studying in Paris, Freiburg, Basel, and Florence. He received lessons and teachings from Olivier Messiaen, Genevieve Thibault, Willibald Gurlitt, and Jacques Handschin. After Europe, Jackson entered the doctoral program in musicology at the University of California Berkeley, and completed his Ph.D. in 1964. He taught at the University of Arkansas (1958-1960), Ohio University (1961-1962), and Roosevelt University (1962-1970), before his appointment at the Claremont Graduate School (1970-1994).


Jackson introduced new curriculum to the Claremont Graduate School, and organized three new doctoral programs. In 1988, Jackson established the scholarly journal Performance Practice Review and served as the founding Editor-in-Chief until his retirement. Jackson's research and publications in this journal, among others, ranged from computer music studies, early music, 19th century music, film music, music analysis, and performance practice.


Jackson met his wife Brenda, a musician and music educator, when she was studying at the Claremont Graduate School; they married in July 1975 and were married for 39 years. Together the couple traveled extensively throughout Europe researching topics related to music. Jackson passed away June 4th, 2015 in Fallbrook, California.