Joe Jackson

Joe Jackson (born David Ian Jackson, 11 August 1954)[1]  is an English musician and singer-songwriter now living in Berlin, whose five Grammy Award nominations span from 1979 to 2001.[2]  He is probably best known for the 1978 hit song and first single "Is She Really Going Out with Him?"; for his 1982 Top 10 hit, "Steppin' Out"; and for his 1984 success with "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)". He was popular for his pop/rock and new wave music early on before moving to more eclectic, though less commercially successful, pop/jazz/classicalhybrids.



Contents
[hide]  *1 Biography  ==Biography[ edit] == Born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, David Jackson (as he was then known) spent his first year in neighbouring Swadlincote, Derbyshire. He grew up in the Paulsgrove area of Portsmouth, where he attended the City of Portsmouth Boys' School. His parents later moved to nearby Gosport when he was a teenager.
 * 1.1 Other activities
 * 2 Discography
 * 2.1 Original albums
 * 2.2 Live albums
 * 2.3 Compilation albums
 * 2.4 Video albums
 * 3 Singles
 * 4 References
 * 5 Literature
 * 6 External links

He initially learned to play the violin but soon switched to piano and prevailed on his dad to install one in the hall of their Paulsgrove council house. From the age of 16, he played in bars, and won a scholarship to study musical composition at London's Royal Academy of Music.

Jackson's first band, in Gosport, was Edward Bear (not to be confused with the 1970s Canadian band fronted by Larry Evoy). The band was later renamed Edwin Bear and later Arms and Legs, but dissolved in 1976 after two unsuccessful singles. Although he was still known as David Jackson while in Arms & Legs, it was around this time that Jackson picked up the nickname "Joe", based on his perceived resemblance to the puppet character Joe 90. He then spent some time in the cabaret circuit to make money to record his own demos.

In 1978, a record producer heard his tape, and got him signed to A&M Records.

The album Look Sharp! was released in 1979, followed by I'm the Man (also 1979) and Beat Crazy in 1980. He also collaborated with Lincoln Thompson in reggae crossover.

Jackson at the El Mocambo,Toronto, 21 May 1979In 1981, Jackson produced an album for the British power pop group The Keys. The Keys Album was the group's only LP.[3]

The Joe Jackson Band toured extensively. After the break-up of the band, Jackson took a break and recorded an album of old-style swing and blues tunes,Jumpin' Jive, featuring songs of Cab Calloway, Lester Young, Glenn Miller, and most prominently, Louis Jordan. The album, and associated single release, was credited to Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-British_Hit_Singles_.26_Albums_2-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[2]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Jackson's 1982 album Night and Day was his only studio album to reach either the United States or UK Top 10, peaking at No. 4 (US) and at No. 3 (UK), and the cuts "Steppin' Out" and "Breaking Us in Two" were both top 20 chart hits. The tracks "Real Men" and "A Slow Song" pointed obliquely to New York City's early 1980s gay culture.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Gay_Pop_Music_4-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[4]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Almost two years later, Jackson recorded the US No. 20 and UK No. 14 album Body and Soul, also heavily influenced by pop and jazz standards and salsa, showcasing the US No. 15 hit single "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)".

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Jackson played piano on Joan Armatrading's 1985 album Secret Secrets.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">In 1986, he collaborated with Suzanne Vega on the single "Left of Center" from Pretty in Pink's soundtrack (with Vega singing and Jackson playing piano).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Jackson followed with the album Big World, with all-new songs recorded live in front of an audience instructed to remain silent while music was playing (they slip up once during the breakdown of "Soul Kiss"). Released in 1986, it was a three-sided double record; the fourth side consisted of a single centering groove and a label stating "there is no music on this side". The instrumental album "Will Power" (1987), with heavy classical and jazz influences, set the stage for things to come later, but before he left pop behind, he put out two more albums, Blaze of Glory (which he performed in its entirety during the subsequent tour) and Laughter & Lust.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Sony Classical released his Symphony No. 1 in 1999, for which he received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album in 2001.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Grammy_5-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[5]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">In 1995, Joe Jackson contributed his version of "Statue of Liberty" on a tribute album to the English band XTC called A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">In 2003, he reunited his original quartet<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-British_Hit_Singles_.26_Albums_2-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[2]  for the album Volume 4, and a lengthy tour.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">In 2004, Jackson performed a cover of Pulp's "Common People" with William Shatner for Shatner's album Has Been.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Jackson's album Rain was released by Rykodisc on 28 January 2008 in the UK and one day later in the US.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[6]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Joe Jackson and the Bigger Band, featuring Regina Carter, played fourteen shows in the USA and 21 shows in Europe from September to November 2012.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[7] ===Other activities<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Jackson has actively campaigned against smoking bans in both the United States and the United Kingdom,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[8]  writing a 2005 pamphlet The Smoking Issue, a 2007 essay Smoke, lies and the nanny state<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[9] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Joe_Jackson_10-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[10]  and issuing a satirical song ("In 20-0-3") on the subject.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[11]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Jackson wrote an autobiography called A Cure For Gravity, published in 1999, which he described as a "book about music, thinly disguised as a memoir". It traces his working class upbringing in Portsmouth and charts his musical life from childhood until his twenty-fourth birthday. Life as a pop star, he insisted, was hardly worth writing about.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[12]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">He described his enthusiasm for real ale in his autobiography. ==Discography<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ===Original albums<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===Live albums<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===Compilation albums<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===Video albums<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ==Singles<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==
 * Look Sharp! (1979, A&M) No. 20 US, No. 40 UK
 * I'm the Man (1979, A&M) No. 22 US, No. 12 UK
 * Beat Crazy (1980, A&M) No. 41 US, No. 42 UK
 * Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive (1981, A&M) No. 42 US, No. 14 UK
 * Night and Day (1982, A&M) No. 4 US, No. 3 UK
 * Mike's Murder Movie Soundtrack (1983, A&M) No. 64 US
 * Body and Soul (1984, A&M) No. 20 US, No. 14 UK
 * Big World (1986, A&M) No. 34 US, No. 41 UK
 * Will Power (1987, A&M) No. 131 US
 * Tucker Original Soundtrack (1988, A&M)
 * Blaze of Glory (1989, A&M) No. 61 US, No. 36 UK
 * Laughter & Lust (1991, Virgin) No. 116 US, No. 41 UK
 * Night Music (1994, Virgin)
 * Heaven & Hell (1997, Sony)
 * Symphony No. 1 (1999, Sony)
 * Night and Day II (2000, Sony)
 * Volume 4 (2003, Rykodisc)
 * Rain (2008, Rykodisc)
 * The Duke (2012, Razor & Tie) No. 1 US Contemporary Jazz Albums chart<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-British_Hit_Singles_.26_Albums_2-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[2] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[13]
 * Big World (1986) Recorded live; audience asked to remain quiet so no applause or chat-ups.
 * Live 1980/86 (1988, A&M) No. 91 US, No. 66 UK
 * Laughter & Lust Live (1991 Sharp Practice Inc. ; Warner Music Vision) [Live at State Theatre, Sydney, Australia, 20 September 1991]
 * Summer in the City: Live in New York (2000, Sony)
 * Two Rainy Nights (2002, Great Big Island)
 * AfterLife (2004, Rykodisc)
 * Live at the BBC (2009, Spectrum)
 * Live Music (2011, Razor & Tie)
 * Live in Germany 1980 (2011 Immortal)
 * Live at Rockpalast (2012 Mig Made in Germany Music (Sony Music)), also available as a Double-DVD set
 * Stepping Out: The Very Best of Joe Jackson (1990) No. 7 UK
 * Joe Jackson Greatest Hits (1996)
 * This Is It! (The A&M Years 1979–1989) – Joe Jackson) (1997, A&M)
 * Joe Jackson – Collected (2010, Universal Nashville)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-British_Hit_Singles_.26_Albums_2-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[2] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[14]
 * Steppin' Out: The Videos (The Very Best of Joe Jackson) (2001, A&M)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[15]
 * Joe Jackson – 25th Anniversary Special (2003, Image Entertainment)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[16]
 * Live at Rockpalast (2012), also available as a Double-CD set