Biography of Joe Jackson

Although Joe Jackson initially appeared to fit in neatly with such new wave singer/songwriters as Elvis Costello and Graham Parker when he appeared in the late '70s, he has displayed a much broader range on his numerous record releases since. Born in Burton-on-Trent, England, Jackson studied music as a youth and earned a piano scholarship to the Royal College of Music, which he attended from 1971 to 1974.Look Sharp!, his debut album released in March 1979, featured a fast-paced, guitar-driven rock style, with Jackson spitting out sometimes bitter, sometimes vulnerable lyrics, notably on the single "Is She Really Going Out with Him?," which hit number 21 in the U.S. The album got to number 20 and went gold. I'm the Man, an album in the same style released in October, got to number 22.Jackson then began the first of his many changes of style. Beat Crazy, released in the fall of 1980, marked a sharp turn toward reggae and a drop in Jackson's commercial fortunes. Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive (1981) contained big-band and jump-blues standards from the '40s. In 1982, Jackson moved to New York City, adopting some of the sophisticated style of Cole Porter and some of the small-band jazz music found in the city's clubs for Night and Day, released in June. The album was Jackson's biggest hit, going to number four and producing the hit singles "Steppin' Out" and "Breaking Us in Two."Jackson composed a film soundtrack, Mike's Murder, in 1983, then made Body and Soul in a style similar to Night and Day. It hit number 20 and included the Top 15 hit "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)." In 1985 Jackson composed music for the Japanese film House of the Poet. Some of the music was later released on his album Will Power. Jackson's 1986 album was the three-sided Big World, which reached number 34. Will Power, issued in 1987, was an instrumental album combining classical and jazz styles. It was followed in 1988 by the double Live 1980/1986 and the soundtrack to the film Tucker. After his next pop album, Blaze of Glory (1989), did not succeed commercially, Jackson jumped to Virgin Records, which issued Laughter and Lust (1991). ~ William Ruhlmann