Joe Jackson (musician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joe Jackson
Jackson performing in 1982
Background information
Birth name	David Ian Jackson
Born	(1954-08-11) 11 August 1954 (age 70) Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England
Origin	Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
Genres	Rock pop new wave jazz classical
Occupation(s)	Musician singer songwriter
Instruments	Vocals keyboards saxophone
Years active	1970–present
Labels	A&M Sony Classical Virgin EMI Rykodisc E1 Koch

Joe Jackson (born on August 11, 1954) is a talented British musician, singer, and songwriter. He spent many years studying music and playing in clubs. He became famous early on with his popular new wave songs "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" and "It's Different for Girls".

Later, Joe Jackson started making more jazz-inspired pop music. He had a huge hit song around the world called "Steppin' Out". Jackson is known for his music during the 1980s. He has also written classical music. He has released 21 studio albums and has been nominated for five Grammy Awards.

Joe Jackson's Early Life

Joe Jackson was born David Ian Jackson in Burton upon Trent, England. He spent his first year in a nearby town called Swadlincote. He grew up in Paulsgrove, a part of Portsmouth. He went to Portsmouth Technical High School.

When he was 11, he started learning to play the violin. After a couple of years, he switched to the piano. He convinced his dad to get a piano for their home. When he was a teenager, Jackson and his parents moved to Gosport. Jackson began playing piano in bars when he was 16 years old. At 18, he won a scholarship to study music at London's Royal Academy of Music.

Joe Jackson's Music Career

Jackson's first band was called Edward Bear. They later changed their name to Arms and Legs. This band released two songs that were not very successful. The band then broke up in 1976. During his time with the band, he was still known as David Jackson. He got the nickname "Joe" because people thought he looked like a British TV puppet character named Joe 90. Joe Jackson legally changed his first name to Joe when he was 20. After that, he performed in cabaret shows to earn money. He used this money to record a demo tape of his music.

The Joe Jackson Band

Jackson performing in Toronto in 1979

In 1978, a music producer heard Jackson's demo tape. The producer signed him to A&M Records. The next year, the new Joe Jackson Band released their first album, Look Sharp!. The band included Jackson, Gary Sanford on guitar, Graham Maby on bass, and David Houghton on drums.

The album mixed rock, jazz, and new wave music. It was very popular with music critics. In 2013, Rolling Stone magazine called Look Sharp! one of the 100 best first albums ever. The first song from the album, "Is She Really Going Out with Him?", became a top 40 hit in five countries. It reached number 9 in Canada.

The Joe Jackson Band released I'm the Man in 1979. This album had a similar music style. It also received good reviews, though not as strong as the first album. It included the song "It's Different for Girls", which became Jackson's highest-charting song in the UK, reaching number 5. Beat Crazy followed in 1980.

The Joe Jackson Band toured a lot until they broke up at the end of 1980. David Houghton left the band because he was tired of touring and being famous. Graham Maby continued to work with Jackson over the years. However, the full band did not play together again until 2004 for the album Volume 4.

Changing Music Styles

In 1981, Jackson produced an album for a British pop group called the Keys. Their album, The Keys Album, was their only one.

After the Joe Jackson Band broke up, Jackson recorded Jumpin' Jive. This album featured old-style swing and blues songs. It included songs by famous artists like Cab Calloway and Glenn Miller. The album and its songs were released under the name "Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive".

Jackson's 1982 album, Night and Day, was his only studio album to reach the Top 10 in both the UK and US. It reached number 3 in the UK and number 4 in the US. Two songs from the album, "Steppin' Out" and "Breaking Us in Two", were top 20 hits in the US. "Real Men" also became a top 10 hit in Australia.

By 1984, Jackson was living in New York City. He recorded Body and Soul there. This album was greatly influenced by pop, jazz, and salsa music. It had a US hit song called "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)".

In 1985, Jackson played piano on Joan Armatrading's album Secret Secrets. In 1986, he worked with Suzanne Vega on the song "Left of Center". This song was from the soundtrack of the movie Pretty in Pink. Jackson's next album was Big World. All the songs were recorded live in front of an audience. The audience was asked to stay quiet while the music played. Released in 1986, it was a double record with three sides of music. The fourth side had no music.

The instrumental album Will Power (1987) had strong classical and jazz influences. This album showed the direction his music would take later. ..... In 1995, Jackson sang his version of "Statue of Liberty" on A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC. This was a tribute album for the English band XTC.

Beyond Pop Music

In the late 1990s, Jackson started creating classical music. He signed with Sony Classical in 1997. He released Symphony No. 1 in 1999. For this album, he won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album in 2001. In 2000, he released another album called Night and Day II.

In 2003, he brought his original band back together for the album Volume 4. They also went on a long tour. In 2004, he sang on a cover of Pulp's "Common People" with William Shatner. This song was for Shatner's album Has Been. In 2005, Jackson toured the US and Europe with Todd Rundgren and the string quartet Ethel.

Jackson moved from his New York apartment in 2006. He made the Berlin neighborhood Kreuzberg his new home. There, he recorded his eighteenth studio album, Rain, with his longtime bandmates Graham Maby and Dave Houghton. The album was released in January 2008 and was followed by a five-month tour.

In 2015, Jackson announced that his new album, Fast Forward, was finished. The album's title and song list were confirmed, along with tour dates in North America. The first song, also called "Fast Forward", was released for listening online.

On January 18, 2019, Jackson released the album Fool. Jackson said that the band he had been touring with inspired this album. Jackson and his band performed "Fabulously Absolute" on The Tonight Show on January 21, 2019. Fool became a top 20 album in Holland, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. In the US, it reached number 25 on Billboard's Top Album Sales Chart. In the UK, it entered the Indie Albums Chart at number 13.

What a Racket!, also known as Mr. Joe Jackson Presents Max Champion in 'What a Racket!' , was released on November 24, 2023. It is his 21st studio album.

Other Activities

Jackson wrote a book in 1999 called A Cure for Gravity. He described it as a "book about music, thinly disguised as a memoir." The book tells the story of his childhood in Portsmouth and his musical life until his 24th birthday.

Legacy

In 2004, the first tribute album to Joe Jackson was released. It was called Different for Girls: Women Artists and Female-Fronted Bands Cover Joe Jackson. Joe Jackson himself said he loved the idea of an all-female tribute album.

Joe Jackson's Life

Joe Jackson legally changed his first name to Joe when he was 20 years old.

Jackson lived in New York City for many years. This city inspired his 1982 song "Steppin' Out". In a 2018 interview, Jackson said he does not like New York as much anymore. He said it was like a "hot love affair" that has now become just a friendship. Today, he lives in Berlin. He also has homes in New York and Portsmouth.

Jackson was married to his wife Ruth, but they divorced after two years. He later called it a "disaster."

Joe Jackson's Albums