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Janet Jackson

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Janet Jackson was born in 1966 in Gary, Indiana, the youngest of the ten children of the Jackson family. She began as an actress in television series such as Good Times and Fame. Her first album appeared in 1982 and got no further than number 63 on the Billboard 200. Only four years later did she find her own sound.

Music and breakthrough

For Control (1986) she worked with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, two producers from Minneapolis from the circle around Prince. They recorded in their studio Flyte Tyme. The sound was tight and electronic, with drum machines and synthesizers. Control reached number 1 on the Billboard 200. When I Think of You became her first number 1 on the Hot 100. She and her brother Michael thereby became the only brother and sister who both had a solo number 1 on that chart. On Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) she continued with the same producers. That album yielded seven singles that reached the top 5 of the Hot 100, the only album ever to do so.

Influence

janet. (1993) and The Velvet Rope (1997) also entered at number 1. In 1993 she starred opposite 2Pac in the film Poetic Justice. After the uproar over her Super Bowl halftime performance in 2004, part of radio and TV shunned her music, which damaged the sales of later albums. In 2019 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In her speech she asked the organisation to induct more women.

Listening

Listening tip. When I Think of You showcases the Minneapolis sound of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Notice the tight drum machine pattern and the short, sharp synthesizer chords that fall between the vocal lines.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Mentioned in other articles

See also

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (en): Janet Jackson
  2. Wikipedia (en): When I Think of You (Janet Jackson song
  3. Wikipedia (en): Tupac Shakur
  4. kqed.org
  5. cbsnews.com
Categories: ArtistsContemporary R&B