Randall Darius "Randy" Jackson (born
June 23,
1956) is a
Grammy Award-winning American
bassist,
singer,
record producer,
music manager, and former
A&R executive. He is best known as a judge on
American Idol.
Personal life
Jackson was born in
Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, the son of Julia, a homemaker, and Herman Jackson, a plant foreman.
[www.filmreference.com/film/93/Randy-Jackson.html] He has been married twice. His first marriage, to Elizabeth Jackson, ended in divorce in 1990; they had one child (Taylor) together. Since 1995, he has been married to Erika Riker, with whom he has two children Zoe (age 13) and his son Jordan (age 11).
Obesity and health
In 2003, Jackson lost over 100 pounds following
gastric bypass surgery. He stated in a February 2008 television commercial that he has
Type 2 diabetes.
[Idol Judge: Nearly Half The Man, Randy Jackson Goes On The Lighter Side For A New Look - CBS News]
Music career
While in the Bay Area, Jackson played in bands with
Carlos Santana and
Jerry Garcia. From 1986 to 1987 he was a member of the rock group
Journey. Jackson joined Journey for their 1986 album
Raised on Radio and subsequent tour. He moved to Italy in the late 1980s and played on a record by Italian pop star
Zucchero. The record,
Zucchero and the Randy Jackson Band, was produced by
Corrado Rustici who played guitar with Randy on many albums in the early 80's and who became Zucchero's producer for 15 years creating Zucchero's biggest albums of his career.
[Zucchero would later work with another former member of Journey, Steve Smith.]
Jackson was bass guitarist on the 1991 self-titled
Divinyls album (which features the song "I Touch Myself") as well as featured bassist on several tracks of
Tracy Chapman's 1992 release,
Matters of the Heart. He performed on the singles "Bang Bang Bang", "Open Arms", and "Dreaming on a World". That same year, Jackson also played bass on Bruce Springsteen's hit "Human Touch".
Jackson has recorded, produced, or toured with many well-known artists and bands, ranging from
Mariah Carey (he has been her musical director for a number of her tours; he was in her band at
Live 8 in London in 2005) to
*NSYNC,
Whitney Houston, (produced)
Dionne Farris' (critically acclaimed debut CD, Wild-Seed Wild-Flower),
Céline Dion,
Fergie (dating back to her days in
Wild Orchid),
Stryper,
and
Madonna (he played bass on her number-one hit "
Like a Prayer").
Jackson played numerous times in
Jean-Luc Ponty's backing band. His credits as a session musician range from playing with
Aretha Franklin,
Roger Waters,
Bruce Springsteen,
Journey,
George Michael,
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown,
Billy Cobham,
Blue Öyster Cult,
Herbie Hancock,
Richard Marx,
Billy Joel,
Bon Jovi,
Michael Bolton, and
Bob Dylan to playing at the
Grand Ole Opry with
The Charlie Daniels Band. His production/songwriting work in the
San Francisco Bay Area with
Narada Michael Walden and
Walter Afanasieff led Jackson to be in demand as a producer as well.
He has also worked as an executive, spending eight years as vice president of artists and repertoire (
A&R) at
Columbia Records and four years heading A&R at
MCA Records.
['American Idol' judge Randy Jackson strives for stardom, The Daily Vidette from AP, February 3, 2005]
Since 2002, Jackson has been one of the three panel judges, along with
Paula Abdul and
Simon Cowell, on the
Fox Network reality television series
American Idol.
Radio program
Jackson also hosts a radio top 40 countdown known as "Randy Jackson's Hit List",
[www.rjhitlistonline.com] which is syndicated by
Westwood One.
[Randy Jackson's Hit List] Every week Jackson counts down his top 30 Urban AC and Mainstream AC hits, and gives behind-the-scenes information on
American Idol with American Idol Underground.
On March 11, 2008, Jackson released an album produced entirely by himself, titled
Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1. The album's release was preceded by the single "
Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" sung by
Paula Abdul.
America's Best Dance Crew
America's Best Dance Crew is a group dance contest produced by Jackson, premiering on February 7, 2008. Season 1 ended on March 27, 2008; season 2 started on June 7, 2008, and ended on August 19, 2008. On the finale of season 2, it was claimed that season 3 would begin in October.
Discography
Albums
- Released:March 11, 2008
- Chart Positions: #50 (U.S.)
- RIAA Certification: TBR
- U.S. Sales: TBR
- Singles:
Singles
