Randy Jackson
Randall Matthew Jackson (born
June 23,
1956) is an
American musician and
record producer, now best known to the general public for being a judge on the television show
American Idol.
Randy Jackson was born and raised in
Baton Rouge,
Louisiana. He was not into music until
sixth grade. His first big break in the industry came when he played with fellow Baton Rouge act
John Fred & His Playboy Band when he was 17 years old. He subsequently attended
Southern University, where he graduated with a double major in
music and
psychology.
|
Randy Jackson singing on tour with Journey |
As a musician, Jackson plays the
electric bass. One big break of his was that he played bass for violin virtuoso
Jean-Luc Ponty as well as playing bass in the band Journey from
1985 to
1987. He was a highly regarded
session musician in
Los Angeles during the 1980s. His credits are far too many to note, but range from playing with
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown,
Billy Cobham,
Blue Öyster Cult,
Herbie Hancock,
Richard Marx,
Billy Joel,
Journey,
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 Randy to be quite in demand as a producer himself.
While in the Bay area, Randy played in bands with
Carlos Santana and
Jerry Garcia. He moved to
Italy in the late 1980s and produced a record for Italian pop star
Zucchero. The record
Zucchero and the Randy Jackson Band produced one of Zucchero's biggest hits, "Donne". Jackson has also recorded, produced, or toured with many well-known artists and bands, ranging from
Mariah Carey (whom he knew when she was still a teenager; he was in her band at
Live 8 in London in
2005) to
*NSYNC,
Céline Dion,
Wild Orchid,
Bruce Springsteen, and
Madonna. He has also worked as an executive with
Columbia Records and
MCA Records.
Jackson also manages current artists
Van Hunt and
Nikka Costa. He does very select session work, usually just for close friends, but continues to maintain his ability to play very diverse styles of bass. He played bass onstage on the
2006 Grammy Awards with Mariah Carey as well as the
Sly & The Family Stone tribute. Later in 2006 he will serve as the
musical director for Carey's
The Adventures of Mimi Tour.
Jackson has been a judge with
American Idol since its inception in
2001. On the show, he is known for taking a middle road of
criticism between the supportiveness of
Paula Abdul and the nastiness of
Simon Cowell. He has popularized "pitchy" as the way to describe off-key singing. He is also renowned for his heavy use of slang terms and gestures in
African American Vernacular English, most notably the words "dude", "dawg", and "dope". Jackson sometimes also refers to the group of male semifinalists as "
the dogg pound" (though during
season five, the female contestants were also included). When Randy says "you can blow" or "we've got a hot one tonight," it means "you can sing well." Widely well regarded in the music industry, Jackson's commentary is generally that of constructive criticism. He tells the contestants what a record company label executive would be thinking, but what the executive would not actually tell them. He also has a very large attraction to the words "All right, dude, now check this out" right before appraising a contestant's song.
Randy Jackson's marriage to Elizabeth Jackson ended in divorce in
1990. They have one child together. Since
1995, he has been married to Erika Riker, with whom he has two children.
In
2003, Jackson had well-publicized
gastric bypass surgery and has subsequently lost over 100 lb (45 kg), which explains his drastic change in appearance since Season Three of
American Idol.
Contrary to a widely circulated story, Randy Jackson is not related to actor
Samuel L. Jackson, nor to pop star
Michael Jackson.
['American Idol' judge Randy Jackson strives for stardom, The Daily Vidette from AP, 3 February 2005] (Michael Jackson's brother is another
Randy Jackson and was a member of
The Jackson 5.)
* Jackson, Randy.
What's Up Dawg?: How to Become a Superstar in the Music Business.. Hyperion, 2003. ISBN 1401307744
*
Randy Jackson's surgeon discusses his gastric bypass procedure in-depth in archived radio show
