Janet Jackson Biography
From LoveToKnow Music
The Janet Jackson biography is the story of one of the best selling female artists in the history of music. Janet Jackson’s sales of over 26 million records to date make her the 11th best selling female artist of all time, and the length of her career in the music industry is matched only by a select few. She has managed to escape much of the scrutiny and innuendo surrounding her incredibly famous family, especially her brother Michael, while maintaining a close relationship with them.
Janet Jackson Biography – The Early Years
Janet Jackson was born May 16, 1966. She was born in Gary, Indiana, but largely raised in Encino, California. She was the youngest of the nine children in her showbiz family, and for much of her childhood, she took a backseat as her parents managed the career of the Jackson 5. Her parents did raise her under their strict Jehovah Witness faith. Jackson has since said that no one ever asked her if she wanted to get into the entertainment industry – it was just what the family did.
Despite the fact that it was assumed that Jackson would go into the entertainment world, the music world was not a forgone conclusion. Her first important job was playing the role of child abuse victim Penny on Norman Lear’s landmark 70s show Good Times. In the early 1980s, she also landed a recurring role, as Willis’ girlfriend Charlene, on Different Strokes. A role on Fame followed.
As her acting career was taking off, Jackson’s family began to pressure her to get involved in music with them. She reluctantly recorded her first single with the family, called Love Song for Kids, in 1978. Her father got her into the studio to record a self titled debut album in 1982, which rose to a respectable number nine on the Billboard Charts.
Her second album, Dream Street, was even more of a family affair. Her brothers, sans Michael, of course, sang on a vast majority of the album, and also wrote and co-produced many tracks. The album also made a good showing in the charts, but Janet was ready to break free from the bonds of her family and make her own way in the business.
Taking Control
The first thing Jackson did to break the bonds with her family was to elope with childhood sweetheart James DeBarge. Rumors of the marriages circled in the press, but Jackson and DeBarge both vehemently denied them for the good of their respective careers. The marriage only lasted a few months and was eventually annulled. It is only in recent years that Jackson has confirmed once and for all that the marriage really had taken place.
The next thing Jackson did was fire her father as manager and producer and being working with famed production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The result was Control – one of the defining albums of the 1980s and one that shot Jackson to superstardom. It marked a new direction for female R&B singers, from love songs to tough, challenging statements about controlling their own destinies.
Jackson followed up Control with Rhythm Nation. Her label wasn’t happy about the new direction that Jackson took on the album, which spent a lot of time on political commentary and social statements, but fans loved it and it proved to be another hit.
She then split ways with her label and signed a multi-million dollar deal with Virgin – one of the largest deals of the time.
Janet Jackson Biography – 90s and Beyond
After establishing herself during the 80s, Jackson was able to call the shots in her career. In the 90s, she moved back to acting, this time taking to the big screen in Poetic Justice, opposite Tupac. Several other film appearances followed.
Her music career continued to stay strong, through she never achieved the same level of success as she did with the premiere of Control. In the 2000s, she left Virgin and signed with Island Def Jam, a label co-run by her partner Jermaine Dupree.
In 2004, Jackson found herself in the center of a storm of controversy when a “wardrobe malfunction” during the Super Bowl halftime show ended with her bare breast being exposed on live television. Though it was visible for less than three seconds, many groups demanded reparations from Jackson herself and from the network. The case is still in court as of 2008, and it may be heard by the Supreme Court. Outrage aside, it is the most TiVo’ed moment in TV history.
As of 2008, Jackson was on a world tour to promote her album Discipline.
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