Joe Jackson

Joe Jackson (born David Ian Jackson; 11 August 1954) is a British musician, singer and songwriter. Having spent years studying music and playing clubs, he found success as part of the late 1970s new wave scene with hit singles "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" from his first album Look Sharp! (1979) and "It's Different for Girls" from second album I'm the Man (1979). In the 1980s, he moved to a more jazz-pop style, and achieved further hits including "Steppin' Out" from the album Night and Day (1982) and "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)" from the album Body and Soul (1984). During this period, Jackson became associated with the 1980s Second British Invasion of the US. He has also composed classical music and has received five Grammy Award nominations.

Born David Ian Jackson in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England, he spent his first year in nearby Swadlincote, Derbyshire. He was raised in the Paulsgrove area of Portsmouth, where he attended Portsmouth Technical High School. At age 11, he began learning to play the violin, but after a couple of years he switched to the piano, and convinced his father to purchase one for their Paulsgrove council house. Jackson and his parents moved to nearby Gosport when he was a teenager. Jackson began playing piano in bars when he was 16. He won a scholarship at age 18 to study musical composition at London's Royal Academy of Music, where his composition teacher was Richard Stoker.

Jackson's first band, Edward Bear, later renamed Arms and Legs, released two unsuccessful singles, then dissolved in 1976. Still known as David Jackson during his time with the band, he picked up the nickname "Joe" based on his perceived resemblance to the British television puppet character Joe 90, a genius child spy. Jackson then spent some time performing on the cabaret circuit to make money to record a demo.

In 1978, a record producer heard Jackson's demo tape and signed him to A&M Records. The next year, the newly formed Joe Jackson Band released their debut album, Look Sharp!. The band consisted of Jackson, Gary Sanford on guitar, Graham Maby on bass, and David Houghton on drums. A mix of rock, melodic jazz, and new wave, it mined a vein similar to contemporaries Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. The album enjoyed wide critical success: in 2013, Rolling Stone magazine named Look Sharp! No. 98 in a list of the 100 best debut albums of all time. Some commercial success also followed, as the debut single "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" reached the top 40 in five countries, and No. 9 in Canada.

The Joe Jackson Band released I'm the Man in 1979. The album followed a similar musical pattern; further, it received good, though not as strong, reviews. It did produce the single "It's Different for Girls", which became Jackson's highest charting UK single, peaking at No. 5. Beat Crazy followed in 1980. That same year, Jackson on keyboards backed Lincoln Thompson in a reggae crossover album titled Natural Wild, with Jackson and his band billed as the Rasses, playing behind Thompson's vocals.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.