Steven Randall Jackson (born October 29, 1961) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, dancer, and the ninth child of the Jackson family. Randy was only two years old when The Jackson 5 was formed and thus not an original member. While his brothers toured, Jackson honed his skills as a musician, mastering the piano and bongos.
Early life[]
Jackson was born on October 29, 1961 at St Mary's Mercy Hospital in Gary, Indiana, to Joe and Katherine Jackson. Nicknamed "Little Randy", Jackson is the ninth child of the Jackson family and youngest of the brothers. As he was only 3 years old when the Jackson 5 was first formed in 1965, he was not originally a member of the group.
Career[]
Randy wasn't an original member of The Jackson 5, first appearing live with his brothers in 1971 at a Christmas show the Jackson 5 held for blind children. Although he was on every tour with the band since 1972, mainly playing the congas among other instruments, Randy didn't join the family band until 1975, when they left Motown for CBS Records. However, his olderbrother Jermaine, decided to stay with Motown due to him marrying Hazel Gordy, the daughter of Motown founder Berry Gordy. This prompted Randy to replace his spot. The Jackson 5 officially changed their name to The Jacksons when they signed with Epic in part because Motown owned the name "Jackson 5". At age 16, he co-wrote the Jacksons' most successful single on Epic, "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" with his brother, Michael.
On March 3, 1980, Jackson was involved in a serious a car crash in Hollywood, California, getting seriously injured in the process. In June 1980, he appeared on the cover of the weekly African-American newsmagazine Jet. The cover headline read: "Randy Jackson Walks Again: Talks About His Future.
After recording 2300 Jackson Street, the group disbanded and focused on separate projects in 1990. After this split, Jackson formed his own band, Randy & the Gypsys. The group released only one album before breaking up. The same year, he co-founded Total Multimedia Inc. with former Iron Butterfly bass player Philip Taylor Kramer to develop data compression techniques for CD-ROMs. On June 28, 1998, Jackson opened up his own record label, Modern Records.
Randy was left out when The Jackson 5 were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997; only the five original members were inducted.
Randy was part of the Jacksons' 2001 reunion at Madison Square Garden, but didn't appear as an official cast member in the 2009 A&E reality series The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty.
Randy also contributed backing vocals for Michael's planned This Is It residency, along with Jackie, Tito, Marlon, and Jermaine.
Trivia[]
- Randy currently co-owns his sister Janet's independent record label Rhythm Nation Records.
- In the 1980s, Jackson dated Bernadette Swann (née Robi), Lynn Swann's ex-wife. He was physically abusive, so Swann sought refuge at the home of her friend Tina Turner (Swann previously dated Turner's son). Turner shot at Jackson after he broke into her home to see Swann. Turner decided not to press charges in order to avoid bad press.
- Randy filed for bankruptcy in 1996. He was ordered to surrender his shares in Modern Records Inc. In May 1998, an arrest warrant was issued when Jackson failed to turn over the stock. In 2001, he pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud by failing to list all his vehicular assets.
- Jackson married Eliza Shaffy in August 1989; they divorced in 1992. They have a daughter together, Stevanna Jackson (born June 17, 1990).