 |
| Jermaine Jackson |
| Born December 11, 1954 in Gary Indiana. Jermaine shot to international stardom with his siblings in the late 1960's and early 1970's. In 1971 it was decided that solo careers for both Michael and Jermaine would benefit the group and Motown. Jermaine's solo debut album, "Jermaine" reached the stores in late 1972 and produced his first top ten hit, "Daddy's Home." However 1973's "Come Into My Life" failed to generate any hits or interest. The public was enraptured with baby Michael and Jermaine seemed destined for a group-only career. With a keen eye for the ladies, Jermaine fell in love with Papa Gordy's daughter Hazel and the two were married in 1974. The marriage had it's perks (a continued solo contract despite lackluster sales) and it's pits (becoming the pariah of the Jackson clan). In 1976 The Jackson Five (actually only four of them) decided that Motown had handled them shoddily for long enough and jumped ship for Epic Records. Jermaine felt a loyalty to Berry Gordy, not only was he a father-in-law, but in many ways he was more of a father figure to young Jermaine than Joe Jackson. Jermaine stayed with Motown despite the strain it put on him and his family. That same year he released his third solo album, "My Name Is Jermaine." It produced his first disco hit with the 12" single of "Let's Be Young Tonight" but failed to generate any other hit singles. The next two years brought two more albums that failed miserably, 1977's "Feel The Fire" and 1978's "Frontiers." It must have been hard for Jermaine to stand by and watch the (newly christened) Jacksons return to chart glory and to see Michael's solo career begin to ignite while his was becoming dormant. In 1979 Jermaine got a badly needed shot in the arm from Stevie Wonder, who wrote and produced his "Let's Get Serious" album. The 12" single of the title track went Top Ten pop and club. But it wasn't enought to level the playing field with his brothers who were enjoying massive club success at the time. "I Like Your Style," his 1981 disaster yielded no hit singles and it was apparent that his tenure with Motown was nearing it's end. One of the best albums Jermaine Jackson ever made, and certainly his best at Motown, was 1982's "Let Me Tickle Your Fancy." The title cut was a Top 10 R&B hit, Top 20 pop smash and the 12" single gave him his best club charting ever. Jackson gained some significant publicity out of duetting with avant garde popsters Devo on the title track. It also was his final album at Motown. In 1983 Jermaine left Motown, though still married to Hazel, to join his brothers for the ill-fated "Victory" album and tour. That album had three popular 12" singles, "Torture," "State Of Shock" and "Body" but the tour (which featured all six brothers) was wrought with conflict and tensions. He signed a new contract that year with Arista records, thanks in large part to Clive Davis. His first task for his new label was to produce three tracks, including two duets, for Whitney Houston and her debut album. The logic behind this was to introduce Houston and re-introduce Jackson, it worked when "Nobody Loves Me Like You" and "Take Good Care Of My Heart" both became A.C. radio hits. His own 1984 Arista debut was "Dynamite." A title never held truer.....the album produce two 12" single club smashes with "Dynamite" and "Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming." The album also gave him a pop radio hit with "Do What You Do" which made this his most commercially successful ever. He followed that with the 12" single of "(Closest Thing To) Perfect" from the Jamie Curtis film. The uptempo number would be another of his disco career highlights. The next year produced an unlikely duet of Jermaine and Pia Zadora. "When The Rain Begins To Fall" produced three 12" singles of various remixes and imports. The song was Jermaine's and Pia's biggest hit ever and remains a classic slice of 1980's pop. 1986's "Precious Moments" and 1989's "Don't Take It Personal" produced no remarkable singles and his tenure at Arista was over. Scandal plagued Jermaine around this point in his life. His wife of nearly fourteen years, Hazel Gordy Jackson divorced him in July 1988. Prior to, and most likely the cause, was his salacious affair Margaret Maldonado. He fathered two children with Maldonado, the first arrived in December 1986 while he was still married to Hazel. In August 1988 Hazel claimed that Jermaine attempted to rape her after dropping their children off on visitation day. Things were not going well for Jermaine. A move to LA Face (BabyFace and L.A. Reid's label) in 1991 produced one album, "You Said." A 12" single of "You Said, You Said" marked his last trip to the club charts. The album is most known for the controversy (or hype) surrounding the supposed lyrical attack on his brother Michael on the album's second single, "Word To The Badd." SInce the early 1990's Jermaine has kept a low profile, working behind the scenes in the families various enterprises. Though one would think that there was bad-blood between Michael and Jermaine, Jermaine is often the most vocal and visible champion of Michael in his recent legal troubles. Our hats are tipped to Jermaine for having talent and for being the most underrated Jackson of the clan. |
 |