Known within the music industry for his long career as a talented musician, producer and record company executive, Randy Jackson achieved celebrity on a much larger scale when he signed on to judge would-be singing stars on the excessively popular talent show, “American Idol” (Fox, 2002- ). Alongside fellow judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul, Jackson suffered through countless hacks, off-key warblers and delusional wannabes in a quest to find the next pop star – someone with a healthy blend of vocal talent, stage presence and cool determination. While Cowell was seen as the show’s insulting bad guy, and Abdul received her share of bad press after an alleged affair with a contestant, Jackson – whose only brush with notoriety was gastric bypass surgery in 2003 – maintained a measured and good-humored presence. He also created his own vernacular, calling both male and female contestants, “dawg,” and with fist pumping, would proclaim, “We got a hot one here tonight in the dawg pound!”As a Baton Rouge, LA native, Jackson grew up surrounded by music of all kinds – blues, zydeco, Dixieland, fusion, rock and jazz where among the many influences he was exposed to throughout the parish. Though his family was more middle class than musical – dad worked for Exxon; mom was a homemaker – young Jackson became interested in music at an early age, trying the saxophone and other instruments before deciding on the bass. He attended Robert E. Lee High School during the day, where he also played football, but spent his nights playing gigs at local hot spots. His first break came at age 17 when he began playing with John Fred and his Playboys – a pop band that scored a hit in 1967 with a parody on the Beatle’s “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” called “Judy in Disguise [With Glasses].”
After high school, Jackson attended Southern University to study music, but was pulled away from the classroom when fusion drummer Billy Cobham auditioned potential bassists. Though only 20, Jackson was picked and wound up touring with the drummer for the next three years. He ultimately settled in San Francisco, where he began amassing a resume as a studio musician and bassist-for-hire, recording and touring with a vast array of talent, from Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Bob Dylan to Aretha Franklin and Ernie K-Doe. In 1983, he landed his most prominent gig, playing bass for arena rock band Journey, joining them for the LP recordings of Frontiers and Raised on Radio. It was during his time with Journey, that he earned the sobriquet “Emperor of the Bass,” an apt title after leaving the band in 1986 for nonstop session work with Bruce Springsteen, Whitney Houston and Elton John.
In the early 1990s, however, Jackson stepped back from playing music, feeling overwhelmed from it all, and made the jump to producing. Encouraged by a friend to pursue A&R (Artist & Repertoire) Records, Jackson became an executive for Columbia and MCA records, where he arranged music for the likes of Madonna, Janet Jackson (no relation) and Celine Dion.
After ten years as a top A&R executive, he was asked to review a tape of the hit British series, “Pop Idols” (2001-02), which Jackson thought was hilarious. He was asked to be one of three judges for the stateside version, “American Idol.” The voter-call-in-program was an immediate hit, with season one’s winner Kelly Clarkson emerging as the first – some would say best – “Idol” winner.
As with all obscure personalities who experience overnight fame, Jackson released a book in 2003, What’s Up Dawg?: How to Become a Superstar in the Music Business, a how-to for wannabe Idols unable to make it down to the audition. Meanwhile, Jackson began dipping his toe into acting, appearing in episodes of “American Dreams” (NBC, 2002-05), “Kevin Hill” (UPN, 2004-05) and “Dr. Vegas” (CBS, 2004-05).