Not many people knew his name prior to American Idol, But Randy Jackson has always been a giant to the music industry. Born June 23rd, 1956 in Baton Rouge Lousiana, Jackson grew up surrounded by soulful, deep southern musical influances.
In 1979, after graduating from Southern University with a Bachelor’s in music, Randy Jackson started making a name for himself as a bass guitar player, lending his talent in the recording studios to such acts as Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead.
In 1983, he began touring with 80′s hit group Journey, playing guitar as well as keyboards. However, Jackson never really strayed far for the recording studio and continued to provide his skill for many upcoming artists. In fact, since the beginning of his career, Randy has been recorded on over one thousand records worldwide.
During the late 1980′s and early 1990′s, Randy Jackson experimented with many different aspects of the music industry, from teaching recording industry class at UCLA, to becoming an executive for huge record moguls Columbia and MCA Records.
But it wasn’t until Simon Fuller, producer of UK’s Pop Idol approached Randy in 2001 with an offer to appear as one of the judges on America’s version of the talent show American Idol, that the name Randy Jackson became so well known to the American public.
Although American Idol is what Randy has been mostly known for, he continues to produce, perform and manage several up and coming recording artists.
When asked in an interview, Simon Cowell, producer and friend said of Jackson, “Randy is the only person who remains totally and utterly unaffected by the fame that the show has brought.”
Randy will be appearing along with fellow judges Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres on American Idol season nine in January 2010.