Although Janet Jackson may not have been as iconic in the 1980s as big brother, Michael, I think she out-shined him in many ways. First, I always respected her for making a success out of herself without relying on big brother’s help. She wrote/co-wrote her own songs and she selected her own producers, most notably Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
The album Control, released in 1986, was her first breakthrough in the music business. Previous releases failed to propel her into Superstardom. And who could help but love the entire album? The singles were glossy dance numbers with tough lyrics. Years before self-help groups were making the term “boundaries” popular, Janet Jackson was already setting boundaries with her lyrics, especially in songs like “What Have You Done for Me Lately?” “Nasty” and “Let’s Wait Awhile.”
Even more amazing was the fact that she was able to follow up Control with an album that was even more spectacular, Rhythm Nation 1814 in 1989. At the time, I really considered Rhythm Nation to be Janet Jackson’s sophomore album, since Control placed her on the music map. Control had produced four Top 5 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, with “When I Think of You” being her first #1 hit. The album itself had also shot to #1 and sold 10,000,000 copies worldwide.
Who could turn right around and top success like that? Janet Jackson. Rhythm Nation also shot to #1 on the Billboard albums chart and it sold over 12,000,000 copies worldwide. Album sales were propelled by record-breaking singles “Miss You Much,” “Escapade,” “Rhythm Nation,” “Alright,” “Come Back to Me,” “Black Cat” and “Love Will Never Do Without You.” To this day, Rhythm Nation is the only album to produced 7 Top 5 singles on the Billboard Hot 100.
Not bad for the little sister of the same era’s greatest icon, King of Pop Michael Jackson. Janet Jackson will forever be a Superstar icon of her own in the world of Pop/R&B music. She truly helped to make the 1980s musically spectacular.
Meditation to the Groove! 