Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive and television presenter, perhaps best known as a judge on ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

playing

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

for an array of jazz, pop, rock, and R&B performers. He moved on to work in music production and in the A&R department at

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

and

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

. Jackson is best known from his appearances as the longest-serving judge on ''

'' and executive producer for MTV's '' America's Best Dance Crew''. In May 2020, Jackson was rehired as bassist for

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

following their sudden split with founding member Ross Valory. Jackson had previously filled the role on the band's 1986 album ''

Raised on Radio ''Raised on Radio'' is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Journey, released in April 1986 on the Columbia Records label. It is the first album to not feature founding bassist Ross Valory, who is replaced by session bassists Randy J ...

'' and its tour.

Early life

Jackson was born June 23, 1956, in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

, the son of Julia, a homemaker, and Herman Jackson, a plant foreman. He graduated from

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a ...

in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in music.

Music career

In the early 1980s, he played on three albums for

Jean-Luc Ponty Jean-Luc Ponty (born 29 September 1942) is a French jazz violinist and composer. Early life Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano. At sixteen, he was admitt ...

and with the rock band

Taxxi Taxxi were an English rock band best known for the song "I'm Leaving". The band formed in the late 1970s and first came to prominence in the early 1980s with a few minor AOR hit singles and some MTV airplay. The band received club play in F ...

. From 1986 to 1987, he was a

for the rock group

. He played on Journey's 1986 album ''

.'' He moved to Italy in the late 1980s and played on a record by Italian pop star

Zucchero Adelmo Fornaciari (; born 25 September 1955), more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero (), is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. His stage name is the Italian word for "sugar", as his elementary teach ...

. The record, ''Zucchero and the Randy Jackson Band'', was produced by Corrado Rustici who played guitar with Jackson on many albums in the early 1980s. In 1985,

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

was asked to provide music for the

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

comedy vehicle ''

Jumpin' Jack Flash "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released as a non-album single in 1968. Called "supernatural Delta blues by way of Swinging London" by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, the song was perceived by some as t ...

''. Richards assembled an all-star band which included

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

on piano and lead vocals and Jackson on bass guitar. This song was the fourth track on Aretha's 1986 album titled '' Aretha''. Jackson can be seen in the song's video. In the late 1980s, Jackson was still doing sessions. He was notably on the first solo album by famed session guitarist Steve Lukather. Jackson was a featured bass guitarist on five songs on Maze's 1989 "Silky Soul" album. He also performed on several of

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artis ...

's albums. Jackson was the bass guitarist on the 1991 self-titled Divinyls album (which features the song "

I Touch Myself "I Touch Myself" is a song recorded by the Australian rock band Divinyls and written by Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg with Christine Amphlett and Mark McEntee of the Divinyls. It was released in November 1990 as the lead single from their f ...

") as well as featured bassist on several tracks of

Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason". Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...

's 1992 release, '' Matters of the Heart''. He performed on the singles "Bang Bang Bang", "Open Arms", and "Dreaming on a World". That same year, Jackson also played bass on Bruce Springsteen's song "

Human Touch ''Human Touch'' is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. The album was released on March 31, 1992, the same day as '' Lucky Town''. It was the more popular of the two, peaking at number two on the US ''Billboar ...

". On March 11, 2008, Jackson released an album produced entirely by himself, titled ''

Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1 ''Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1'' is the debut studio album by record producer Randy Jackson. The album was released on March 11, 2008. Jackson himself did not sing on the songs on ''Music Club'', but he did produce them all. Sales and char ...

''. The album's release was preceded by the single "

Dance Like There's No Tomorrow "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" is a song by American singer Paula Abdul and American musician Randy Jackson. It was Abdul's first single release in nearly twelve years. The song was produced by DEEKAY and Randy Jackson and appears on Jackson's a ...

" sung by

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...

. In 2009, Randy began working with former Idol finalist

Kimberley Locke Kimberley Dawn Locke (born January 3, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She has recorded in the dance and pop genres, and has targeted the adult contemporary radio format. She was the cohost of the daytime talk s ...

, producing her 4th album. The lead single, "Strobe Light", was released March 16, 2010.Locke, Kimberley
"New Single – Strobe Light"
Official Kimberley Locke Blog, February 8, 2010. In February 2010, Jackson participated in

We Are the World 25 for Haiti "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" is a charity single recorded by the supergroup Artists for Haiti in 2010. It is a remake of the song " We Are the World", which was written by American musicians Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and was recor ...

as part of the chorus. Jackson is the manager for the

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

-based band

Paper Tongues Paper Tongues is an American alternative rock band from Charlotte, North Carolina. The band currently consists of Aswan North ( lead vocals) and Daniel Santell (bass guitar). Their sound is described as fusing rock n' roll melodies with beats, an ...

. With the help of Jackson, they signed with a major label,

A&M/Octone Records A&M Octone Records was an American record label owned as a joint venture between Universal Music Group and Octone Records. A full-service artist development label, it was founded in 2007 as a merger between Octone and Interscope Geffen A&M's defu ...

. He has also worked as an executive, spending eight years as vice president of artists and repertoire ( A&R) at

and four years heading A&R at

Radio program

Jackson also hosts a radio top 40 countdown known as ''Randy Jackson's Hit List'', which is syndicated by

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The compan ...

. Every week, Jackson counts down his top 30 Urban AC and Mainstream AC hits. He also gives behind-the-scenes information on ''American Idol'' on the internet radio station

Artist Underground Artist Underground (formerly known as ''American Idol Underground'') was founded by Justin Beckett in 2006 and was an online community and internet radio station where unsigned artists were able to get their music heard. Artists submit their music ...

Television

''American Idol''

Starting in 2002, Jackson was one of the panel judges on the

Fox Network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

reality television series ''

'', along with

(2002–2009),

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of ''The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on t ...

(2002–2010),

Kara DioGuardi Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi (; born December 9, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, music publisher, A&R executive, and singer. She writes music primarily in the pop rock genre. DioGuardi has worked with many popular artists; sales o ...

(2009–2010),

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...

(2010),

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

(2011–2012), Steven Tyler (2011–2012),

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...

(2013),

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

(2013), and

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

(2013). As a result of Cowell's departure, Jackson was left as the sole original judge on ''American Idol''. His role was originally going to be reduced to that of a mentor, so the 2013 season would have all new judges, but it was later decided that he would remain as a judge for season 12. On May 9, 2013, Jackson announced that he would be leaving ''American Idol'' after twelve seasons due to him wanting to focus on other business ventures. On September 3, 2013, it was announced that Jackson would replace

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, record executive, and media proprietor best known as the co-founder of Interscope Records. In 2006, Iovine and rapper-producer Dr. Dre founded Beats Electronics, which produces ...

as the in-house mentor on ''American Idol''. He departed the series for good in November 2014.

''America's Best Dance Crew''

Jackson produced '' America's Best Dance Crew'', an American group dance competition and reality television show, which premiered on February 7, 2008, on MTV and was cancelled in 2012 due to declining ratings. Each week, the teams showcased their creative talents in choreography and their dance skills, and one crew was eliminated by the judges. The competition continued until the sole winning dance crew was awarded the title of America's Best Dance Crew, and a cash prize of $100,000.

''Name That Tune''

Jackson serves as bandleader on the revival of ''

Name That Tune ''Name That Tune'' is an American television music game show. Originally created and produced by orchestra conductor Harry Salter and his wife Roberta Semple Salter, the series features contestants competing to correctly identify songs being p ...

''.

Personal life

Jackson's first marriage, to Elizabeth Jackson, was dissolved in 1990; they had one daughter named Taylor. In 1995, Jackson married Erika Riker, with whom he has two children, a daughter named Zoe and a son named Jordan. In 2014, Riker filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences; it was finalized in 2019. In 2003, Jackson lost following

gastric bypass surgery Gastric bypass surgery refers to a technique in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch and then the small intestine is rearranged to connect to both. Surgeons have developed several differ ...

. He stated in a February 2008 television commercial that he has

type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urinatio ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

As sideman

With

*''

Frontiers Frontiers may refer to: * Frontier, areas near or beyond a boundary Arts and entertainment Music * ''Frontiers'' (Journey album), 1983 * ''Frontiers'' (Jermaine Jackson album), 1978 * ''Frontiers'' (Jesse Cook album), 2007 * ''Frontiers'' ( ...

'' (Columbia, 1983) (bass on " After the Fall") *''

'' (Columbia, 1986) *''

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

'' (BMG, 2022) With Richard Marx *''

Repeat Offender Recidivism (; from ''recidive'' and ''ism'', from Latin ''recidīvus'' "recurring", from ''re-'' "back" and ''cadō'' "I fall") is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of th ...

'' (Capitol, 1989) With

Neal Schon Neal ( Neil) is a given masculine name and surname of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "hon ...

*''

Late Nite ''Late Nite'' is the first solo album by Neal Schon released in 1989. Bob Marlette played keyboards and produced the album. Several of the musicians were former Journey members Gregg Rolie, Jonathan Cain, Steve Smith, and Randy Jackson as well as ...

'' (Columbia, 1989) With

*'' Civilized Evil'' (Atlantic, 1980) *''

Mystical Adventures ''Mystical Adventures'' is an album by French jazz fusion artist Jean-Luc Ponty, released in 1982. Track listing All songs by Jean-Luc Ponty unless otherwise noted. #"Mystical Adventures (Suite) Part I" – 3:29 #"Mystical Adventures (Suite) Pa ...

'' (Atlantic, 1982) *''

Individual Choice ''Individual Choice'' is an album by French jazz fusion violinist Jean-Luc Ponty that was released in 1983. A music video for the title track was produced by Louis Schwarzberg in 1984, consisting of time-lapsed footage of New York City, Chicago, ...

'' (Atlantic, 1983) With

Stryper Stryper is an American Christian metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson (bass guitar), and Robert Sweet (drums). Formed in 1983 as Roxx ...

*'' Against the Law'' (Enigma, 1990) (bass on " Shining Star")

References

External links

Randy Jackson's Hit List from Westwood One
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Randy 1956 births Living people American Idol participants American male singers American music managers American radio personalities American rock bass guitarists American session musicians A&R people Columbia Records artists Journey (band) members Singers from Louisiana Musicians from Baton Rouge, Louisiana American jazz bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American rhythm and blues bass guitarists American male guitarists Guitarists from Louisiana 20th-century American guitarists Jazz musicians from Louisiana Record producers from Louisiana American male jazz musicians Southern University alumni People with type 2 diabetes Judges in American reality television series