#259 - Janet Jackson - The Velvet Rope (1997)
MUSIC HISTORY COMPILED BY ADAM BERNARD:
BACKGROUND – JANET JACKSON
Janet Damita Jo Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana in 1966, and is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreography became a catalyst in the growth of MTV, enabling her to rise to prominence while breaking gender and racial barriers in the process. Lyrical content which focused on social issues and lived experiences set her reputation as a role model for youth.
Janet was the 10th and youngest child of the infamous Jackson family. Her mother, Katherine played clarinet and piano, and had aspired to be a country-and-western performer, and worked part-time at Sears. Her father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a former boxer, was a crane operator at U.S. Steel and played guitar with a local rhythm and blues band, the Falcons, to supplement the family's income At a young age, Jackson's brothers began performing as the Jackson 5 in the Chicago-Gary area. In March 1969, they signed a record deal with Motown, and soon had their first number-one hit. The family then moved to the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. Janet had initially desired to become a horse racing jockey or entertainment lawyer, with plans to support herself through acting. Despite this, she was anticipated to pursue a career in entertainment and considered the idea after recording herself in the studio. She starred in the variety television series The Jacksons in 1976 and went on to appear in other television shows throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including Good Times, Diff'rent Strokes, and Fame.
When Jackson was sixteen, her father and manager Joseph Jackson arranged a contract for her with A&M Records. Her debut album, Janet Jackson, was released in 1982. It peaked at No. 63 on the Billboard 200, and No. 6 on the publication's R&B albums chart, receiving little promotion. The album appeared on the Billboard Top Black Albums of 1983, while Jackson herself was the highest-ranking female vocalist on the Billboard Year-End Black Album Artists. Her second album, Dream Street, was released two years later and reached No. 147 on the Billboard 200, and No. 19 on the R&B albums chart. Both albums consisted primarily of bubblegum pop music. After her second album, Jackson terminated business affairs with her family, commenting "I just wanted to get out of the house, get out from under my father, which was one of the most difficult things that I had to do." Attempting a third album, Jackson teamed with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. They set out to achieve crossover pop appeal, while also creating a strong foundation within the urban market. Within six weeks, Jackson and the duo crafted her third studio album, Control, released in February 1986. The album shot to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and was certified fivefold Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, selling over ten million copies worldwide. That was followed by Rhythm Nation 1814 in 1989 (go back to Episode 277 to hear more on that), which was a huge success - peaking at #1 and sold over 12 million copies worldwide. 1993 was a big year for her, releasing her self-titled 5th album (also opening at #1 on the Billboard 100) and was in the movie Poetic Justice. That brings us to today's album.
She released 5 more albums after The Velvet Rope, spanning from All For You in 2001 through Unbreakable in 2015. She also starred opposite Eddie Murphy in "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" (2000), and there's also the infamous Super Bowl 38 Halftime Show nipple reveal (question #10 deals with that).
Jackson has sold over 100 million records, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. She has amassed an extensive catalog, with singles such as "Nasty", "Rhythm Nation", "That's the Way Love Goes", "Together Again", and "All for You". She holds the record for the most consecutive top-ten entries on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart by a female artist with 18. She is also the only artist in the history of the chart to have seven commercial singles from one album (Rhythm Nation 1814) peak within the top five positions. In December 2016, the magazine named her the second most successful dance club artist after Madonna. One of the world's most awarded artists, her achievements include five Grammy Awards, eleven Billboard Music Awards, eleven American Music Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and eight Guinness World Records entries. She was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
ackson has declared herself "a very big Joni Mitchell fan", explaining: "As a kid I was drawn to Joni Mitchell records. Joni's songs spoke to me in an intimate, personal way." She holds reverence for Tina Turner, stating "Tina has become a heroic figure for many people, especially women, because of her tremendous strength. Personally, Tina doesn't seem to have a beginning or an end in my life. I felt her music was always there, and I feel like it always will be." She has also named other socially conscious acts, such as Tracy Chapman, Sly and the Family Stone, U2, and Bob Dylan as sources of inspiration.In her early career, Jackson credited her brothers Michael and Jermaine Jackson as musical influences. Other artists attributed as influences include Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder, Prince, and Parliament-Funkadelic
ALBUM BACKGROUND – THE VELVET ROPE
The Velvet Rope is the sixth studio album by American singer Janet Jackson. The album was released in October 1997 Often referred to as her magnum opus, The Velvet Rope received a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Music. The album has been regarded as a template for pop artists transitioning to a darker or rebellious sound.
This is an album was an emotional wringer for Janet, having experienced deep depression to the point of having to take breaks during the writing/recording process. It also explores topics that were still taboo for pop music in the mid-late 1990s like AIDS and being Pro LGBTQ+. Jackson described the album as her most personal work, developed throughout her entire lifetime. This explores her darker side and her emotional breakdown.