Joe Jackson

Fact Sheet

Birthday	11 August 1954 (54)
Sign	Leo
Birthplace	England, UK

Joe Jackson (born August 11, 1954 in Burton-on-Trent) is a British musician. He started off learning to play the violin but soon switched to piano. From the age of 16 he played in bars, and won a scholarship to study Composition at London's Royal Academy of Music.

He did not like the prospect of being a serious composer, and moved towards pop and rock. His first band was Arms and Legs which collapsed after two unsuccessful singles. He then spent some time in the cabaret circuit to make money to record his own demos. In 1978 a producer heard his tape, and got him signed to A&M Records. The album Look Sharp! was recorded straight away, and was released in 1979, quickly followed by I'm the Man and Beat Crazy in 1980. The Joe Jackson band was very successful and toured extensively. After the breakup of the band, Joe took a break and recorded an album of old-style swing and blues tunes, Jumpin' Jive, featuring songs of Cab Calloway, Lester Young, Glenn Miller, and most prominently, Louis Jordan.

From then on, he left the world of pop further and further behind him, and went on to be signed by Sony Classical in 1997, who released his unconventional Symphony No. 1 in 1999 for which he received a Grammy award.

Jackson is most commonly known for the 1982 hit song "Steppin' Out", which still gets extensive FM radio airplay.

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