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 musical composition at London's Royal Academy of Music. Jackson 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. He also collaborated with Lincoln Thompson in reggae crossover.
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. He went on to record Night and Day, an album that paid tribute to the wit and style of Cole Porter (and less directly, to New York City) and was his last album to hit the Top 10, peaking at #4.
He recorded another record that was heavily influenced by jazz, pop and jazz standards, and salsa, Body and Soul, which hit #20, containing the hit You Can't Get What You Want ('Til You Know What You Want).
Jackson followed with Big World, a three-sided double record (the fourth side consisted of a single centring groove and a label stating "there is no music on this side"). The instrumental Will Power set the stage for things to come later, but before he left pop behind he put out two more cerebral and celebratory albums, Blaze of Glory and Laughter and Lust. For some years he drifted away from the pop style, going on to be signed by Sony Classical in 1997, which released his Symphony No. 1 in 1999 for which he received a Grammy award.
Night and Day II in 2000 lacked strong pop hooks though, as usual with Jackson, displayed fine lyrics and some elegant songwriting. Volume 4 in 2003 reunited the original band and was well received. A promotional CD, bundled with the initial release, of the 'live' band playing some of Jackson's strongest material was widely admired.
Jackson is also an author, having written A Cure for Gravity, published in 1999, which Jackson has described as a "book about music, thinly disguised as a memoir". It traces his early musical life from childhood until his 24th birthday. Life as a pop star, he suggested, was hardly worth writing about.
In 2004 Jackson performed a cover of Common People with William Shatner for Shatner's album Has Been.
He has actively campaigned against smoking bans in both the USA and the UK, writing a 2005 pamphlet The Smoking Issue and issuing a satirical song (In 20-0-3) on the subject.
In 2008 the album Rain was released by Joe Jackson. Like its predecessor Volume 4, it featured members of the 'Joe Jackson Band', this time minus guitarist Gary Sanford.
Currently he lives in Kreuzberg, Germany.
Discography:
1979 - Look Sharp!
1979 - I'm The Man
1980 - Beat Crazy
1981 - Jumpin' Jive
1982 - Night and Day
1983 - Mike’s Murder, (Soundtrack)
1984 - Body and Soul
1986 - Big World
1987 - Will Power
1988 - Live 1980/86
1988 - Tucker, (Soundtrack)
1989 - Blaze of Glory
1991 - Laughter & Lust
1994 - Night Music
1997 - Heaven and Hell
1999 - Symphony No. 1
2000 - Summer in the City: Live in New York
2000 - Night and Day II
2002 - Two Rainy Nights, (Live)
2004 - Volume 4
2004 - Afterlife, (Live)
2008 - Rain
2011 - Live Music, (Live)
2012 - The Duke
Eleanor Rigby
Joe Jackson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near.
Look at him working.
Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Joe Jackson's song, Eleanor Rigby, is a poignant and insightful exploration of loneliness and isolation. The opening lines of the song, “Ah, look at all the lonely people,” set the tone and introduce the theme that runs throughout. The song tells the story of two individuals, Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie, who are leading lonely lives in spite of their roles within a social framework.
Eleanor Rigby seems to be living in a dream, performing menial tasks like picking up rice after a wedding in a church. She waits at the window wearing the face she keeps in a jar by the door. The line, “Who is it for?” suggests that she is questioning the purpose of her existence and the face she must put on for others. Father McKenzie, meanwhile, is shown writing a sermon that no one will hear, highlighting the futility of his work as a pastor. He spends his nights darning socks, a mundane task typically done by women, in the absence of anyone else.
The song ends with Eleanor Rigby's death and her burial, symbolizing the emptiness and isolation of her life. Father McKenzie appears to be the only one attending her funeral, and he too walks away without anyone to comfort or save him. The refrain, “All the lonely people, where do they all come from? All the lonely people, where do they all belong?” is repeated throughout the song, questioning the root cause of loneliness in society and where the solution may lie.
Line by Line Meaning
Ah, look at all the lonely people
The singer calls attention to the lonely individuals around us.
Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Eleanor Rigby goes through the motions, cleaning up after a wedding in a trance-like state.
Lives in a dream
Eleanor Rigby goes through life in a haze of her own feelings.
Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Eleanor Rigby tries to mask her true emotions by putting on a false face.
Who is it for?
The singer questions who Eleanor Rigby truly is trying to impress by wearing her false persona.
All the lonely people
The chorus repeats, pointing out the theme of the song again.
Where do they all come from?
The singer ponders where all the lonely people originate.
Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear
Father McKenzie prepares a sermon that nobody will listen to, leading to reinforcement of the theme of loneliness.
No one comes near
Despite Father McKenzie's attempts to bring his congregation closer, nobody comes near him or his sermons.
Look at him working
The singer observes Father McKenzie working hard to carry out his thankless tasks.
Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
Father McKenzie spends his nights alone and uses his free time to mend his socks.
What does he care?
The singer questions whether Father McKenzie truly cares about his own plight or loneliness.
Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name
Eleanor Rigby passes away in the church with nobody around to mourn and is buried without any loved ones' presence.
Nobody came
Eleanor Rigby's death is barren of any visitors or mourners.
Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
Father McKenzie is left to tend to Eleanor's grave alone, thus increasing the amount of lonely people in the singer's eyes.
No one was saved
The final line emphasizes the theme of loneliness, as nobody could save Eleanor Rigby from her isolated fate.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Airedale721
Outstanding cover. I love the up tempo and flawless falsetto.❤️
Megan Bros
This is such a beautiful cover!! <3
geoffrey bennett
Joe is a musical genius
Chaketz Cruz
Cool
Dan Nájera
💔😪