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
Moonlight
Joe Jackson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I think I see my shadow on the wall
Moonlight, silence and silver
I think I hear a footstep in the hall
I know it's only make-believe, pretend
I think the moonlight is my friend
But sometimes I'm not sure
Moonlight
I know it's only make-believe, pretend
I think the moonlight is my friend
But sometimes I'm not sure
The lyrics to Joe Jackson's song Moonlight are about the power of imagination and the ambiguity of reality. The singer is in a state of uncertainty, unsure if what they are experiencing is real or imagined. The repeated references to moonlight as a source of illumination throughout the song suggests that this theme is key to the meaning of the lyrics.
The first stanza begins with the singer seeing a shadow on the wall and hearing a footstep in the hall in the moonlight. The ambiguity of the reality gives rise to the sense of bewilderment and confusion. The second stanza refers to the singer's make-believe friend, the moonlight. The singer embraces the possibility that the moonlight could be their friend, but the lyrics suggest that they are not always certain. The final repetition of the words "moonlight" ends the song on a note of ambiguity, leaving listeners to question whether the singer's experiences are reality, imagination or a combination of the two.
Line by Line Meaning
Moonlight, starlight, star bright
The singer is describing the night sky and its illumination
I think I see my shadow on the wall
The singer is observing their own shadow being cast by the moonlight onto a nearby surface
Moonlight, silence and silver
The singer is further describing the characteristics of moonlight
I think I hear a footstep in the hall
The artist is hearing a noise and believes it could be someone walking near them
I know it's only make-believe, pretend
The artist is aware that their thoughts and feelings about the moonlight and their surroundings are not necessarily reality
I think the moonlight is my friend
Despite their awareness of imagination versus reality, the singer still feels comfort from the moonlight's presence
But sometimes I'm not sure
The singer still has moments of doubt and uncertainty about the reality of their surroundings
Moonlight
The artist returns to the initial description of the moonlight as a stand-alone concept
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GIDEON JACKSON, PAUL HANKIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind