Randy Jackson

Randall Darius Jackson is an American record executive, television presenter, and musician. Born on June 23, 1956, he is widely recognized for his long-running role as a judge on the reality television series American Idol from 2002 to 2013. In addition to his on-screen television work, Jackson has maintained an extensive career in the music industry as a bass guitarist, music producer, artist manager, and record label executive.

Jackson was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His mother, Julia, worked as a homemaker, and his father, Herman Jackson, worked as a plant foreman. Jackson pursued his post-secondary education at Southern University, where he graduated in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in music.

In the early 1980s, Jackson began his professional music career as a session musician, performing bass guitar for jazz, pop, rock, and R&B artists. He played on three albums for Jean-Luc Ponty and worked with the rock band Taxxi. Between 1986 and 1987, he joined the rock group Journey, initially contributing bass to their 1986 album Raised on Radio before participating in the band's subsequent tour. During the late 1980s, Jackson moved to Italy to record Zucchero and the Randy Jackson Band with Italian pop star Zucchero, presenting the lead single "Donne" at the 35th Sanremo Music Festival.

Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Jackson performed on numerous high-profile recordings. In 1985, he played bass guitar alongside Aretha Franklin for the song "Jumpin' Jack Flash." He contributed to Steve Lukather's first solo album, five tracks on Maze's 1989 album Silky Soul, and several albums by Kenny G. Jackson was also the bass guitarist for Divinyls' 1991 self-titled album, several tracks on Tracy Chapman's 1992 album Matters of the Heart, and Bruce Springsteen's 1992 single "Human Touch." Beyond his session work, Jackson worked as an executive, serving eight years as vice president of A&R at Columbia Records and four years heading A&R at MCA Records.

Jackson achieved widespread mainstream fame beginning in 2002 as an original panel judge on Fox's American Idol. He served as a judge for twelve consecutive seasons, eventually becoming the longest-serving judge on the show. After announcing his departure as a judge in May 2013, he rejoined the show as an in-house mentor for a period before departing the series permanently in November 2014.

In addition to American Idol, Jackson executive produced MTV's dance competition show America's Best Dance Crew from its premiere in 2008 until 2012. He released a self-produced album, Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1, in 2008, which featured the single "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" sung by Paula Abdul. Jackson also managed the band Paper Tongues, produced music for Kimberley Locke, hosted the syndicated radio countdown Randy Jackson's Hit List, and served as bandleader on the revival of Name That Tune.

In his personal life, Jackson was married to Elizabeth Jackson until 1990, with whom he has a daughter named Taylor. He married Erika Riker in 1995, and they have two children, Zoe and Jordan, before their divorce was finalized in 2019. Jackson lost 114 pounds following gastric bypass surgery in 2003 and has type 2 diabetes. In May 2020, Jackson returned to his musical roots when he was rehired as the bassist for Journey.