Joe Jackson - Body and Soul

Today (March 14th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of Body and Soul, the seventh studio album from Joe Jackson. This 1984 release went to number 20 on the US Billboard Album chart (with twenty-nine weeks total on the chart) and number 14 in the UK.

Joe Jackson - Look Sharp!

Earlier this month (January 5th) marked the thirty-fifth anniversary of Look Sharp!, the debut album from Joe Jackson. Joining him on the 1979 release were Gary Sanford (guitar), Graham Maby (bass) and David Houghton (drums). The record went to number 40 in the UK and number 20 on the US Billboard Album chart. It was also very popular on US college radio station with a number of songs hitting the top twenty of the CMJ College Radio Tracks chart.

Joe Jackson - Mike's Murder (soundtrack)

Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday.

After his successful 1982 release Night and Day (click here for that review), Joe Jackson was invited to contribute a track to Mike’s Murder. The film was written and directed by James Bridges and starred Debra Winger. Jackson ended up writing a number of songs and instrumental pieces.

Deciding to release all of it as an album, Mike’s Murder soundtrack came out in September of 1983. The film, however, was delayed and did not open until March of 1984. Much of Jackson’s work was replaced with a score by John Barry. Despite this disconnect, Jackson’s album reached number 64 on the US Billboard Album chart. Today we will give it a listen to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary.

Joe Jackson - Night and Day

This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Night and Day, the fifth studio album from English singer/songwriter Joe Jackson. The title comes from a Cole Porter song with the whole album done in tribute to the composer and, indirectly, to New York City.

The June 1982 release is Jackson’s highest charting album to date. In his native UK, the record went all the way to number 3. In the US, the album reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 200.