Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814
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| Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | ||
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| Studio album by Janet Jackson | ||
| Released | September 19, 1989 | |
| Recorded | 1988-1989 | |
| Genre | Pop/R&B/New Jack Swing | |
| Length | 64:31 | |
| Label | A&M | |
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Janet Jackson Jellybean Johnson |
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| Professional reviews | ||
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| Janet Jackson chronology | ||
| Control: The Remixes (1987) |
Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) |
janet. (1993) |
Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (commonly titled simply Rhythm Nation or Rhythm Nation 1814) is the fourth studio album by American R&B artist Janet Jackson. It was released on September 19, 1989 and became the best selling album of 1990. It is the only album in history to score #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in three different calendar years (1989-1991). The album is also the only album in history to spawn seven top 5 hits which include four #1 singles, two #2 singles, and one single that reached #4.
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[edit] Background
Rhythm Nation 1814, Jackson's 6x Platinum follow up to her 1986 hit album, Control, was an unprecedented success, with seven hit singles all from the same album. Rhythm Nation 1814 reached number one on both Pop and R&B charts. The album took three months to produce. But originally the music executives didn't want Janet to do an album that was so political. They wanted Janet to be another pop princess like Whitney Houston, and Madonna who were all seen as these squeeky clean pop divas. But Janet didn't want that. She wanted the public to know that she had a mind. And she did. When it came time to chose the album title Janet wanted Rhythm Nation, but the executives wanted the first single to be Escapade. But Janet knew that if the title was for a song that had more street and should have a serious title like Rhythm Nation, and on the album put some of the most conscious songs on the album as the first 3 songs, which were "Rhythm Nation","State of the World", and "The Knowledge".
Rhythm Nation 1814 is a concept album addressing social ills, alternating with more typical love-song/dance song fare. Jackson's image was changed into a more serious look, with stark black and white cover art and a dimly lit photo of her dressed in a black pseudo-military outfit. The back cover of the album displays the following pledge: "We are a nation with no geographic boundaries, bound together through our beliefs. We are like-minded individuals, sharing a common vision, pushing toward a world rid of color-lines." Following the statement is this creed: "Music, Poetry, Dance, Unity".
The album was the first in history to generate seven top-five Billboard hits from one album. The album's numerous hit singles were accompanied by more conceptual video versions. The album was produced by Jimmy Jam (James Harris III) and Terry Lewis, with co-production credit given to Janet Jackson. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis also penned or co-wrote the songs with Janet Jackson, as well as arranging the music, programming music, and playing much of the instrumental tracks. The song "Black Cat" was produced by another producer of the late-1980s, Jellybean Johnson.
The album was released by A&M Records on LP, chrome cassette and compact disc, which at the time demonstrated an expectation of broad appeal for the album on behalf of the record company. A companion video compilation has also been issued in both VHS and Laserdisc. Complete lyrics were included in the album. All tracks were recorded and mixed in Minnesota. The album is dedicated to Katherine Jackson, Jackson's mother. Rhythm Nation 1814 brought Janet Jackson ten Billboard awards, including Top R&B Albums and Singles Artist, Best Pop and R&B Album Award, and Top Hot 100 Singles Artist. She also won a record-breaking 5 Billboard Music Video Awards. The singles, especially "Miss You Much" and "Rhythm Nation", received extensive airplay on radio and TV stations like MTV, BET and VH1 in addition to dance clubs around the world.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 275 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
[edit] Track listing
(all songs written by James Harris, Janet Jackson, and Terry Lewis, except where noted)
- "Interlude: Pledge" – 0:47
- "Rhythm Nation" – 5:30
- "Interlude: TV" – 0:21
- "State of the World" – 4:48
- "Interlude: Race" – 0:04
- "The Knowledge" (Harris, Lewis) – 3:53
- "Interlude: Let's Dance" – 0:04
- "Miss You Much" (Harris, Lewis) – 4:12
- "Interlude: Come Back" – 0:20
- "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" (Harris, Lewis) – 5:50
- "Livin’ In A World (They Didn’t Make)" – 4:41
- "Alright" – 6:26
- "Interlude: Hey Baby" – 0:09
- "Escapade" – 4:43
- "Interlude: No Acid" – 0:05
- "Black Cat" (Jackson) – 4:50
- "Lonely" (Harris, Lewis) – 4:59
- "Come Back to Me" – 5:32
- "Someday Is Tonight" – 6:00
- "Interlude: Livin'... In Complete Darkness" – 1:07
[edit] Rhythm Nation 1814 B-Sides
- "You Need Me"
- "Skin Game, Pt. 1"
- "Esta Bien" (Alright)
- "Vuelve A Mi" (Come Back to Me) [Castillian Version]
- "1814 Megamix"
[edit] Personnel (in order of appearance)
- Janet Jackson: lead and background vocals, keyboards, rhythm arrangements, vocal arrangements
- Jimmy Jam: drum programming, keyboard programming, keyboards, percussion, rhythm arrangements, vocal arrangements, sampled voices, background vocals, acoustic piano, organ, bass synthesizer
- Terry Lewis: percussion, rhythm arrangements, vocal arrangements, background vocals, bass
- Lisa Keith: background vocals
- John McClain: additional vocals, guitars, executive producer
- Rene Elizondo: additional vocals
- James Popeye Greer: additional vocals
- Jellybean Johnson: additional vocals, drum programming, drums, percussion, guitars, rhythm and vocal arrangements
- Randy Ran: additional vocals
- Anthony Thomas: additional vocals
- Steve Hodge: additional vocals
- Herb Alpert: Tijuana Brass, trumpet
- Jamila Lafleur: additional vocals
- Tsehaye Marks: additional vocals
- Tarnika McDaniel: additional vocals
- Sonja Robinson: additional vocals
- Clarice Rupert: additional vocals
- Warlesha Ryan: additional vocals
- Reshard Taylor: additional vocals
- Steven Wilson: additional vocals
- Shante Owens: additional vocals
- Lee Blaskey: string arrangements
- Steve Barnett: conductor
- Amy Powell: newscaster
- Dave Barry: 6 and 12-string electric guitars
- Johnny Gill: finger snaps
- Jesse Johnson: guitars
- David Eiland: computer programming
- O. Nicholas Raths: classical guitar
[edit] Singles released
- Miss You Much (22 August 1989) - #1 Billboard Hot 100 | #1 Billboard Hot R&B | #1 Billboard Hot Dance
- Rhythm Nation (24 October 1989) - #2 Billboard Hot 100 | #1 Billboard Hot R&B | #1 Billboard Hot Dance
- Escapade (9 January 1990) - #1 Billboard Hot 100 | #1 Billboard Hot R&B | #1 Billboard Hot Dance
- Alright (27 March 1990) - #4 Billboard Hot 100 | #2 Billboard Hot R&B | #1 Billboard Hot Dance
- Come Back To Me (19 June 1990) - #2 Billboard Hot 100 | #2 Billboard Hot R&B | #1 Billboard Adult Contemporary
- Black Cat (4 September 1990) - #1 Billboard Hot 100 | #10 Billboard Hot R&B | #1 Billboard Hot Rock
- Love Will Never Do (Without You) (6 November 1990) - #1 Billboard Hot 100 | #3 Billboard Hot R&B | #4 Billboard Hot Dance
- State Of The World (6 February 1991) - #5 Billboard Hot 100 Airplay
[edit] Music Awards
[edit] Grammy awards
- Best Longform Music Video: Rhythm Nation 1814
[edit] American Music Awards
- Favorite Soul/R&B Single: Miss You Much
- Favorite Dance Single: Miss You Much
- Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist
- Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist
- Favorite Dance Artist
[edit] MTV Video Music Awards
- Best Choreography in a Video: Rhythm Nation
- Video Vanguard
- Best Female Video: Love Will Never Do (Without You)
[edit] Billboard Music Awards
- Top Selling Album Of The Year: Rhythm Nation
- Top Selling R&B Album Of The Year: Rhythm Nation
- Top Selling R&B Album's Artist Of The Year
- Top Selling R&B Artist Of The Year
- Top R&B Singles Artist
- Top Hot 100 Singles Artist Of The Year
- Top Hot 100 Singles Artist Of The Year - Female
- Top Dance Club Play Artist
- Top Hot Dance 12" Singles Sales Artist
- Top R&B Female Artist Of The Year
[edit] Billboard Music Video Awards
- Best Female Artist, Black/Rap
- Best Female Artist, Dance
- Director's Award (Black/Rap): Rhythm Nation"
- Director's Award (Dance): Alright:
- Billboard/Tanqueray Sterling Music Video Award for Artistic Achievement: Rhythm Nation
[edit] Soul Train Awards
- Best R&B/Soul Female Album: Rhythm Nation:1814
- Best R&B/Soul Female Single: Miss You Much
- Best R&B/Soul Music Video: Rhythm Nation
- Best R&B/Soul Music Video: Alright
- Sammy Davis, Jr. Entertainer of the Year Award
[edit] BMI Pop Awards
- Songwriter Of The Year
- Most Played Song: Alright
- Most Played Song: Come Back To Me
- Most Played Song: Escapade
- Most Played Song: Rhythm Nation
- Most Played Song: Black Cat
- Most Played Song: Come Back To Me
- Most Played Song: State Of The World
[edit] NAACP Image Awards
- 1990: NAACP Image Award: Greater Hartford - Musical and Civil Rights Efforts Award
- 1992: NAACP Image Award: 24th Annual NAACP Awards - "Chairman's Award"
[edit] The Album Title
From the Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour Book: "When we were making the track 'Rhythm Nation' we all got excited thinking that it would make a great anthem for dancers everywhere. Then somebody mentioned that Francis Scott-Key [sic] had written the American national anthem in 1814 and because of that, the number began to take on a significance for us. It wasn't until later that we realized 'R' is the 18th letter of the alphabet and 'N' is the 14th letter. What's even more coincidental is that Scott-Key [sic] wrote the song on September 14th and our album was shipping on September 18th even though it had originally been scheduled to come out in August."
The essay in the liner notes of Design of a Decade 1986/1996 also quote Janet as saying "1814 is also the year women were finally granted education beyond the eighth grade. That was a key fact for me."
[edit] The Film
In 1989, while the album was being finalised, Jackson was approached by record company executives to promote the record. The original idea was to do a live TV special to show off the new songs, but Janet resisted the idea on the basis of quality control (she thought the idea was 'cheesy'). An alternative way of promotion, the short film, was suggested. Together with director Dominic Sena, producer (and soon-to-be husband) Rene Elizondo and a team of dancers and choreographers, Jackson created the Rhythm Nation 1814 Film, featuring 4 songs from the album. Shot in black & white, the film tells the story of TJ and Kickdrum, 2 young aspiring musicians who are friends with Jackson. While Jackson entertains her friends at a warehouse, the kids slowly sink into a life of crime, until TJ is eventually killed, prompting Kickdrum to seek comfort in Jackson. 4 songs were featured- a club version of Black Cat, Miss You Much, The Knowledge and Rhythm Nation. The video was well received by critics who compared it to her brother Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, although it did not sell as well.
[edit] RIAA
- U.S. 6x Platinum (#1 for 4 weeks)
[edit] External link
| Janet Jackson |
|---|
| Studio albums: Janet Jackson • Dream Street • Control • Rhythm Nation 1814 janet. • The Velvet Rope • All for You • Damita Jo • 20 Y.O. Other albums: Control: The Remixes • Janet. Remixed • Design of a Decade 1986/1996 |
| Discography • Singles • Videography • Filmography • Tours • Awards and accolades |
