Steven Randall "Randy" Jackson on October 29, 1961 in Gary, Indiana) is an African-American singer and musician, a member of the Jacksons, and is the youngest son in the Jackson family. He is the eighth out of nine Jackson children to be born.

Early career

He joined his older brothers in The Jackson 5 at age 11 (1972) playing the conga. Randy did not sing until he and his family began performing their act in Las Vegas. Randy often sung with younger sister Janet, and the duo won fame on Dinah Shore's show in 1975 after performing Mickey & Sylvia's "Love is Strange" for the first time on national television.

Enter the Jacksons

In 1976, after moving to CBS Records and changing their name to The Jacksons, Randy was named as the newest member of the group after Jermaine left to have a solo career in the group's former label, Motown. In 1978, Randy helped the Jacksons return back to fame after co-producing the album, "Destiny". One of the songs, "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", was co-written by Randy and Michael, and went on to sell over 2 million copies becoming the group's biggest-selling single to date.

Randy was prepping for his own solo album around that time and one of his singles, "How Can I Be Sure?", featured the first recording of sister Janet, on the b-side of the song, titled "Love Song For Kids". Randy never got to release the album as he suffered injuries from a car crash around 1979. He would eventually recover from the accident. In 1984, he was thrust into the forefront of his brothers' Victory tour after Jackie's leg injury forced him to the sidelines. Afterwards, Randy and his brothers Jackie and Tito became renowned session musicians for other acts during this time. The trio recorded the title track to the Whoopi Goldberg film, "The Burglar", in 1987.

After the Jacksons

After one last album with the Jacksons, the group split up for good in 1990. After this split, Randy formed his own band, Randy & the Gypsys. The group only lasted one album and for the most part afterwards, like most of his siblings, with the exceptions of Michael and Janet, laid low. During his brother Michael's trial on child molestation, alcohol and conspiracy charges, Randy served as one of his consultants. Randy is often mistaken for American Idol judge Randy Jackson.

Source: Wikipedia.org