Janet Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, the youngest of nine children, to Katherine Esther (née Scruse) and Joseph Walter Jackson. The Jacksons were lower-middle class and devout Jehovah's Witnesses. By the time she was a toddler, her older brothers — Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael — were performing music at nightclubs and theaters as The Jackson 5. In March 1969, the Read more...

Although Jackson was initially apprehensive about starting a music career, she agreed to participate in recording sessions with her family. The first of these, a duet with her brother Randy titled "Love Song for Kids", took place in 1978. When Jackson was sixteen, her father arranged a contract for her with A&M Records. Her debut album, Janet Jackson, produced by soul singers Angela Winbush, Read more...

Following the release of Dream Street, Jackson decided to separate her business affairs from her family. She later commented, "I remember trying to tell my father I no longer wanted him to manage me. It would have been easier to have Mother tell him for me, but that was something I had to do for myself." Jackson also stated, "I just wanted to get out of the house, get out from under my father, which Read more...