How Janet Jackson’s ‘Control’ Redefined Pop and R&B History

When 19-year-old Janet Jackson flew to Minneapolis to record the album that ultimately became Control, she couldn’t have had any idea that the recording sessions she signed on for could reshape pop music. After all, the producers she was traveling to the snowy midwest to record with weren’t a sure bet for success. Jimmy “Jam” Harris and his partner Terry Lewis were beginning to make a name for themselves in R&B circles courtesy of hit singles for The S.O.S. Band, Cheryl Lynn and Alexander O’ Neal, but they weren’t exactly household names. 

Contrary to how we think of Janet now, the reality then was that Janet was the more unknown quantity (in terms of commercial viability, not in terms of name recognition) in that equation. Jam & Lewis were slowly building a track record of proven hits, although crossover success was just beginning to surface (their first top 10 pop hit, The Force M.D.’s “Tender Love”, was released just as the Jackson sessions were wrapping up). Janet, despite releasing two albums prior to Control, was better known as an actress than as a singer. Hell, she was better known for being Michael’s sister than as a singer or an actress. 

What resulted when those two quantities met was one of pop music’s most perfect producer/performer marriages. Commercially, Control was a juggernaut, an essential album for its time that deserves its place in the '80s album canon alongside Purple Rain, Private Dancer and Thriller. It ruled the R&B airwaves for nearly 18 months. Four of its five singles hit the Number One spot on Billboard’s R&B charts-the only song that didn’t became Janet’s first leader on the pop charts.  Additionally, Janet became only the third (or fourth) Black woman to top the pop album charts in the ‘80s (depending on whether you consider Sade a solo artist or a band). Her two predecessors were Donna Summer (a holdover from the ‘70s) and Whitney Houston, whose sound was tailored for mass acceptance. Control sounded nothing like pop radio in early 1986, but within a year’s time, so much pop radio sounded like Control. 

Jam & Lewis’s production was widely considered to be the key factor in Control’s success early on. While there’s plenty of misogyny at play in that statement, the reality is that nothing in Janet’s career up to that point indicated that she was capable of making an album this accomplished, this attitude-laden, this funky. But let’s keep it real: Miss Jackson brought plenty to the table. Namely, her life experiences. She wasn’t even out of her teens when Control was released, but she’d already been married and divorced. She was struggling to get out of the shadow her famous family had cast. She wanted independence as an artist and as a human. Control found her realizing she could play ball. Jam & Lewis famously adopted a collaborative approach and allowed Janet to shape the album’s concept and its lyrical content. It allowed the authentic Janet to burst forward in full bloom.

Almost every song on Control bristles with energy and attitude. While not a leather-lunged diva like most successful Black women artists of the day, Janet sang with conviction, heart and an innocence that gave hard-bitten songs like “What Have You Done for Me Lately” and “Nasty” a certain lightness despite their lyrical content. Her voice may have been soft, but it was clear that Janet didn’t have time for yours (or anyone’s) bullshit. That softness carries the brighter tunes, as well. “When I Think of You” carries a lighter touch,  but has the same funky effervescence as the more lyrically aggressive tunes. The album ends with a 1-2 punch of ballads showing off different sides of Janet. “Let’s Wait Awhile” is an innocent, tender tune that conveys a message many of her similarly-aged (and younger) fans identified with. On the flip side, “Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun) introduced a seductive, sensual Janet. Despite the musical similarities to her big brother’s “The Lady In My Life," no one was gonna take Mike seriously singing something this erotic. With a few strategically placed coos and French asides, Control’s final song birthed Janet the sex symbol. Not something we saw coming from Penny on Good Times.

Influence can often be overstated, and our culture is often in a rush to label anything as “iconic” and anyone as a “legend." There’s no overstating when it comes to Control. So many debts of gratitude are owed to Janet, Jimmy and Terry for this album. New Edition’s Heart Break would literally not have been made if not for Control. The glut of dance divas who ruled the ‘80s and ‘90s with variations on the Minneapolis sound owe their breakthroughs to Janet. Hell, Paula Abdul’s ascendance came in large part because she choreographed (and appears in) the first two Control videos. Karyn White. Jody Watley. Pebbles–they all had their paths to success greased by Janet’s breakthrough. Let’s also not forget that Control was the first huge pop album to meld R&B with a more streetwise, hip-hop based sound. Many call it the first new jack swing album, and I’m inclined to agree. 

Of course, it also set Janet forward on a course that has seen her achieve legendary status as a songwriter and entertainer. Although she’s released several classic albums in the forty years since Control, there’s still an electric charge in the compact, feisty nine songs that comprise her breakthrough album. I hope that Janet looks back on that initial trip to Minneapolis and smiles. She’s certainly given her fans many reasons to in the years since Control announced her arrival.