phunkdaddy said:

That is because it wouldn't be no Jody as a single artist without Janet. Janet paved the way for her. She may probably not even had been signed, if Janet hadn't come out with the mega hit multi platinum album CONTROL.....

Jody Watley i give her props, this was her funkiest number to date and i LOVE the video it showed that she was a chameleon and changing at every turn, Andre Cymone was FANTASTIC on the production end and knew jody's strong suit, I think they made a great combo and i won't compare apples to bananas as far as janet,paula & madonna I love them all for different reasons and they brought their own "THING" into the mix.....So go Jody do yo thing and still doing it TODAY even though she's not on a MAJOR i still am a fan of her work some 30yrs later.....Everybody still wants a piece of "JODY"!!!!

some interesting quotes from Jody from her Myspace bio (actually very interesting, the whole thing is worth reading):

Superstar female artists such as Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul (known for mega hits and stellar precision choreography) and Madonna (mega hits marketed with controversy, sexual and religious innuendo) .. came from a different place, though we were occasionally lumped together inexplicably. If anything, I was more akin to the hip cousin. or the off beat sister! Im sure you knew girls like me in schoolcouldnt quite figure us out!! Someone told me once - Youre too cool to be mega I can totally live with that!! Vanity Fair wrote in 1990 ..her knack for reinvention has always complimented her music.., I would say this is a fair assessment!

* * *

Beyond my music, I've made an impact in pop culture and represented the future possibilities of an artist - a black one at that - with regard to the relationship between music and fashion. Everytime I see Beyonce on the cover of a fashion magazine, I smile!
When I was being courted to even do the layouts - I had to pay my own way!!

* * *

One of my music heroines is Grace Jones. Appearing at music shows during the 80s - I always wanted to see what she was wearing - avant-garde and distinctly Grace - this is what I wanted. A lot of people just didnt get it - I loved it!!! So when you talk about my influences - Grace Jones is up there with Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Nikki Giovanni, Maya Angelou, CHIC, The Carpenters, Diana Ross ,Berry Gordy,Richard Branson and Steve Jobs just a few names - of people I find inspirationalright along aside my parents.

* * *


http://www.myspace.com/jodywatley

Wow Jody getting real popular on the org

where's that dead horse emoticon? dude, are you seriously and frantically searching the internet to prove your point? everyone has moved on...the subject was back to the song Still A Thrill...and here you come back again with your damn dead carcass.

let. it. go

babybugz said:

sosgemini said:

Ikr!

_____

COMPLETED @ Jody feeling important in that first quote, @ the 2nd one. Beyonce has never spoke of her and probably doesn't even know she exists. This reminds me of the shady shit Paula used to say in the 90's when people no longer cared about her.

Janet would never!
Because she has CLASS.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

No words

funkpill said:

funkpill said:

Amazing how a simple thread about a song can turn into a heated discussion involving other artists.

SoulAlive said:

do you remember the John Mayer thread about his song "Daughters" that had almost 2000 posts??

CHIC0 said:

omg, I remember that thread bust also remember avoiding it like a after 2001 era Madonna song.

Why are y'all being so mean to NoVideo??

This thread is about Jody Watley. Some people may think that there are similarities between Jody and Janet---and for the record I LOVE Janet myself! IN fact I listen to her music much more than Jody's---but the people who are acting like Jody's career was dependent on Janet's success are just wrong and lacking historical perspective.

As I stated in my original post on this thread--which only was responded to by someone ignoring all the facts contained therein just to lob an insult--Jody and Janet actually followed different paths that both came from a similar origin point and developed them in their own unique ways.

Control was released earlier in 1986 (Jody's single came out at the end of the year) but really the album gained momentum over then next 2-3 years. So they were both developing concurrently.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Speak it!!

GaryMF said:

It's cool I listen to Janet quite a bit and my husband is a huge Janet fan, but even he laughs when I tell him there are folks who say that Jody Watley owes her entire solo career to Janet's success, or that Janet was the first pop/R&B/dance black female artist.

But fans who are devoted to a particular artist can sometimes have thin skin and think that trying to put something in correct historical perspective is an attack on their artist. It's not an attack to say that, yes, there were important black female pop/r&B/dance artists that came before Janet, and No, Jody Watley doesn't owe her success to Janet Jackson.

But so goes it with message boards. If people didn't disagree and have arguments, they wouldn't be much fun, heh.
[Edited 2/16/10 17:54pm]

NoVideo said:

I agree. I have never understood the comparison of Janet to any other artist.

NoVideo said:

If U want to continue thinking that Jody Watley would have have made it as a single dance artist without Janet paving the way for her earlier that year 1986. U keep thinking that. The record industry runs on trends and what is working at the moment. THERE WAS NO FEMALE BEFORE JANET THAT WAS DANCING THAT HARD AND SINGING R&B,POP,DANCE,HOUSE MUSIC THE WAY JANET WAS DOING IT. ...NONE!The ones after her was pure copycats. Jody,Paula,Pepples,Jermaine Stewart, Vanessa Williams,Jasmine Guy, Karyn White...all copy cats

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

you guys cannot possibly be serious.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

He's just in denial. You're right Janet did pave the way for those artists.

I spy someone's name ....

Vendetta1 said:

Propaganda.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

lastdecember said it already earlier in the thread, and he was exactly right. The Minneapolis sound was everywhere and it was hugely influential in pop music. Control and Jody Watley both were derived from the same common influences. And it's certainly possible and even likely that Control contributed to Jody's success.

But Jody already had a track record with Shalamar while Janet was still a cute little TV girl with famous brothers. Ultimately as a solo artist, Jody owes probably more to Prince and his protégés than anybody. Prince’s sound was everywhere, all over the Top 40.

The Pointer Sisters were lighting the charts with a string of crossover dance/pop/r&B hits in 1984. Chaka Khan had a huge pop hit with “I Feel For You” in 84 as well. Madonna’s heavily R&B influenced dance/pop was everywhere. Legends Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin and Donna Summer all had major hit albums and singles in the early-to-mid 80’s. Teena Marie’s “Lovergirl” was a huge crossover smash, and she had a long string of R&B hits. Songs like Starpoint’s “Object of My Desire”, Mary Jane Girls “In My House”, and Klymaxx’s singles were all over the airwaves. Freestyle singles like Lisa Lisa and Cult Jan “I Wonder if I Take You Home” and Shannon’s “Let the Music Play” were huge. Sade’s classy pop/R&B hybrid sound hit big in 1985. Whitney Houston was crossing over with both ballads and uptempo dance/pop songs – “How Will I Know” hit #1 across multiple formats, including the dance charts. And of course there were a long string of male artists with major crossover hits during this period as well that worked right into what Jody ended up doing - "Oh Sheila", etc. And this is all just some of what was charting – there was tons of underground stuff, things that hit dance and R&B but didn’t crossover, that were very much all this same vibe, and all before “What Have You Done For Me Lately” first made its way onto the Top 40.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

You just lost all credibility! LOL

Janet. . . House music??? in Control???? Please

And Jermaine Stewart was a MAN!!!

Ok now I know the level we're dealing with here. Carry on

GaryMF said:

What Have You Done For Me Lately? -

It should be noted that the famous "LatelyBass" preset on the Yamaha TX81Z (used extensively on house and techno songs of the late '80s and '90s) was based on the bass tone of this song, and subsequently named after it as well.

GaryMF said:

Yes! Janet did house music not on Control but on the Janet album the song "Throb"is house music. If u try to say we talking about the Control album. I was referring to my statement THERE WAS NO FEMALE BEFORE JANET THAT WAS DANCING THAT HARD AND SINGING R&B,POP,DANCE,HOUSE MUSIC...

GaryMF said:

Yes! Janet did house music not on Control but on the Janet album the song "Throb"is house music. If u try to say we talking about the Control album. I was referring to my statement THERE WAS NO FEMALE BEFORE JANET THAT WAS DANCING THAT HARD AND SINGING R&B,POP,DANCE,HOUSE MUSIC...

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Throb came out way after Jody's popularity peaked and one song does not make a house artist.

And I'm a househead and I do not consider Throb house music.

CHIC0 said:

2000 posts?? What was the controversy about?

..
[Edited 2/17/10 5:03am]

Vendetta1 said:

Preach it Vendettal!! Some of these folks is just "ig'nant"

midiscover said:

I'm quite familiar with the Yamaha synths and know that "Lately" preset bass. The fact that it was SUBSEQUENTLY used on house songs does not mean WHYDFML by Janet was in way shape or form a house music song. Damn!