Destiny is the twelfth album released by American band The Jacksons, in 1978, on Epic Records. The album would eventually sell over four million copies worldwide, two million in America during its initial run and two million worldwide. The album marked the first time in the band's career in which they had total artistic control, and was also the first album produced by the brothers.
History
Overview
The band had left their longtime label Motown in 1975 with the exception of brother Jermaine Jackson who had stayed with Motown after he married Berry Gordy's daughter, Hazel Joy Gordy and had two children together named Jermaine La Jaune Jackson, Jr. (born January 27, 1977) and Autumn Joy Jackson (born July 10, 1978), after a couple of years signed with Philly International, the Jacksons set their sights on one of CBS Records' most popular labels, Epic. After their last two CBS albums were spearheaded by legendary producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, Epic allowed the Jackson brothers to write and produce their own material fully for the first time in their career. Composing much of the album in their home-made recording studio in their gated Hayvenhurst mansion, the group finished recording the album within two months.
Like many of the acts that had left Motown, the Jacksons had to accept the possibility that they would no longer enjoy the same level of success they had while they were associated with the label—something Motown itself reiterated upon hearing that longtime front man Michael Jackson had moved onto a full-fledged solo career following Destiny's release. The album's lead single, "Blame It on the Boogie", was written by Mick Jackson, an English writer/performer who had his own version of the song in the UK charts at the same time as the Jacksons. It was the Jacksons' version, however, that was the more successful and is consequently the best known rendition of the song.
Release and reaction
Released on December 17, 1978, Destiny re-established them as a top-selling group. The single, "Blame It on the Boogie", was released in September 1978 as the advance single from the album. Although "Blame It on the Boogie" returned the Jacksons to the Hot 100 it was not the single to effect a major comeback for the Jacksons peaking at #54; However, "Blame It on the Boogie" did reach #3 R&B and would be coupled with "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" on an extended club play single which would reach #20 on the dance charts in 1979. The album's success was largely based on the second single released from the album, "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", which became a Top 10 single in the spring of 1979. The album eventually peaked at number eleven on the Billboard Pop Albums chart and number three on the Billboard Black Albums chart and went on to platinum status cementing it as the first RIAA-certified platinum seller by the Jacksons as most of their Motown recordings were uncertifiable despite their huge success on the charts, and over two million copies worldwide. The accompanying tour was a huge success running on many legs and also toured overseas.
Re-release
In honor of its 30th anniversary, Destiny, including two bonus tracks of rare 12-inch disco mixes previously unavailable on CD, was released on January 27, 2009 on Epic/Legacy, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. Both unreleased tracks were mixed by John Luongo.[3]
Trivia
Bobby Colomby, former drummer for the rock/jazz band Blood, Sweat & Tears serves as one of the executive producers on this album.
Track listing
