"You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)" by Joe Jackson

Song#:  1874
Date:  04/21/1984
Debut:  60
Peak:  15
Weeks:  16
Genre:  Jazz-Pop



Pop Bits:  After a stopover with the soundtrack to the movie Mike's Murder, Jackson returned to the studio to record the follow-up to his #4 1982 LP Night and Day. Instead of repeating the synthpop new wave sounds of that album, Jackson decided to toss together elements of pop, jazz, and R&B and came up with Body and Soul. This horn-driven first single got things started and it ended up doing quite well hitting the Top 20. It would also do about the same at Rock (#12), AC (#13), and Dance (#14).

ReduxReview:  Hearing this song now, I actually can't believe it did so well on the charts. I could imagine a good showing at AC, but #15 Pop? It was a sophisticated song that didn't necessarily fall in line with what the kids were listening to. I'm pretty certain that adults were the ones that drove the popularity of the song and I'm really glad that happened. I thought it was a terrific song that sounded great on radio. I was already a fan of Jackson's and got the album, which is probably my second favorite of his following Night and Day.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  Jackson's given name is David Ian Jackson. When he first started playing in bands he went by David Jackson. While in one of those early bands, people began calling him Joe instead of David. This was because some folks thought that Jackson looked like the Peanuts cartoon character Snoopy when he donned his Joe Cool guise and played piano. After a while, the name Joe stuck and by 1978 it became Jackson's official stage name when he formed the Joe Jackson Band and released the debut album Look Sharp!

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