Jermaine Jackson (album)

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Jermaine Jackson
Jermaine-Jackson-Dynamite84.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 1984 (1984-04)
Recorded1983–84
Studio
Genre
Label
Producer
Jermaine Jackson chronology
Let Me Tickle Your Fancy
(1982)
Jermaine Jackson
(1984)
Precious Moments
(1986)
Singles from Jermaine Jackson
  1. "Dynamite"
    Released: April 1984 (1984-04) [1]
  2. "Sweetest Sweetest"
    Released: May 1984 (UK) [2]
  3. "When the Rain Begins to Fall"
    Released: October 1984 (EU)
  4. "Do What You Do"
    Released: October 1984 (1984-10) (US)

Jermaine Jackson (released internationally as Dynamite) is the tenth studio album by American singer Jermaine Jackson, released in 1984. It was his debut album with Arista after leaving Motown. The album features then-unknown Whitney Houston and his brothers Michael, Tito and Randy.

Contents

Overall, it stands as one of Jermaine Jackson's most commercially successful albums, selling over 900,000 copies in the US to date and being certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Background

Jermaine Jackson was Jackson's first of numerous albums released with Arista Records, after leaving Motown, who he had been with for thirteen years. The album was released internationally under the title Dynamite. [3] The album went on to be Jermaine's second-most successful album in the United States, peaking at No. 19 — 13 places below Let's Get Serious — on the main Billboard album chart, but becoming the #1 R&B album on July 7, 1984.

The disc achieved Gold status, eventually surpassing 900,000 in US sales. [4] Internationally, it was Jackson's most successful album, peaking within the charts of four non-US territories. "When the Rain Begins to Fall", originally recorded for the soundtrack of Voyage of the Rock Aliens , was later included on the album after its success as a single. [3]

The album track "Take Good Care of My Heart," a duet with the then relatively unknown American R&B and pop singer Whitney Houston, was also the B-Side of the released "Dynamite" single. The song later appeared on Houston's self-titled debut album, released February 14, 1985 on Arista Records.

The album was re-issued in 2005 in the US with little difference compared to the original album. It was reissued again in Japan in 2009 with "When the Rain Begins to Fall" and two bonus tracks, and again in the US in 2012. This edition also contained "When the Rain Begins to Fall", both bonus tracks on the Japanese edition, as well as three more bonus tracks. [3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Smash Hits 7/10 [7]

Jason Elias from AllMusic gave the album a retrospective positive track-by-track view, saying "[Jermaine Jackson] has him doing a slickly produced variant of the R&B/pop his brother was making sound effortless." and concluded "While Jermaine Jackson's not a perfect album, despite the ground covered, it is a strong one." [8]

Singles

"Dynamite" was released as the album's second single, and became Jackson's fourth top 20-charting single, reaching No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. [8] Internationally, the song performed less well, reaching No. 46 in France, and No. 19 in New Zealand. "Do What You Do", the album's third single, performed as one of Jackson's best-selling singles to date, reaching the top 20 in the US, as well as topping the Belgium (Flanders) chart, and reaching the top ten in Ireland, Netherlands, and the UK, where it was certified Silver by the BPI. [8] [9] It also reached #40 in Germany, and #12 in France.

"When the Rain Begins to Fall", a duet with Pia Zadora, was originally recorded for the soundtrack of Voyage of the Rock Aliens , and went on to become one of both artists' best-selling singles. Although less successful in the US and UK (respectively peaking at No. 54 and No. 68), the song topped the charts of numerous European territories, including Belgium (Flanders), Netherlands, and France. The song also peaked within the top ten of Austria, Switzerland, and Italy. The song also went Gold in Germany, and Platinum in France. [10] [11] Due to the success of the single, it was included on later pressings of the album. [3]

Track listing

Original International Edition: Dynamite
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dynamite"Andrew Goldmark, Bruce Roberts 6:01
2."Sweetest Sweetest"Arthur Jacobson, Ellison Chase, Robin Lerner4:05
3."Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good to Be True)" (featuring Michael Jackson) Bruce Sudano, Jay Gruska, Michael Omartian 4:22
4."Escape from the Planet of the Ant Men" (featuring Tito Jackson and Randy Jackson) David Batteau, Don Freeman5:04
5."Come to Me (One Way or Another)"Jermaine Jackson5:17
6."Do What You Do"Larry Di Tomaso, Ralph Dino 4:46
7."Take Good Care of My Heart" (duet with Whitney Houston) Peter McCann, Steve Dorff 4:17
8."Some Things are Private"Sudano, Omartian4:05
9."Oh Mother" Elliot Willensky, Jackson4:48
Re-release: Jermaine Jackson
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dynamite"Goldmark, Roberts6:01
2."Sweetest Sweetest"Jacobson, Chase, Lerner4:05
3."Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming (Too Good To Be True)" (featuring Michael Jackson)Sudano, Gruska, Omartian4:22
4."Escape from the Planet of the Ant Men" (featuring Tito Jackson and Randy Jackson)Batteau, Don Freeman5:04
5."When the Rain Begins to Fall" (duet with Pia Zadora)Michael Bradley, Peggy March, Steve Wittmack4:06
6."Come to Me (One Way or Another)"Jackson5:17
7."Do What You Do"Tomaso, Dino4:46
8."Take Good Care of My Heart" (duet with Whitney Houston)McCann, Dorff4:17
9."Some Things are Private"Sudano, Omartian4:05
10."Oh Mother"Willensky, Jackson4:48
Japanese re-release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Dynamite" (12" Mix)Goldmark, Roberts7:49
12."Do What You Do" (Club Mix)Tomaso, Dino5:38
US re-release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Sweetest Sweetest" (Special U.S. Remix)Jacobson, Chase, Lerner5:24
12."Come to Me (One Way or Another)" (12" Remix Version)Jackson5:24
13."Do What You Do" (12" Remix Version)Tomaso, Dino5:44
14."Dynamite" (12" Remix Version)Goldmark, Roberts7:45
15."When the Rain Begins to Fall" (with Pia Zadora) (12" Vocal Version With Breakdown)Bradley, March, Wittmack5:24

Personnel

Production

Charts

Chart performance for Jermaine Jackson
Chart (1984)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [12] 65
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [13] 21
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [14] 38
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [15] 27
UK Albums (OCC) [16] 57
US Billboard 200 [17] 19
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums ( Billboard ) [17] 1

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [18] Gold50,000^
United States (RIAA) [19] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. "Jermaine Jackon singles".
  2. "Music Week" (PDF).
  3. 1 2 3 4 Discogs - Jermaine Jackson, Dynamite
  4. "RIAA – Gold & Platinum: Jermaine Jackson". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  5. AllMusic review
  6. Mills, Simon (May 12, 1984). "Review: Jermaine Jackson – Dynamite" (PDF). Record Mirror . London: Spotlight Publications Ltd. p. 21. ISSN   0144-5804. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022 via World Radio History.
  7. Birch, Ian (May 10–23, 1984). "Jermaine Jackson: Dynamite" (PDF). Smash Hits . Vol. 6, no. 10. Peterborough: EMAP National Publications, Ltd. p. 27. ISSN   0260-3004. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022 via World Radio History.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. 1 2 3 "Jermaine Jackson". AllMusic. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  9. "Jermaine Jackson - BPI certifications". bpi. Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  10. "Jermaine Jackson - BVMI certifications". bvmi. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  11. "French single certifications – Jermaine Jackson" (in French). InfoDisc.Select JERMAINE JACKSON and click OK. 
  12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 151. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Jermaine Jackson – Dynamite" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  14. "Charts.nz – Jermaine Jackson – Dynamite". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  15. "Swedishcharts.com – Jermaine Jackson – Dynamite". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  16. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  17. 1 2 "Jermaine Jackson - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  18. "Canadian album certifications – Jermaine Jackson – Jermaine Jackson". Music Canada.
  19. "American album certifications – Jermaine Jackson – Jermaine Jackson". Recording Industry Association of America.