Millie Jackson

No other diva has tried as many musical styles, stepped on as many toes and spoken their mind as loudly and as often as Millie Jackson. Millie may have jumped on every bandwagon from disco through to rap but each and every project was imbued with her own unique brand of wit and insanity. It is Millie’s fierce originality that separates her from her contemporaries and makes Ms Jackson an enduring pop trash icon.

Beginnings

Millie J released her first album in 1972. Her debut was a fairly traditional soul album, which spawned several small hits on the R’n’B chart. However, it was her second album that launched Millie to stardom. “It Hurts So Good” was released in 1973 and contains some of her best traditional material. The title track positively oozes soul, while “Love Doctor” and “Close My Eyes” represent two of the best urban pop songs not to have been recorded by Motown. The album also showcases Millie’s astonishing storytelling skills, her ability to interpret a song remains unequalled. Millie J’s next opus, “I Got To Try It One Time” highlighted her increasingly explicit approach to sex and serves up a goldmine of dirty funk. “Gospel Truth” stands out as one of the diva’s best pop offerings from this period.

Caught Up

“Caught Up” and its follow-up, “Still Caught Up”, are considered landmarks in soul music. “Caught Up” was highly praised by critics for its innovative style and explosive content. Millie’s vocal performance drew comparisons with Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin, and she received two Grammy nominations. The album is also first of Millie’s concept albums. The first half of “Caught Up” is told from the perspective of a mistress, the second half from that of the wronged wife. The combination is riveting and fiercely original.

Comedic Soul

By the late 1970s Millie was in the process of creating her very own musical genre – comedic soul. A perfect example is “Feelin’ Bitchy”, Millie’s 1977 masterpiece. Each song on the album is connected by a spoken interlude, creating a hilarious narrative. The opening number, “All The Way Lover”, is a fine example of Millie's approach to music. It is a 10 minute orgy of gravely vocals, deep grooves and hilarious love advice. Never one to hold back, Millie rants about women watching too much television and advises men to call it a day and find themselves a “sissy” instead of a girlfriend! Other highlights include the glorious “Angel In My Arms” and the highly amusing “A Taste Of Outside Love”. “Feelin’ Bitchy” underlines Millie’s amazing voice and her ability to entertain a listener with humour and heartfelt emotion. Other exceptional albums from this period include “Get It Out’cha System” and “A Moment’s Pleasure”, both of which combine disco and raw funk.

She Had To Say It

Like just about every other fabulous diva in the music industry, the dawn of the 1980s saw Millie down on her luck. She was still a consistent chart force on the R’n’B charts but she was generally seen as a relic from a different era. Needless to say, Millie had other ideas and struck back into the public consciousness by becoming one of the first mainstream divas to incorporate rapping in her music. “I Had To Say It”, released in 1980, has been cited as influential by several female rappers. Millie only raps on the title track but “I Had To Say” is impossible to forget. In the space of one song Millie manages to offend black men, white women, fat people and the unemployed – before being approached to join the Ku Klux Klan at the end of the song!

80s Icon

Millie spent the next few years releasing several highly regarded live albums and even ventured into country music with the delightful “Just A Li’l Bit Country”. In 1983 Millie J took her first step towards becoming a pop trash goddess by releasing “E.S.P” or “Extra Sexual Persuasion”. The album divided fans. Some think she became a parody of herself, while fans with taste realise that Millie captured the zeitgeist perfectly and was taking her zany brand of entertainment to dizzying new heights. “E.S.P.” encapsulates every tawdry thing about 1980s pop culture, from Millie's sequined headband on the glorious cover to her hilarious reply to Olivia Newton John's "Physical", a filthy opus called “Sexercise”. The song is a trash lover’s wet dream! Other highlights include “Too Easy Being Easy”, which memorably rhymes “V.D.s” with “herpes” and the infectious “You’re Working Me”.

In The Shit

“An Imitation Of Love” was Millie’s first record for Jive Records and represents a radical change of pace. Released in 1986, the album was Millie’s most straightforward soul album in a decade. Ms Jackson was determined to prove that she had more to offer than foul language and sexual innuendo. The album spawned a couple of R’n’B hits but is rather sedate by Millie J’s standards and became one of her lowest selling albums. In response to her failed bid for mainstream success, Millie unleashed “Back To The Shit” upon the world and effectively destroyed her career over night. Best known for its almost unbearably fabulous cover, “Back To The Shit” is a live album comprising songs from Millie’s Jive Records catalogue and several jaw dropping monologues about farting, oral sex and vaginas. The world wasn’t ready for Millie’s explicit smutfest but the album has become a cult favourite and remains a monument to her wild and crazy genius.

Not For Church Folk

Millie spent the 1990s travelling around America with her self-written musical, “Young Man, Older Woman”, as well as releasing several underwhelming studio albums. Millie J got her groove back in 2001 with the sublime “Not For Church Folk!”, which is an outrageous return to form. Songs like “Butt-A-Cize” and “Girl Gotta Know (She’s A Ho)” hark back to her glory days as the reigning queen of filth. Millie has spent the past few years hosting a radio program and running her own record label. It’s high time that she returned to the music and put the other pretenders in their place. This woman is one of the most original artists ever to pick up a microphone. It is incomprehensible that Millie isn't accorded the living legend status that she truly deserves.

- Mike

My Man, A Sweet Man (1972)

Act Of War (with Elton John) (1985)