La Toya Jackson (1980)The debut featured the already featured If You Feel The Funk and Are You Ready. It spent 11 weeks in the Billboard Top 200 and was reissued last year. It also features her collaboration with brother Michael, Night Time Lover. Michael is also apparently famous too. A bit of a slow-burner but a classic gem of an album!
My Special Love (1981)
Toy's sophomore effort was little more polished than her debut but only spent 3 weeks in the charts after a poor performing debut single in the Billy Ocean cover Stay The Night. The highlight far and away however is Special Love, possibly her best performed track ever - her vocals are lush and dreamy just like the song. This album is quite rare and has only had a limited CD release with copies going for $400US on eBay!
Heart Don't Lie (1984)Containing her first ever Billboard Hot 100 hit with the title track (her first music video too), Heart Don't Lie spent six weeks in the chart and sold well enough for new label Private-I to commission a follow up. This is probably La Toya's most accessible album with each track being a classic 80s gem! Featuring a brilliant cover of Prince's Private Joy, it contained another Billboard RnB hit in Hot Potato - which also became her first charting single in the UK.
Imagination (1986)This album is such a classic that La Toya even forgets about it in her best-selling autobiography. It didn't chart, although it had one Billboard RnB hit in He's A Pretender and Baby Sister won the "Outstanding Song Award" at the 1985 World Popular Song Festival in Japan, where Toy performed the song live with younger sister Janet on backup vocals - Janet too apparently was famous too.
La Toya (1988)La Toya really threw down on her Teldec Records debut. Teaming up with Full Force for You're Gonna Get Rocked, it became a #42 smash hit in New Zealand, another Billboard RnB hit (almost making the Hot 100 at #103), and her second charting song in the UK. It's also a classic La Toya video. This album featured Full Force producing one side and Stock Aitken Waterman producing side two with classics like (Ain't Nobody Loves You) Like I Do and (Tell Me) She Means Nothing To You At All. An essential 80s album and easy to find on eBay.
Bad Girl (1989)Bad Girl is legendary for having been issued on various small budget labels more than 50 times and counting. The only La Toya album still in print (aside from the debut album) this is the easiest album to find and probably her biggest seller because of it's ease to get. However I think this is her poorest album from the 80s, with only the hilarious Sexual Feeling, a favourite of Kelly Osborne's and the brilliant Do The Salsa being memorable tracks for me.
No Relations (1991)Released as a tie in to her autobiography, No Relations featured her last mainstream top 40 hit in the camp house anthem Sex Box which hit #25 in the Netherlands. This also featured her own version of the Grammy-nominated Reggae Nights which La Toya herself wrote for inclusion on Heart Don't Lie but gave to Jimmy Cliff to turn into a worldwide hit.
Formidable (1992)In 1992 La Toya was the star attraction at Paris's infamous Moulin Rouge. A soundtrack was recorded and 3,000 copies pressed before La Toya broke her contract and left. This item is probably the most sought-after in her entire catalogue. Most of the songs are in French but she does a camp as version of The Locomotion that leaves Kylie to shame!
From Nashville To You (1994)This also appeared in a double disc set with Lynne Rose Garden Anderson as The Great Ladies of Country and surprisingly La Toya holds up well in country music. Highlight is definitely the poppier tracks like Trash Like You which is screaming for a proper pop cover!
Stop In The Name Of Love (1995)Possibly the worst album in the history of the world, La Toya was forced into recording this by her abusive husband/manager and the vocals were laid down in an hour (and it shows) and then put over the top of bad karaoke Motown classics, including those of her brother. The only decent song really is Tears Of A Clown which has an almost decent vocal performance, probably because La Toya - being abused at the time - could easily relate to the song. A true low point which has to be heard to be believed.
Startin' Over (2008?)La Toya's comeback album has been promised for four years or so, it was preceeded by the Billboard dance hits Just Wanna Dance and Free The World - possibly the gayest hand-in-the-airs sogn ever. It leaked in it's original form in late 2006 including the brilliant Should've Left You. However it was decided the whole album will be redone, and now it's on hold (again!) and it probably will never come out... La Toya may be testing her fans loyalty with it, but if the leaked tracks are anything to go by it should be glamorous!
