Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American bassist, singer, record producer, entrepreneur and television personality.
Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing bass guitar for an array of jazz, pop, rock and R&B performers. He moved on to work in music production and as A&R at Columbia Records and MCA Records. Jackson is best known from his appearances as a judge on American Idol and executive producer for MTV's America's Best Dance Crew. Jackson has won a Grammy Award as a producer.
Jackson was born on June 23, 1956, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the son of Julia, a homemaker, and Herman Jackson, a plant foreman. His first marriage, to Elizabeth Jackson, was dissolved in 1990; they had one daughter named Taylor. In 1995, Jackson married Erika Riker, with whom he has two children, a 14-year-old daughter named Zoe and a 12-year-old son named Jordan. In 2003, Jackson lost 114 pounds (52 kg) following gastric bypass surgery. He stated in a February 2008 television commercial that he has type 2 diabetes.