Control - The First Commercial Hit of the Year

Today we're sharing an episode from our friend Sam Sanders over at NPR’s It's Been a Minute podcast. This year marks the 35th anniversary of Janet Jackson's classic album, Control. That album was her first real commercial hit and, looking back, helped redefine all of pop music. It also helped establish two star producers in Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. In the late 80s and 90s, Janet was one of the biggest stars of our time—right up there with her brother Michael and Madonna. And yet, Jackson isn't always given her due.

In this episode, host Sam Sanders explores why that is, how she made the album Control, and the incident that lasted all but a second, that changed the course of her career.

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