Janet Jackson — Control (1986) Vintage Tee

In 1986, Janet Jackson was 19 years old, had two fairly forgettable albums behind her, and was still best known as Michael Jackson's little sister and the girl who played Penny on Good Times.

That was all about to change.

Tired of having her career managed by her famously controlling father, Joe Jackson, Janet decided it was time to do things her way. She headed to Minneapolis to work with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, two former members of Prince's musical empire who had a few ideas of their own.

And apparently, none of those ideas involved asking Joe Jackson for permission.

Released on February 4, 1986, Control was a complete reinvention. Gone was the sweet, somewhat anonymous teenage Janet of her first two albums. In her place was a confident, increasingly independent young woman with attitude, a killer wardrobe, and some of the best dance moves of the decade.

The album produced an incredible string of hits, including What Have You Done for Me Lately, Nasty, When I Think of You, Control, and Let's Wait Awhile.

And then there were the videos.

Working with a then-relatively unknown choreographer named Paula Abdul, Janet helped create some of the most memorable music videos of the MTV era. The dancing was sharp, the outfits were fabulous, and suddenly every girl in America wanted an oversized black jacket, enormous earrings, and a few backup dancers.

And every gay boy wanted to be one.

The video for Nasty gave us one of pop music's greatest introductions: “No, my first name ain't baby. It's Janet. Miss Jackson if you're nasty.”

Four decades later, we're still quoting it.

Control eventually reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, sold millions of copies, and transformed Janet into a superstar in her own right. More importantly, it helped establish her as one of the defining female artists of the late 1980s, paving the way for the even bigger Rhythm Nation era that followed.

The album's influence on pop, R&B, dance music, fashion, and choreography is practically impossible to overstate.

Not bad for a girl everyone thought would spend her career standing in her brother's shadow.