Randy Jackson was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. He started playing piano and guitar at age 5. His earliest influences were Les Paul and Mary Ford, The Beatles, The Allman Brothers, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, The Moody Blues, and Led Zeppelin. Jackson is best known for his role as frontman for the band Zebra. Jackson founded Zebra with bass player Felix Hanemann and drummer Guy Gelso in 1975.