Jojo

Album: Middle Man (1979)
Charted: 17
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In 1975, Boz Scaggs introduced us to "Lido," a drifter with a very singable name. Two albums, later, he gave us Jojo, the first hit song about a pimp ("fifty dollars, he'll get you all you want," "His baby stays high... he keeps her on the street").

    Scaggs wrote the song with David Foster and David Lasley, who was a backup singer on the track. Foster also co-wrote the Earth, Wind & Fire hit "After The Love Has Gone" around this time, and was on his way to becoming one of the top songwriter/producers of his generation. "The music was Foster; he just starts playing it and I start singing along with it and wrote the words," Scaggs said in our 2013 interview. "Then Lasley filled in some words, too. David Foster was writing some great R&B songs at the time, writing with Earth, Wind & Fire and others. He was just David Foster, he's just a genius."
  • There were plenty of first-call musicians on this track. Scaggs had been working with Paich (keyboards), David Hungate (bass), and Jeff Porcaro (drums) since before they formed Toto, and they all played on this along with their bandmate Steve Lukather (guitar). Lenny Castro also contributed percussion.
  • A disco version of this song was released as a 12" single in the US.
  • Scaggs made a video for this song, which wasn't common pre-MTV. Directed by Arnold Levine, it was a fairly basic performance video, with a nattily clad Scaggs singing amongst his bevy of musicians. Toto made similar videos around this time for some of their songs.

Comments: 9

  • AnonymousGilbert Estrada - I believe the drummer in the video is Carlos Vega.
  • Gilbert Estrada from CaliforniaWho is the drummer on the official JoJo video.. I know for a fact it’s not Jeff Porcaro
  • Rick Medina from Newark DelawareI always thought this song had something to do with Broadway Joe, Joe Namath who I remember used to wear a mink coat due those days.
  • Jj from United KingdomAccording to Bill Schnee, who engineered the track, David Hungate cancelled and was replaced by John Pierce on bass.
  • Darthcluster from GreeceI hoped JoJo was from the anime but I hoped too much...
  • Grinder from Los AngelesWell...not exactly, Mike. Of Boz' "hits" (debatable, but Top 20 is usually a pretty good gauge...) Jojo was actually his lowest charting "hit".

    But a great song, nonetheless...
  • Zabo from Pugh, Pa.Jojo was a bad dude. The kind you wouldn’t want to call a friend. Jojo was a tormented soul and treated his women real bad. Jojo was the type of dude that was a predator. Probably a New York City bad ass.
  • Markantney from Biloxi, MsJul 2014,

    Out of his many great songs, this is in the top 3. I think he's never received his just due because he's probably too Soulful to be "Pop" and not quite R&B enough to be Soul?

    He's one of the most underrated of alltime to me regardless.
  • Mike from Santa Barbara, CaThis single was one of Boz Scaggs biggest hits, and it reminded some of his fans of his previous single "Lodown." It's about life in the big city, and seems to be about its criminal elements.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Christmas Songs

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.

Dean Pitchford

Dean PitchfordSongwriter Interviews

Dean wrote the screenplay and lyrics to all the songs in Footloose. His other hits include "Fame" and "All The Man That I Need."

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Director Nick Morris ("The Final Countdown")

Director Nick Morris ("The Final Countdown")Song Writing

Nick made some of the biggest videos on MTV, including "The Final Countdown," "Heaven" and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."

Steve Morse of Deep Purple

Steve Morse of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple's guitarist since 1994, Steve talks about writing songs with the band and how he puts his own spin on "Smoke On The Water."

Movie Stars In Music Videos

Movie Stars In Music VideosSong Writing

Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Mila Kunis and John Malkovich are just a few of the film stars who have moonlighted in music videos.