Zebra celebrating 40th anniversary of debut album

Zebra singer Randy Jackson has creepy memories of playing Tucson. This time around, when the hard rock band performs at the Rialto Theatre on Wednesday, May 31, it should be a little calmer.

“We’ve played out there a few years ago for a guy from New Orleans who had a haunted house with laser guns and stuff like that,” Jackson said about The Slaughterhouse. “He had bands outside.”

When the New Orleans-born act hits the Rialto, it will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its 1983 debut self-titled album by playing it in its entirety, front to back.

“We’re doing that everywhere we go,” he said. “It’s going to be great.

“It’s so weird that it’s been 40 years. That number and my age seem foreign to me. My grandkids ask me, ‘What’s your number?’ That’s how they ask how old you are.”

Produced by Jack Douglas, “Zebra” went gold and was the fastest-selling debut album in Atlantic Records’ history. “Zebra” sold over 75,000 copies in its first week and spent eight months on the Billboard charts, peaking at No. 29. During the next couple years, Zebra opened for Aerosmith, Journey, ZZ Top, Loverboy, Cheap Trick, Sammy Hagar and REO Speedwagon.

The group has produced five albums and five videos with combined sales of over 2 million copies.

Jackson said he hasn’t had to rehearse the first album much, as the band hadn’t stopped playing songs from it.

“Songs have been part of our sets for some time,” he said. “We’ve played all the songs at one point or another. They’re not foreign to us.”

Zebra and Jackson have stayed passionate about music for very practical reasons — namely, “we’re still alive,” he said with a laugh.

“The music that we wrote reflects the songs that we listened to when we were younger,” he said.

“We used to do covers when we started. We played songs by over 50 different bands. The songs we would choose would be songs that we felt would last a long time. We very rarely played the hit of the week or learned a song that was here today, gone tomorrow.”

They played The Knack’s “My Sharona,” songs by David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Bad Company and Aerosmith.

“All of that stuff is just as strong today as it was for the fans of it back then,” said Jackson, who has been writing a new album for 20 years. “It’s possible that that influence flowed into the writing process for us and people still like the music. It has a little longevity and timelessness to it.”

Lyrics bolster that belief that the songs are timeless, as Jackson, of Long Island, said, they’re simply spiritual or break-up tracks.

“People can relate to them at any age,” he said.

Zebra w/Donnie Vie: The Original Voice of Enuff Z’Nuff

WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 31

WHERE: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress Street, Tucson

COST: Tickets start at $39; all ages

INFO: 740-1000, rialtotheatre.com

This article appears in May 25-31, 2023.