Songfacts®:

• This was another hit from Jermaine Jackson's solo career during the early 1980s. It's a pretty typical "take an interest in me, let's hook up" song. If something "tickles your fancy" it appeals to you. >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Mike - Santa Barbara, CA
• Let Me Tickle Your Fancy was Jackson's final album with Motown before departing for Arista Records. He had been with the label since The Jackson 5 signed with Motown in 1968.
• This features Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale of Devo, credited as Spud and Pud, on backing vocals. It was an odd choice for a Motown-bred soul singer to hook up with new wave punk rockers - so odd, in fact, that the group thought Jackson was joking when he rang them up with the pitch. When news of the collaboration hit the public, it left a lot folks scratching their heads. Jackson recalled in a 1984 radio interview: "A lot of people said 'Jermaine Jackson and Devo?' but that's what I wanted people to say because when it's just off the wall like that, if it's great, then that's going to make it the biggest thing ever."
• Jackson says Motown is to blame for the single petering out at #18 when it was predicted to go even higher. "[It] carried Billboard's red dot symbol, signifying it was a 'bullet' set to climb," he explained in his book You Are Not Alone: Michael, Through A Brother's Eyes. "But Motown didn't harness the momentum. The song lost the bullet and started falling. I remember wandering around London at the time, feeling despondent and marooned."
• This peaked at #8 on the R&B chart.