Feb.5 in history

22 Years Ago --- Michael Jackson; How a Lead Singer Was Born Boston Globe February 05, 1984 In the 1950s, Joe had aspirations of going into show business, but the realities of his growing family forced him to put these dreams aside. He had sung and played guitar in a blues group that called itself "The Falcons" which, as he recalls, "mostly worked colleges and bars." Soon the responsibility of 11 mouths to feed meant music was just something that came out of the radio while Joe supported his family as a crane operator. His once- precious guitar was relegated to collecting dust in a closet. Katherine remembers singing around the house and teaching her children songs to sing with her. "It was just plain stuff," she recalls, but it was in this atmosphere that young Michael Jackson was exposed to and became interested in music. As Michael tells it: "My father had a group called the Falcons. They were three brothers, and they played guitars and sang, so there was always a guitar lying around. We started out singing at home. When I was 5, I remember my brother Tito would pick up the guitar and play, and eventually we would start singing to the playing. We would sing songs like Cotton Fields Back Home' and some old Ray Charles and James Brown stuff. One day my father caught Tito with the guitar, and he got so mad because he didn't want anybody to touch his beautiful guitar. It was something that he cherished, and he kept it as a memory piece. "When he found Tito playing it, he let him have it! Then he said to Tito, Let me see what you can do!' and he meant it. Well, Tito whipped out the guitar and started really playing. My father was shocked because he saw some special talent there. He was really surprised, and he was so happy that his son could do this!" Soon a group was formed in the household with Jackie, Jermaine and Tito. Next Marlon joined in, and young Michael would pound on a set of bongos while his older brothers performed. One day his mother was startled to hear young Michael imitating Jermaine's singing and told her husband, "I think we have another lead singer!" Jackie recalls: "He was so energetic that at 5 years old he was like a leader, we saw that. So we said, Hey, Michael, you be the lead guy."' And history was made. Soon Joe was encouraging his boys to pursue music, and he began to spend his hard-earned money for instruments. Katherine did protest at first, but eventually gave in to her husband's preoccupation with their children's hobby. Soon the whole family became enthusiastic about the music. Joe says: "If you're around something a lot, you're gonna take part in it." Besides, it was a perfect outlet to keep the boys occupied after school. Michael doesn't remember much before that. "Actually I was so small I don't remember. When I was 5, I was touring, singing and dancing. Always gone, always out of school. "A lady in the neighborhood came up with the name the Jackson Five. We started rehearsing every day after school. Kids would tease us because we would be rehearsing all the time, even in school." According to Jackie, "We always knew we were going to hit it big. It was just a matter of getting the breaks." Their lucky breaks came at first in the form of local talent shows. Michael remembers, "Every time there was a talent show, everyone on our block would go and try for a trophy. We learned at an early age that people don't just give you a chance; you have to win it. Everybody around us was trying to get into some type of show business. My father was always very protective of us, taking care of business and everything. We went to school, but I guess we were different even then because everyone in the neighborhood knew about us. We'd win every talent show, and our house was loaded with trophies." "When we sang," says Michael, "people would throw all this money on the floor, tons of dollars, 10s, 20s, lots of change. I remember my pockets being so full of money that I couldn't keep my pants up. I'd wear a real tight belt, and I'd buy candy like crazy! "We always had money and we could always buy things the other kids couldn't, like extra candy and extra bubblegum. Our pockets were always loaded, and we'd be passing out candy. That made us popular!" The Jackson Five soon found itself on a winning streak. Katherine Jackson, however, remembers her concern for 5-year-old Michael. "It was sort of frightening," she says. "He was so young. He didn't go out and play much. So if you want me to tell you the truth, I don't know where he got it. He just knew. "Every time I'd go to a concert, I'd worry because sometimes the girls would get onstage and I'd have to watch them tearing at Michael. He was so small, and they were so big." Michael began to pick up things from other performers he saw from the wings of theaters. "Soon we were doing theaters," he recalls, "and Amateur Hour' with James Brown . . . Jackie Wilson . . . Gladys Knight." The more Michael performed, the more he liked it. "My dad taught me how to work the mike and things like that," he says. "And I learned a lot about dancing and moving around from watching James Brown and Sammy Davis on television." Michael admits to this day, "I always enjoyed the feeling of being on stage - the magic that comes. When I hit the stage, it's like all of a sudden a magic from somewhere just comes and the spirit hits you and you just lose control of yourself. "Something is really missing when I'm not on stage. It may sound crazy, but I'm a stage addict. When I'm not on stage for a long time, I have fits and I get crazy. I start crying and I act - I guess you might say weird and freaked out. I start dancing around the house. It's like a part of me is missing, and I have this wild craving for it. "On stage is the only time I really open up. I say to myself, This is it. This is home. This is where I'm supposed to be, where God meant me to be.' I feel so free, so unlimited on stage. I feel like I can do anything. It feels so good when the lights hit you and you feel the audience. I eat it up. Performing is better than anything else I can think of!" The Jackson Five performed together for five years, gradually gaining experience and recognition. They worked every gig they could. They were booked in places all over Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, plus a couple of faraway places like New York and Arizona. "Everyone thinks we started at the top," says Marlon, "but we traveled around for for years before that - five brothers and two sisters - crammed into a Volkswagen van. We played around our home town of Gary, but we alsowent out to Kansas City and St. Louis. We'd get home at 5 in the morning a lot of times, then get up and go to school. We're used to hard work." The first time record producer Freddie Perren saw the Jackson Five, he was in Jerry Butler's band. Perren remembers them as the opening act: "I was a pianist with Jerry Butler in 1968 and we were playing a club in Chicago . . . That was Jerry's hometown, so he was very popular. When I saw these little kids opening the show for us, I really felt sorry for them and hoped the crowd would be kind to them. Michael was so little and innocent. Well, they just destroyed the audience. He was just an amazing performer. Hey, it was very tough trying to come on after that, let me tell you." In Gary, The Jackson Five grabbed every chance they could get to perform, including benefits for Muigwighania, a local black pride organization headed by an aspiring politician named Richard Hatcher. In 1968 Hatcher, campaigning to become Gary's first black mayor, invited the Jackson Five to entertain at one of his rallies. Also on the bill was Diana Ross & The Supremes. When Ross saw Michael and his brothers perform, she flipped and immediately got Berry Gordy Jr., president of Motown Records, on the phone to tell him what she had seen. She arranged for the Jackson Five to audition for Motown at Gordy's home in Detroit. Ross remembers, "I looked at this little kid whirling around up there and I thought I was looking at myself. I couldn't believe it. I thought the group was terrific, so I asked them if they'd like to meet the head of my record company, Berry Gordy Jr. I saw so much of myself as a child in Michael. He was performing all the time. That's the way I was. He could be my son." And so was born a lifelong bond. Joseph Jackson remembers it like this: "Let me put it this way: We were at the gate. To me it seemed there was an iron gate in the entertainment field. And there just had to be a way to open that gate before you could get through. We sort of had one foot in, and then along came Diana Ross. What she did for my boys was to open that gate. Yes, I have to say, Diana opened the gate for The Jackson Five." Michael recalls, "We auditioned for Motown at Berry Gordy's mansion in Detroit among all the Motown stars: The Temptations, Diana Ross, The Marvelettes, people that we admired. We did our show, and they loved it. They gave us a standing ovation. Berry Gordy came over, and Diana Ross came over at the end of the show and she kissed each one of us. She said she loved what she saw, and she wanted to be a part of what we do." The Jackson family knew they had performed very impressively, but there was a wait before they found out if they were going to get a recording contract. Jackie distinctively recalls "not being able to use the phone for two months while we waited to hear from Motown. We wanted to keep the line clear!" When the call did come, the news was good, and Motown signed them to a recording contract. Although Ross is often credited with "discovering" the Jackson Five, Michael always clarifies the fact by saying, "Nobody discovered The Jacksons except their mother and father. We were an established professional act long before we ever signed with Motown." "So," says Michael, "we moved to California, and half of the group stayed with Diana and the other half lived with Berry Gordy. I lived with Diana for almost a year and a half. It was like paradise. We went to Disneyland, we had fun every day. This was a whole other thing from Gary, Ind. And we went into the studio and came up with I Want You Back.' " Their first record wasn't an overnight success. By 1969 Freddie Perren had signed on with Motown as a songwriter. Together with Fonce Mizell, Deke Richards and Berry Gordy himself, they became known as "The Corporation." "Deke, Fonce and I were having a hard time getting records released," says Perren. "We were on staff at Motown in Los Angeles, but between Norman Whitfield, Smokey Robinson, etc., it was hard to get time with any of the top acts. At the time, Gladys Knight hadn't had a hit in a while, so we decided tocut a track for her." The song was called "Want To Be Free." "Berry said it was a very energetic, youthful rhythm track, and he had these kids from Gary he'd like to use it on. We rewrote the song, aimed it more toward a little kid and called it I Want You Back.' Well, we cut it with the kids and the vocals were great. We took it back to Berry with our chests stuck out. We knew we had it. He listened to it, turned to us and said, You guys are ready to blow a hit.' He went over the entire record, telling us where we had messed up." "I Want You Back" was reworked, rerecorded and released as the first Jackson Five single in the fall of 1969. The group was signed to make its American television debut in autumn 1969 on the ABC-TV series "The Hollywood Palace" with Diana Ross & The Supremes as the special guest hostesses. Backstage that night, the Jackson Five stood poised to go on stage like a rocket ready to blast off. And that's just what they were about to do. That Saturday night, Oct. 18, 1969, the Jackson family was about to launch one of the most famous debut singles in recorded history, their 2-million-selling smash "I Want You Back." Jackie was 18, Tito 16, Jermaine 15, Marlon 12, and Michael, the soon-to-be-superstar, already a seasoned performer at 11. That was the night Michael and his brothers became bona fide stars. --- --- Bob Giraldi New York Times February 05, 1984 ...Mr. Giraldi motioned Mr. Dooley to remain and ran after Mr. DeLuise, persuading him, after a five-minute talk, that the people on the set were not out to get him. Back they came, and after a few run-throughs, the two actors did a fairly funny skit about buying a home computer. For Bob Giraldi that was only the beginning of his day. During the rest of it, he screened first cuts of several other commercials he wrote, cast and directed, went over tapes of the two Michael Jackson home video shorts he wrote and directed, "Beat It" and "Say, Say, Say," which stars both Mr. Jackson and Paul McCartney. He discussed some scripts with his assistant Barry Yablons and made final plans to film a raft of commercials with John Madden, Rodney Dangerfield, Boog Powell, Billy Martin, Mickey Spillane and that collection of ex-athletes who have become Miller Lite Beer cult heroes through a series of Mr. Giraldi's commercials... His "Beat It," with Michael Jackson, won the top five prizes of the annual Billboard Awards, including "Best Overall Video of the Year," and he shared with Mr. Jackson "Best Pop Video" and "Best Soul Video" at the recent American Music Awards. Mr. Giraldi has also directed the striking television commercials for "Evita," "Dreamgirls," "A Chorus Line" and "Sophisticated Ladies..." His mastery of the televised short form led him into the world of home video last year, a world already entered by John Landis and being considered seriously by such as Robert Altman, Bob Rafaelson and Martin Scorsese. "I wanted to enter the field because it is not pure art, not pure promotion. It's a new, young media field. And I've always liked to do music." He met with Michael Jackson and was hired to direct "Beat It," a short film that includes two rival city gangs stalking each other on the night streets. It was filmed in two days in Los Angeles with the lead dancing and choreography done by Mr. Jackson and Michael Peters, the choreographer of "Dreamgirls..." --- 21 Years Ago --- Prince Parties As Stars Make Benefit Album San Francisco Chronicle February 05, 1985 So we won't be hearing Prince on the already famous "Band-Aid II USA" album. Why? Well, Prince hasn't exactly covered himself with glory in the days since the American Music Awards, not with his bodyguards beating up photographers in L.A. But the even more shocking story is that while the rest of America's music giants - Bob Dylan, Kenny Rogers, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Joel, Huey Lewis, you name them - were in the studio recording the LP (they hope to raise in the neighborhood of $200 million by it to feed the world's hungry), Prince was out somewhere having himself a ball. He telephoned record producer Quincy Jones at dawn to say he was ready to lay down some tracks. (Prince and Michael Jackson were supposed to record the only duet on the LP; what a classic it would have been.) Quincy quietly told Prince it was "a little too late." --- 20 Years Ago --- MTV Molds Musicians Into The Fashion Models of the '80s Chicago Tribune February 05, 1986 Thanks to the immediacy and endless repetition of 24-hour-a-day music- video broadcasts, clothes favored by such singers as Madonna, Prince, Cyndi Lauper and Michael Jackson and TV actors Philip Michael Thomas and Don Johnson are the greatest hits in fashion for the young. --- 18 Years Ago --- All-star Profile: Magic Johnson Chicago Sun Times February 05, 1988 FULL NAME: Earvin Johnson Jr. ... FAVORITE MUSIC: Rhythm 'n' blues. FAVORITE MUSICIANS: Michael Jackson, Prince, Anita Baker, Luther Vandross, Freddie Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight. "The fast songs and also the slow love ballads. I'm also into rap..." --- --- Music On TV USA Today February 05, 1988 On MTV, From Motown to Your Town - Michael Jackson Special (Saturday, 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST) features never-before-seen footage from the international Bad tour, which arrives in the USA Feb. 23 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo. --- 17 Years Ago --- Days Of Di Big Apple Lacks Polish, But the Princess Shines Chicago Tribune February 05, 1989 Princess Di loves rock parties and travels with Michael Jackson tapes in her kit, but in New York, instead of Peck, the best she could do was Mayor Ed Koch and real estate developer Donald Trump. She stuck to her official schedule... --- --- Md. Artist Gary C. Wade Dies at 33 The Washington Post February 05, 1989 Gary Clayton Wade, 33, a Baltimore artist and Washington native who specialized in making paper, wire and glue masks and full-size sculptures of the rich and famous, was killed Feb. 3 in an automobile accident in Northeast Washington... Over the last seven years, he had made scores of masks and full-size sculptures of such personalities as Phil Donahue, Oprah Winfrey, President Reagan, Richard Nixon, Cab Calloway, Marion Barry, Sugar Ray Leonard and Whoopi Goldberg. Most of his pieces had been autographed by their human counterparts. One of his favorite works was a life-size statue of Michael Jackson made in 1984. He took the sculpture to New York City when Jackson was appearing at Madison Square Garden on his Victory Tour. --- 16 Years Ago --- Grand Illusion USA Today February 05, 1990 Siegfried and Roy's self-named show has finally opened at the Las Vegas Mirage. The illusionists - who have a five-year, $57.5 million contract - originally were set to open Dec. 26, but postponed the $20 million show to fine tune the effects. S&R, the most expensive Vegas show ever, also has the highest ticket: $65. The theme song was penned and is performed (on tape) by Michael Jackson ("When Siegfried and Roy come on, they do the mind- over-magic in you"), whose own Mirage entertainment attraction opens this year. --- 14 Years Ago --- Jackson To Receive Nabob Lifetime Achievement Award Washington Informer February 05, 1992 Megastar Michael Jackson will receive the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) Lifetime Achievement Award on March 5 at the Sheraton Washington Hotel, it was announced on Monday by James L. Winston, the organization's executive director and general counsel. "Although still a young man, Michael Jackson has been a giant on the American music scene for more than a generation," said Winston. "Over the years, he has both dominated and revolutionized popular music, dance and fashion. In addition to his amazing success in public life, Michael has in his private life set an important example with his selflessness, caring attitude and philanthropy." The prestigious NABOB Lifetime Achievement Award was created to honor those individuals who have excelled in their carrers or made a major contribution to their profession, and whose ingenuity, perseverance and creativity has fostered greater empowerment for the African-American community. An unprecedented international star, Jackson began his career in 1964 as lead singer of The Jackson 5, one of the most prolific music acts ever, with more than 100 million records sold. As a solo artist, Jackson's four albums--"Off The Wall," "Thriller," "Bad" and "Dangerous"--have brought him unparalleled critical and commercial success. "Thriller" alone won eight Grammys, seven American Music Awards, and is the largest selling album in the history of the recording industry, with sales in excess of 42 million. While Jackson is perhaps best known for his achievements in the entertainment world, his record of community involvement is singularly outstanding. In 1981, the Jacksons raised more than $100,000 for the Atlanta Children's Foundation in a special benefit concert. Jackson donated all of his Victory Tour profits to three charities in September of 1984: United Negro College Fund, Camp Good Times and the T.J. Martel Foundation for Leukemia and Cancer Research. In addition, he is also a major supporter of Make-A-Wish Foundation, United Negro College Fund, Childhelp USA and the YMCA. Jackson has been honored by Presidents Reagan and Bush for his philanthropic activities for children. The National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters was organized in 1976 as a response to the under representation of Black Americans in the communications industry. Since its inception, NABOB has grown into a major trade association representing the interests of 182 Black-owned commercial radio stations and 18 commercial television stations around the country. The other honorees at the Eighth Annual NABOB Communications Awards Dinner include Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J.: Rep. Bill Richardson, D-N.M.; Robert L. (Bob) Johnson, president, Black Entertainment Television; Jheryl Busby, chief executive officer, Motown Records; and Dorothy Height, president and chief executive officer, National Council of Negro Women. Past awards winners include the late Parren Mitchell, longtime Maryland Congressman; Gen. (Ret.) Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., the first African-American graduate of West Point in the 20th century and commander of the 332nd Fighter Group during World War II, known as the Tuskegee Airman; and Percy E. Sutton, fonder of NABOB and chairman emeritus of Inner City broadcasting Corp. Musical entertainment for the awards dinner will be provided by four-time Grammy Award-winning Warner/Reprise jazz vocalist Al Jarreau. --- 12 Years Ago --- Grand Jury To Convene In Jackson Case Los Angeles Times February 05, 1994 A Santa Barbara County CA Grand Jury will convene in mid-Feb 1994 to begin hearing testimony about whether Michael Jackson sexually molested a boy over a period of several months in 1993. Subpoenas have been delivered to a number of witnesses, but neither Jackson nor his accuser have been called. --- 9 Years Ago --- Oksana Baiul Michael Jackson Journal Star February 05, 1997 Ungloved but wearing blindingly shiny black pants, Michael Jackson told a Rome courtroom Tuesday that he did not plagiarize an Italian song. He is accused of copying music and lyrics in "Will You Be There" on his 1991 "Dangerous" album. The alleged source: "I Cigni di Balaka" (The Swans of Balaka) by Italian singer Al Bano. In 1994, an Italian civil court found that Jackson copied the song and banned sale of the album in Italy. On Tuesday, during a hearing on a parallel criminal case, the prosecutor asked if Jackson could explain an expert's analysis that 37 notes were the same in each song. Speaking softly, Jackson said, "There is some similarity, but it's completely coincidental." Jackson smiled frequently during the hour-long hearing, apparently amused by the malfunctioning sound system and chaotic exchanges between the lawyers and judge. "He'll stop laughing when he has to pay damages," Bano lawyer Francesco Caroleo Grimaldi told reporters later. --- --- Jackson 'Will Bid Pounds 25m for Britannia' The Daily Telegraph February 05, 1997 Michael Jackson, the pop singer, was reported yesterday to be planning to bid pounds 25 million for the Royal Yacht Britannia. --- 8 Years Ago --- Teddy Riley Aims To Develop Music's Next Stars USA Today February 05, 1998 ...Blackstreet will tour with [Janet] Jackson next year, and Riley, who previously produced hits for Michael Jackson and the Jacksons, hopes to get a shot at producing Janet's next album. He says he was disappointed that Michael Jackson didn't come back to him to rework Blood on the Dance Floor, the title track of an album of previously unreleased material and remixes that was released last year and generated little interest. "That was an old record that I did five or six years ago," Riley says. "I felt like I was cheated. He could have come back to me, and we could have done another record or at least cleaned up the sound. It was just so dated." And being dated is the last thing Riley wants said about him. He foresees instrumentalists once again becoming important in an industry now dominated by producers who rely on synthesizers... --- 4 Years Ago --- Locks Are the Key Arizona Daily Star February 05, 2002 '80s - Billed as the perm for blacks, the Jheri Curl was a style popularized by pop music sensation Michael Jackson in the '80s and a style that, for most black people, died out not a moment too soon. The greasy products used in Jackson's hair were said to have contributed to a fire that burned his hair in a Pepsi commercial... This look is easily created by setting the hair on perm rods. --- --- Best Bets The Patriot News February 05, 2002 It's been more than 15 years since a captivated Paul Simon met members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo in a Johannesburg recording studio. Simon was there to put their stirring harmonies on his "Graceland" album, which went on to sell more than 10 million copies. The a cappello singers' traditional sound was born in the mines of South Africa, where black workers, far from home, entertained themselves by singing. Ladysmith Black Mambazo's first U.S. release, "Shaka Zulu," won a 1987 Grammy, and it has worked on films including Michael Jackson's "Moonwalker," "The Lion King II," "Coming To America" and "A Dry White Season..." --- 1 Year Ago --- Jackson Says Celebrity Makes Him a Target Telegraph Herald February 05, 2005 Michael Jackson believes he "won God's smile of approval" for bringing youngsters to his Neverland ranch, he said in his first television interview since being indicted on child molestation charges. The superstar, who is under a gag order during his trial in Santa Barbara County, didn't directly proclaim his innocence in the interview scheduled to air today. But he described many of the news reports about him as "fiction" and said his celebrity made him a target. "The bigger the star, the bigger the target. ... But truth always prevails," Jackson told Fox News Channel's "At Large w/ Geraldo Rivera" program. Fox News on Thursday released excerpts of the interview. On Friday, Rivera told NBC's "Today" that he believes Jackson will be acquitted, and criticized District Attorney Tom Sneddon for seemingly going to extremes to gather evidence against Jackson. Rivera described Sneddon as "ruthless" and a "man on a mission" to convict Jackson. "I am dedicated to giving him a fair trial. ... to make sure that the playing field is level and that people listen to the allegations specifically," Rivera said. "If it wasn't Michael Jackson, reporters throughout this business would say: 'Wait, this doesn't sound right. This is illogical,"' he said. The interview, taped two weeks ago, was Jackson's first since his April indictment on charges that he plied a boy, now 15, with alcohol and molested him at the ranch two years ago. Jackson also is accused of conspiracy to hold the boy's family captive. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.Questioning of potential jurors was to begin Monday but that has been delayed because the sister of the lead defense attorney is gravely ill. Jackson said he designed Neverland as "a home for myself and my children," and a place to do the things he never could as a child star in the Jackson Five. "We couldn't go to movie theaters. We couldn't go to Disneyland. We couldn't do all those fun things. We were on tour. We were working hard." ---

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