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Freak!

HarperEntertainment

Chapter One

Some twenty years ago, at the pinnacle of his worldwide domination of the entertainment industry, Michael Jackson came to New York riding a crest of unrivaled popularity. He was there to sell his first autobiography for several million dollars. He succeeded and, in a fitting touch, his editor was the most publicized woman in history, none other than Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The book was called Moonwalk and it became a huge international bestseller. Fans of Michael Jackson had to have a copy, and they numbered in the millions worldwide. Moonwalk rode the top of the charts for months. In terms of public relations spin, the book was masterful, presenting a fairy tale image of Michael Jackson as a trouble-free young man possessed of talent at the level of genius. His heart was larger than could be measured and his compassion inexhaustible -- especially when it came to children. Where children were concerned, he was a veritable masked crusader, striving to set right every wrong.

Moonwalk outlined the Jackson legend. It recounted how the children of a large but economically challenged African-American working class family in Gary, Indiana, catapulted their way to international fame as the Jackson 5 in the late '60s and early '70s. They worked tirelessly to achieve the pinnacle of stardom in the pop musicworld, sacrificing comfort and sleep to travel in a van hundreds of miles to compete endlessly in amateur competitions, distinguishing themselves along the way with victory after victory. They were lucky to have a father, himself an amateur musician, who had the vision to shape the talents of his children. Their act, even in the early stages, was polished beyond their years.

In Moonwalk, Michael told of their 1968 tryout with Berry Gordy's Motown Records, now a part of American folklore and legend. Gordy was a god to aspiring black singers, songwriters and entertainers in the '60s, '70s and '80s. There went the Jacksons, off in their family van for the five-hour trip through the night to Detroit and the audition with Motown. Mother Katherine Jackson had packed them sandwiches. Father Joe was at the wheel. They got to Detroit, caught a quick catnap in a hotel, rose the next morning and performed for Gordy with all they had.

Joe Jackson and his sons drove the lonely stretches of interstate back to Gary not knowing whether they had caught the big break or lost out. Then the call came from Berry Gordy himself. Joe was offered a recording contract for the musical services of the group composed of his five sons. The Jacksons would soon become household names. Once they achieved fame, their fans clamored for every tidbit of information about Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael, the youngest, yet the lead singer. Wherever they went, they were mobbed. Their fame was reminiscent of the Beatles eight years earlier. Police escorted them to and from performance venues with lights flashing and sirens blaring. Hotels where they stayed had to add security. Female fans tried ruses and disguises to get to their rooms.

One year after signing with Motown, the Jackson 5 had their first number-one hit on the charts, "I Want You Back." The following year they had four more. Yet their father, Joe, isolated his sons. It seemed he cut them off from the outside world, except for carefully orchestrated interviews and photo sessions. The image put forth was of a family devoted to each other and dedicated to hard work. They were one big happy family, always pulling together, happiest when they were in each other's company. Their mother, Katherine, was portrayed accurately as a devout Jehovah's Witness whose faith was unshakable, despite having been marked with a limp from a childhood bout with polio. Her closeness to God was portrayed as a cornerstone for the entire family.

When Berry Gordy signed the Jackson 5, Michael was only 10. Even at that point, he was a veteran of five years in the entertainment business. At age 5, Michael was performing with the group in the family living room of their small and modest house in Gary. He had also been exposed, along with his brothers, to strippers and every other kind of adult entertainment in down-and-dirty clubs -- then shuttled to church on Sunday with his mother and sister. The Jehovah's Witnesses reviled everything these clubs represented. So quickly, for Michael, the fissure opened between reality and fantasy. His personality was split between the profane and the sacred. At night he sang and danced in seamy clubs and by day he knocked on doors and implored people to convert.

In 1972, the year he turned 14, Michael's first solo album hit the charts. That same year, he recorded a song for the soundtrack of the hit movie Ben. The song, called simply "Ben," rocketed up the charts to No. 1 and became the biggest selling single for Motown in all of the '70s. In 1976, the Jackson 5 and Motown Records split in an acrimonious showbiz divorce. Because Berry Gordy claimed control of the name "Jackson 5," when the brothers sang with Epic Records they changed their name to "The Jacksons." By this time, Jermaine Jackson had married Berry Gordy's daughter, Hazel Joy. When Jermaine elected to stay with Motown Records and his new father-in-law, who had promised to make Jermaine a solo star, The Jacksons countered by inserting youngest son Randy in his place. The group rolled along without pause.

The summer of 1976 witnessed the premiere on network television of their family musical variety show, titled simply "The Jacksons." It continued on the air into 1977. Eight of the nine Jackson children were involved in the show. Only Jermaine, still with the Gordys and Motown, was missing. The Jacksons were at this point the most successful family in the history of American popular music. The key to their success was clearly Michael, quickly morphing into a superstar. Continues...

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Excerpted from Freak! by Ely, Suzanne Excerpted by permission.
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