The Gallery

Michael Jackson A Look at the Man in the Mirror

Growing Up

Cradled in an industrial suburb of Chicago, a talented young family sang their way into history. Joseph Walter Jackson stood as the patriarch and provider of a growing family. He married Katherine Scruse in 1959 and they began to raise their family. Joseph himself once held the dream of making it big in the music world, and had started a band with his brother Luther in the mid 50’s but times were hard and Joseph forsook his dream in order to provide for his family. He went to work full time as a crane operator with U.S. Steel (Joseph Jackson Biography).

Michael was born in 1958, the eighth of the ten children. He recalled that his mother taught them to sing folk and religious songs when they were very young (Michael Jackson Biography). Michael’s older brother Tito was the first of the kids to share his musical talent. However, Tito always hid his ability from his father. While Joseph was gone to work, Tito would take his father’s guitar and play and sing for his siblings. One day Tito broke a string on his father’s guitar and then Joseph was exposed to the incredible talent in his children (Michael Jackson).

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The Jackson 5 formed in 1964. The band comprised of Jackie, Jermaine, Tito, Marlon, and the five year old Michael. Michael wanted to join his brothers’ band, but they wouldn’t let him join until the youngest Jackson sang a rendition of “Climb Every Mountain” at his school in Gary, Indiana. After singing his solo, Michael took his rightful place as lead singer in his brothers’ group. The young group started out playing in clubs and bars in Gary, Indiana and the surrounding area.

With the direction of their father, Joseph Jackson, the new band rehearsed morning and night. The Jacksons won their first talent show at Roosevelt High School in their hometown of Gary with their rendition of “My Girl”. According to Michael, they won every competition in Gary after that (“The Jackson 5 Era”). The Jackson 5 made their way to Chicago where they performed at the Regal Theatre’s amateur night and won for three weeks in a row. Another performance was at the

The Jackson 5

Joseph began coaching and working with his kids and encouraged every one of them to develop their musical abilities. Often his lessons were extremely harsh and Michael later recalled that while his father was rehearsing with them, he would hold a belt in his hand “And if you didn’t do it the right way”, Michael remembered, “He would tear you up, really get you” (Michael

Jackson).

Joseph seemed very dissatisfied with his position as an African American working-class family and he pushed his children hard. Michael confessed years later that his father often hurt him and that he suffered much from abuse and loneliness in his childhood home. Despite this abuse, however, Michael admitted many years later that his father was a genius and that he owed his own success to his father’s diligent training (Michael Jackson).

The Jackson children rehearsed and played and soon began to perform together. Success was just around the corner for this talented and devoted young family.

Jackson’s childhood home in Gary, Indiana

his father often hurt him…he suffered

much from abuse and

loneliness in his childhood

home

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Apollo theatre for the amateur night. Once again the Jackson 5 took first place.

The Jacksons didn’t just participate in talent shows, but were also beginning to earn money for their talent. The young boys first started making money with their music at a nightclub called Mr. Lucky’s. They didn’t get paid like normal musicians, but instead scooped the money up off the stage that the audience threw at them. The Jackson 5 frequented other nightclubs to perform for the patrons. The boys’ manager, Joseph Jackson, invested more money into the group as they became more popular. The band grew in numbers as well. Johnny Jackson

and Ronny Rancifer were two boys from their neighborhood that were recruited to play the drums and the keyboard, respectively.

The first record deal came by way of Gordon Keith of Steeltown Records. The Jackson 5 had just won a talent contest at Beckman Junior High when they received an invitation to sign a recording contract. The Jacksons didn’t hesitate and began recording their first single “Big Boy”, which released in late 1967.

The band didn’t stay with

The Jackson 5

(Pictured Left to Right—Tito, Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael)

Michael wanted to join his brothers’ band, but they wouldn’t let him join until the youngest Jackson sang a rendition of “Climb Every Mountain” at his

school in Gary, Indiana

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Going Solo

Steeltown Records for very long. On July 23, 1968 the Jackson 5 auditioned for Motown Records at the request of Bobby Taylor. When Berry Gordy heard the audition tape he decided to sign the band. The Jackson 5 signed with Motown Records on July 26, 1968 when Michael was 9 years old. The schedule was busy for the Jackson boys. They attended school in Gary during the week and on the weekends went to Detroit to record their album. In August of 69’ the family moved to Los Angeles to be close to Motown’s new studios.

Michael was seen as having qualities of a veteran performer. He captivated many with his vocals and stage presence (“The Jackson 5 Era”). The band appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in December of 69’ and again in May of 70’. The band also made appearances on T.V. shows like American Bandstand. The band was a hit and had mobs of fans following them wherever they performed. The Jacksons started their first national tour in October 1970 and visited sixteen cities with a homecoming performance in Gary, Indiana.

In 1971, Michael’s first solo single reached number 4 in the charts. Michael’s first solo album, Got To Be There, reached number 14 in the U.S. He was well on his way to becoming a solo artist. Jackson’s last studio album for Motown was called Forever Michael. The album was released in January 1975. The Jackson 5’s last album at Motown was Moving Violation, and was released in May of that same year. Motown lost the Jackson 5 due to their lack of promoting the band, which caused some of their albums to not do so well. The band signed with Epic records in 1975 with the new name, The Jacksons.

In 1979, Michael released the solo album Off the Wall. In this album, four singles were released, two of which hit the charts at number one: “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” and “Rock With You” (MyFoxDC.com). Jackson’s largest selling album with 50 million copies worldwide, Thriller, was released in 1982. He had seven hit singles including Michael on set of “Thriller”

Michael clearly wanted

to entertain people