Part 4 (1/2)

'Well, I don't like it,' Joseph fumed. 'All the boys are equal. We're not singling Michael out from the rest. It'll just cause problems.'

'But, look, Joe, he's obviously the star.' Berry said, not taking his eyes off the performance. 'Come on! Look at him. You gotta be kidding me?'

'No, they're all all stars,' Joseph countered. stars,' Joseph countered.

'Well, it's too late now,' Berry said, shrugging his shoulders, again. Then the two of them watched the rest of the performance, Berry with a big smile and Joseph with a sour frown.

When the brothers finished their next two songs 'Can You Remember?' and 'I Want You Back' the applause, led by Diana, was generous. They made a solid impression, there was no doubt about it.

After the show, there was pandemonium backstage, with the boys whooping and hollering, slapping one another on the back, jumping up and down and hugging each other. Joseph was in the middle of it all, enjoying a sweet moment of victory with his sons.

Diana walked into the backstage area and went right to Michael. 'I am so proud of you,' she enthused. 'You are the best! Just the greatest. You're gonna be a big, big big star.' She took such pride in Michael's achievement; one might have thought she was his actual mother, not just a figure-head in his life. Then, she turned from her 'son'. star.' She took such pride in Michael's achievement; one might have thought she was his actual mother, not just a figure-head in his life. Then, she turned from her 'son'.

'Will someone please get me a towel?' Diana asked no one in particular. She raised her voice. 'There should have been a towel back here waiting for me. I want a towel. I want a towel. Now, where is it? Now, where is it? Somebody? Somebody?'

'I'll get you one, Miss Ross' Michael offered. He disappeared for a moment and came back with a fluffy white towel.

Diana smiled and took it. 'Thanks, Michael,' she said, patting him on the head.

He beamed and ran off.

Berry walked over to Diana and, as Jack Lewis listened, he asked, 'What was with that introduction, ”Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5”?'

Towelling off her bare shoulders, Diana looked at Berry with a proud expression. 'Oh, I threw that in myself,' she said. 'Pretty good, huh?'

'I figured. But the father was really p.i.s.sed off about it,' Berry said.

Diana looked at Berry as if he were daft for caring what 'the father' thought... 'So what?' she asked. 'Here, take this,' she said, handing him the towel as if he was her a.s.sistant instead of the president of her record company. 'Michael! Oh, Michael,' she called out as she walked away. 'Now, where is that boy?'

Not since Sammy Davis, Jr., had the world seen a child performer with as innate a command of himself on stage as Michael Jackson. Both as a singer and dancer, young Michael exuded a presence that was simply uncanny. After this youngster was heard recording Smokey Robinson's plaintive, bluesy 'Who's Loving You?' the question among Motown's staffers was 'Where did he learn that kind of emotion?' The answer is that he didn't have to learn it, it just seemed to be there for him.

Producers were always astonished at how Michael would, in between recording sessions, play games that pre-teen children enjoy such as cards and hide-and-seek, and then step behind a microphone and belt out a song with the emotional agility and presence of an old soul who's seen his share of heartache. Equally amazing was the fact that, aside from listening to demonstration tapes of the songs sung by a session singer to give him direction on the lead melody and Deke Richards' constant prodding to clean up his diction, Michael was pretty much left to his own devices in the studio. When he was told to sound like a rejected suitor, no one in the studio actually expected him to do it, to understand the emotion involved in heartbreak. How could they? After all, he was eleven.

'I'll tell you the honest-to-G.o.d truth. I never knew what I was doing in the early days,' Michael confessed to me once. 'I just did it. I never knew how to sing, really. I didn't control it. It just formed itself. I don't know where it came from... it just came. Half the time, I didn't even know what I was singing about, but I still felt the emotion behind it.'

Producer Deke Richards used to have to sit Michael on top of a trash can in order for him to sing into the boom mike above him. Jermaine and Jackie would stand on either side of Michael Marlon and t.i.to rarely recorded backing vocals in the early days since neither had a knack for harmony and sheet music would be positioned in front of Michael's face on a music stand. From the control booth, all Richards could see in the studio were Jermaine and Jackie standing on either side of two sneakers dangling at the sides of a trash can.

When Michael and his brothers became professional performers, there were probably a million youngsters with as much raw dancing talent. What set Michael apart from the schoolyard hoofers was his execution, undoubtedly gleaned from years of observing headliners in the rhythm-and-blues revues in which he and his brothers used to appear. The kid had an eye for what worked.

From legendary soul singer Jackie Wilson, Michael mastered the importance of onstage drama. He learned early on that dropping dramatically to one knee, an old Wilson tactic, usually made an audience whoop and holler. However, for the most part, watching young Michael at work was like observing an honour student of 'James Brown 101'. Michael appropriated everything he could from the self-proclaimed 'hardest-working man in show business'. Not only did he employ Brown's splits and the one-foot slides, he worked a microphone bold-soul style just like Brown pa.s.sionately jerking the stand around like a drunk might handle his girlfriend at the corner pool hall on a Sat.u.r.day night.

Michael also pilfered James Brown's famous spin. However, back then, the spin didn't go over nearly as well with a crowd as Michael's version of another dance of the day that Brown popularized, the Camel Walk. When Michael strode across the floor of American Bandstand American Bandstand during The Jackson 5's first appearance on that programme, even the audience of pretty white teenagers got caught up in the frenzy of excitement. during The Jackson 5's first appearance on that programme, even the audience of pretty white teenagers got caught up in the frenzy of excitement.

From Diana Ross, Michael got not only a sense of style, but an appreciation of power. Diana had a quiet quiet authority, the power of presence. He'd observed how people reacted to her when she walked into a room. She was revered. She was given deferential treatment. She had a special power. He liked that. authority, the power of presence. He'd observed how people reacted to her when she walked into a room. She was revered. She was given deferential treatment. She had a special power. He liked that.

There was one other thing Michael got from Diana: his early ooohs. ooohs. Michael's early vocal ad-libs were almost always punctuated with an Michael's early vocal ad-libs were almost always punctuated with an oooh oooh here or there; not a long-drawn-out here or there; not a long-drawn-out oooh, oooh, but rather a stab, an exclamation mark. Diana used this effect on many of The Supremes' recordings. Michael delighted in it and put it in his grab bag of influences. Indeed, for little Michael Jackson, every little but rather a stab, an exclamation mark. Diana used this effect on many of The Supremes' recordings. Michael delighted in it and put it in his grab bag of influences. Indeed, for little Michael Jackson, every little oooh oooh helped. helped.

At the beginning of November 1969, Berry Gordy leased a house for the Jackson family at 1601 Queens Road in Los Angeles. Michael moved out of Diana Ross's home and in with his father and brothers. A month later, Katherine, LaToya, Janet and Randy joined the rest of the family. Motown paid for their flights, their first plane ride.

As they arrived at the house, the boys were waiting on the front lawn. Michael was the first to throw himself into his mother's arms. 'But you got so big,' she exclaimed. Tears streamed down her face as she hugged each of her boys in turn. Jackie, ever the tease, lifted Marlon up and tossed him in the air. 'Me next, me next,' three-year-old Janet squealed.

Katherine would recall that, once inside the house, she took a long look around the living room. It was so large twice the size of the entire house in Gary that she was dumbstruck. 'It ain't Gary, that's for sure,' Joseph told her with a proud smile. Then Joseph had Katherine close her eyes. He led his wife out to the backyard patio. 'Okay, you can open them now,' he told her.

A panorama of dusk-time Los Angeles lay stretched below the hillside home, thousands of lights twinkling like earthbound stars. A dark-blue sky above, clear and cloudless, was full of stars. 'This must be what heaven looks like,' Katherine said, when she could speak. 'I've never seen anything so beautiful.'

'Well, it's here for you every night,' Joseph told her. He was happy to see her, his wife and partner. Sometimes, Katherine's sadness was so acute, it bordered on depression. Joseph knew he was responsible; he tried not to think about what he was doing to her, focusing instead on what he was doing for for her such as being able to present her with such a new and exciting lifestyle. Though Joseph had his dalliances, he had always insisted that Katherine Jackson was the only woman he had ever truly loved and the rest were... diversions. Joseph could be cruel and unconscionable, at times. He could be selfish. Over the years, he would watch as Katherine's love for him foundered on the rocks of his blatant infidelity and dogged ambition. However, when he was alone with her, what they shared in those quiet moments was real and powerful, and it lasts to this day. They have been married for fifty-three years. her such as being able to present her with such a new and exciting lifestyle. Though Joseph had his dalliances, he had always insisted that Katherine Jackson was the only woman he had ever truly loved and the rest were... diversions. Joseph could be cruel and unconscionable, at times. He could be selfish. Over the years, he would watch as Katherine's love for him foundered on the rocks of his blatant infidelity and dogged ambition. However, when he was alone with her, what they shared in those quiet moments was real and powerful, and it lasts to this day. They have been married for fifty-three years.

Katherine recalled that she asked to be left alone for a moment in the outdoors of her new home. There she stood, among the orange trees and flower beds, all illuminated in a spectacular way. Joseph had turned on the outdoor sound-system so that romantic music could be heard playing softly in the background. The air smelled of jasmine. It was magical.

'Lovely, isn't it?'

Katherine whirled around at the sound of the woman's unfamiliar voice, but before either of them could say anything, Michael was at Katherine's side. 'Momma, this is her. her. This is Diana Ross,' he said, excited. #8216;Isn't she beautiful? Isn't she just beautiful?' This is Diana Ross,' he said, excited. #8216;Isn't she beautiful? Isn't she just beautiful?'

Later, telling a friend about the incident, Katherine would remember that Diana was as slim, young and attractive as she appeared on the television screen. Katherine, who was short and rounded, became painfully aware of how plain she herself may have looked to the glamorous singer. She walked towards her with a limp. Diana glided, as if on air. She was warm and friendly. Her large, dark eyes dancing, she took Katherine's hand. 'Mrs Jackson, I am so happy to meet you,' she said. 'Your kids have talked about you so much. They are just the best.'

As pleased as she was to hear her children praised, Katherine could not help wondering why Diana was at the house, and when she had arrived. Diana must have sensed her unspoken questions. 'Oh, I was just visiting,' she said by way of explanation. She hugged Katherine warmly and kissed her on the cheek.

Katherine told Diana that she was grateful for all she had done for her boys, especially Michael, and that she was happy to be able now to raise him herself. 'He needs his mother,' she said, firmly. 'I have been gone too long,' she added pointedly. At that, Diana seemed to become uncomfortable; her att.i.tude changed. 'I'm happy for you,' she said, softly. She seemed crestfallen by the subtle reminder that she might no longer be as influential in young Michael's life. She loved being his 'mother', even for just such a short time. She would miss it. Her life had been lonely, one devoted to career pursuits since she was about fifteen. However, it wouldn't be long before she would have children of her own three girls and then later two boys and devote as much of herself to them as she would to her career. 'I'd love to chat,' she told Katherine, 'but I can't because I'm very busy.'

'Can't you at least stay for a cup of coffee?' Katherine offered.

'No, not really. I must run now. I'm sure you understand.'

'Oh... sure,' Katherine said.

Without another word, Diana turned and walked into the night.

'Bye,' Michael called out after her, but Diana didn't answer.

Katherine hugged Michael. Then, without a backward glance at the breathtaking view, mother and son walked hand in hand into the house to begin their new life.

PART TWO.

'ABC' and 'The Love You Save'

By the end of 1969, Michael Jackson, now eleven years old and reunited with his mother, was a bubbly, energetic and happy youngster. 'All I want now is to see how far we can go as a family,' he told Soul Soul magazine reporter Judy Spiegelman. 'I like show business, Hollywood, and all that stuff, the things people like Berry Gordy do to make you look good. I'm real excited about things.' magazine reporter Judy Spiegelman. 'I like show business, Hollywood, and all that stuff, the things people like Berry Gordy do to make you look good. I'm real excited about things.'

In December, Motown Records released the brothers' first alb.u.m, Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5. Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5. It would go on to sell 629,363 copies, an amazing number for a debut alb.u.m. In Britain, it peaked at number sixteen and remained in the Top 100 for four weeks. 'Honesty has always been a very special word for me a special idea,' Diana Ross wrote in the liner notes. 'But when I think of my own personal idea of honesty, I think of something being straight out, all there, on the table the way it is... That's how I feel about The Jackson 5 five brothers by the name of Jackson whom I discovered in Gary, Indiana. They've got great talent,' Diana Ross concluded. 'And above all, they're honest.' It would go on to sell 629,363 copies, an amazing number for a debut alb.u.m. In Britain, it peaked at number sixteen and remained in the Top 100 for four weeks. 'Honesty has always been a very special word for me a special idea,' Diana Ross wrote in the liner notes. 'But when I think of my own personal idea of honesty, I think of something being straight out, all there, on the table the way it is... That's how I feel about The Jackson 5 five brothers by the name of Jackson whom I discovered in Gary, Indiana. They've got great talent,' Diana Ross concluded. 'And above all, they're honest.'

Michael read an advance proof of the alb.u.m jacket in one of the Motown offices as his brothers and a promotion man looked on.

'Wouldn't even let us play our own instruments on the alb.u.m,' t.i.to grumbled. 'But here we are in the picture holdin' 'em like we played 'em. Don't seem right to me.' In truth, t.i.to and Jermaine were not permitted to play their ba.s.s and guitar in the Motown sessions because Berry didn't think they were ready for studio work. All of the instrumental music was recorded by Motown's top team of musicians before the Jacksons even got to the studio. The boys would then have to learn to duplicate the sound as best they could for live performances.