The Jackson 5 & Michael Jackson 1
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1 The Jackson 5 Unit 10 Notes 2 Joseph • The Early Years – Joseph Walter Jackson • Born 26 July 1929 to Samuel and Chrystal Jackson in Fountain Hill, Arkansas. • His father Samuel ruled with an iron fist. He and his four siblings were not allowed to socialize with friends outside the home. • In Joseph’s younger days, he was a boxer. • In the mid-1940s Joseph was briefly married to another woman. Shortly thereafter, the marriage was annulled. • In the mid-1950s he started a music career with his brother Luther, and played in that group, the Falcons, until they split and Joseph returned to his full time job at U.S. Steel. 3 Katherine • The Early Years – Kattie (Katherine) B. Scruse • Born 4 May 1930 to Prince Albert Scruse and Martha Upshaw in Barbour Country, Alabama. • Played clarinet in her high school band. • Had polio at a young age. This caused the limp that she still walks with to this day. 4 Joseph & Katherine • The Early Years – Met in a nightclub in Chicago, Illinois in 1945. – Began Dating in November of 1949 after Joseph’s annulment. 5 Joseph & Katherine • The Early Years – Right before Joseph left for California to pursue his career as a boxer or a musician, Katherine became pregnant with their first child. • As a result of this, Joseph never followed his own dream. Instead, he took a job at U.S. Steel in Gary, Indiana. The family would live there until the late 1960s in a cramped house at 2300 Jackson Street that Michael described as being “no bigger than a garage.” – After being laid off in 1958, things became so hard for the Jackson family that Joe and his brother Luther resorted to stealing leftover potatoes from a potato farm. 6 Joseph & Katherine • Children – Maurleen Reillette (Rebbie) Jackson (29 May 1950) – Sigmund Esco (Jackie) Jackson (4 May 1951) – Toriano Adaryll (Tito) Jackson (15 October 1953) The Jackson 5 & Michael Jackson 1 – Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (11 December 1954) – La Toya Yvonne Jackson (29 May 1956) – Marlon David Jackson (12 March 1957) – Brandon Jackson (12 March 1957 – 12 March 1957) – Michael Joseph Jackson (29 August 1958 – 25 June 2009) – Steven Randall (Randy) Jackson (29 October 1961) – Janet Damita Jo Jackson (16 May 1966) 7 Michael Fights Back • Joseph Hits Michael – Of all of the boys in the Jackson family, Michael was the one who would fight back against his father. – Once, when he was just three, Joseph spanked him for something he had done. Crying, Michael then took off one of his shoes and hurled it at his father. Joseph ducked; the shoe missed him. Infuriated, Joseph grabbed Michael and, according to Marlon, held him upside down by one leg and pummeled him over and over again with his hand, hitting him on his back and buttocks. 8 Michael Fights Back • Joseph Hits Michael – When Joseph released Michael, he ran to his room, sobbing, “I hate you.” Those were fighting words for Joseph. He followed Michael into the bedroom, slammed the door and then let him have it. – Joseph also locked Michael in closet for hours one day. This sort of parenting was horrible and traumatizing for young Michael. 9 Joseph Discovers The Jackson Brothers • Tito Breaks Josephs Guitar – Tito would sneak into his father’s room while he was away at work and play his guitar. – Sometimes Jackie and Jermaine would join him and they would sing together. – Once, their mother walked in on them rehearsing and they all stopped in fear, but she did not make them stop. She let them continue to sing. – Late one night, after working weeks of double shifts at the steel mill, Joseph came home to find his treasured guitar with one broken string. 10 Joseph Discovers The Jackson Brothers • Tito Breaks Josephs Guitar – Joseph went storming into the boys room (a small room that all six boys shared) and woke them screaming and demanding to know who had been playing his guitar. – Once he finally got it out of them that Tito had been then one using his guitar while he was away, Joseph took him out into the living room and beat him with a belt. – Later that same night, and after fixing the broken string on his guitar, Joseph woke up the entire family so that they could all hear Tito play. What Joseph found was that not only could Tito play the guitar quite well, his brothers and he had worked out vocal melodies, harmonies, and dance moves for some of the songs he performed. 11 Climbing Mountains The Jackson 5 & Michael Jackson 2 • Michael’s First Performance – At the tender age of five, Michael performed Climb Every Mountain from The Sound of Music a cappella for his class. The other children in the class were so impressed by his self-confidence and talent that they gave him a standing ovation. – His teacher began to sob. Katherine attended the performance with Joseph’s father, Samuel, who was not a sentimental man, yet even he was moved to tears by Michael’s mellifluous performance. 12 Wasting Money •Buying On Time – Following Michael’s performance of Climb Every Mountain, Joseph rounded up all of the money he could and invested it into a instruments and equipment to begin rehearsing the group that would soon become The Jackson 5. – Many fights ensued between Joseph and Katherine after his decision as to the wasted money that should have been used on home improvements, clothing for the family, and food. 13 Getting a Switch • Marlon Learns the Hard Way – Throughout many of the early years of the Jackson 5 it has been said that Marlon struggled the most with dancing and singing. – Because of this, there were many times that Michael was pitted against Marlon in the form of an example as to what Marlon was doing wrong. – Most other times, Marlon was either punished by the fury of Joseph’s belt or forced to go outside and “get a switch” with which he was punished. 14 Getting a Switch • Marlon Learns the Hard Way – Because of these problems, Joseph told Katherine that he was planning to drop Marlon from the group. Katherine, who was normally quite about her differences of opinion with Joseph, put her foot down and forbade Joseph from removing Marlon from The Jackson 5. – Due to his constant drive to be as good or better than Michael and mostly out of fear of yet another beating from Joseph, Marlon worked tirelessly to improve and became arguably the best dancer of the brothers. Even Michael has been quoted as saying that Marlon was the best dancer of the group. – His singing improved so much that when Jermaine left the group in 1976, Marlon took over the majority of his solos. 15 The First of Many • 1965 RHS Talent Show – All of the hours, days, and weeks of preparation finally paid off when The Jackson 5 won their first talent show in 1965 at Roosevelt High School in Gary, Indiana. – Joseph, obsessed with winning each and every contest he entered his boys in, that in one instance where the boys came in second place and won a color television, Joseph simply took the boys and left without claiming their prize. His point was one that he reiterated time and time again; “Either you’re a winner in this life, or a loser. And none of my kids are losers.” The Jackson 5 & Michael Jackson 3 16 The Night Clubs and Bars •Late Nights – Quite frequently, Joseph Jackson would have his sons performing at any venue they could possibly obtain. – Such bookings would include bars and strip clubs. • Joseph, who was normally strict, allowed his boys freedom at these places. 17 The Night Clubs and Bars •Late Nights – These types of events also sent very mixed messages to the boys, especially to the youngest of them, Michael. His mother a devote Jehovah’s Witness was very clear and strict about her feelings on such behavior. Joseph on the other hand frequently kept a girlfriend on the side and was not very secretive about this in front of the boys who were torn between keeping this secret from their mother whom they adored, or betraying their father whom they feared. 18 The Night Clubs and Bars •Late Nights – One recollection of Michael’s was a story from when he was nine years old. After performing at a fairly seedy strip club, he was allowed to stand in the wings of the stage and watch as the male audience leered and whistled at women stripping until naked on stage. Once, Michael watched in fascination as a well-endowed stripper took off everything but her underwear. The, at just the “right” moment , she pulled two large oranges from under her bra and took off a wig to reveal that “she” was actually a he. 19 The Night Clubs and Bars •Late Nights – The other major conflict with such performances with the hours the boys were forced to keep. Very frequently, after performing at a bar or club, Joseph and his sons would not arrive home until four o’clock in the morning with school the next day. – A typical performance day for The Jackson 5 was… • School all day • Homework, dinner, and rehearsal in the evening • Performance all night 20 The First Record Deal • Steeltown Records – After winning another talent contest, this one at Beckman Junior High School in Gary, Indiana, the boys were brought to the attention of a man named Gordon Keith, who owned a small local label called Steeltown Records.