Authors: Steve Knopper
“Set-up” tray and Elks details
: Crump interview.
One-dollar fried tacos
: Johnnie Gault interview.
Eight dollars per gig
: Katherine Jackson,
The Jacksons
, p. 59.
Five sets per night and “We were playing”
: Michael Jackson,
Moonwalk
, pp. 36–37.
“Skinny Legs and All”
and crawling
: Ibid., p. 37; author interviews with Ben Brown and Jessye Williams.
Deals with the cops
: Williams interview.
Summer 1966, Winslow and Old Arcadia Hall
: Jermaine Jackson,
You Are Not Alone
, p. 66.
Fried chicken and pork and beans
: Earl Gault interview.
“Vigorously rubbing his cheeks” and “Just tired”
: Jermaine Jackson,
You Are Not Alone
, p. 66.
red soil, and “Michael used to like nature-type stuff”
: Earl Gault interview.
Johnny Jackson recommendation
: Shirley E. Cartman,
A Teacher Remembers the Jacksons
(Encino, CA: Gabriel Publishing, 1987), p. 31.
“A bubbly, animated little guy” and “the best drummer around”
: Jermaine Jackson,
You Are Not Alone
, p. 66.
Publicity photo
: Michael Jackson,
Moonwalk
, p. 25.
“We were brothers”
: Michael Sangiacomo,
Gary Post-Tribune,
April 21, 1988, p. B5.
Joe dragged Michael to studios for auditions
: Author interview with William (Billy) McGregor; Jake Austen, “The Jackson Find,”
Chicago Reader,
September 10, 2009, pp. 17–20, 22.
“Tobacco Road”
: Ibid.
One-derful details, George Leaner’s wariness, Jacksons showing up at 5 p.m. daily, “transform a talented teen band,” and “Big Boy”
: McGregor interview; author interviews with Ernie Leaner, Larry Blasingaine, and Otis Clay; Austen, “The Jackson Find,” pp. 17–20, 22.
Keith called 2300 Jackson Street
: Austen, “The Jackson Find,” pp. 17–20, 22.
“It was tough”
and Steeltown
: Rodgers interview.
Cartman invited Keith to her house and “The Scrub” and “Lonely Heart”
: Cartman,
Teacher Remembers the Jacksons
, p. 43.
MJ high-jump
: Austen, “The Jackson Find,” pp. 17–20, 22.
November 1967
: Ibid.; Steve Walsh, “ ‘King of Tort’ faces string of lawsuits,”
Gary Post-Tribune,
April 28, 2002, p. A6.
Morrison Sound Studio,
“Most sessions were done late” and relocation to black neighborhood
: Author interview with Jerry Mundo.
“Very quiet, well-mannered kids”
: Author interview with Delroy Bridgeman.
Session details and 10 or 11
P.M.:
Mundo interview.
Replacement vocals
: Bridgeman interview.
January 31, 1968
: Austen, “The Jackson Find,” pp. 17–20, 22.
WVON, one thousand watts, and first station to cater to black listeners
: Barbara Sherlock, “E. Rodney Jones, 75: Legend of Chicago’s ‘golden era,’ ”
Chicago Tribune,
January 9, 2004, p. 2C.13.
Jesse Jackson called WVON
: Don Terry, “Raising the Voice,”
Chicago Tribune,
March 19, 2006, Magazine Section 10.14.
“
If you got a hit on WVON”
: Author interview with Lucky Cordell.
Atlantic Records
: Bob Kostanczuk, “Recordings for sale: Selling a slice of history,”
Gary
Post-Tribune,
April 30, 2009, p. C1.
“I honestly heard something”
: Cordell interview.
Rancifer and Jacksons
: Author interview with Roderick “Ronnie” Rancifer.
Regal details
: June Sawyers, “When the Regal was something special,”
Chicago Tribune,
October 4, 1987, p. H10.
Crystal chandeliers, silk drapes, and Italian marble
: Clovis E. Semmes,
The Regal Theater and Black Culture
(New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2006), p. 3.
“You’d go in there”
: Rancifer interview.
Five Stairsteps and basketball
: Author interview with Clarence Burke.
“Michael was a very watchful guy”
: Rancifer interview.
Apollo Theater
: Ted Fox,
Showtime at the Apollo
(New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983), pp. 286, 288; Jack Schiffman,
Uptown: The Story of Harlem’s Apollo Theater
(New York: Cowles Book, 1971), pp. 8–18, 21–22.
“I carefully watched” and dusty curtains
: Michael Jackson,
Moonwalk
, p. 47.
May 1968
: Advertisement and story in
Amsterdam News,
May 18, 1968, n.p. Posted at
j5collector.blogspot.com/2010/05/jackson-5-at-apollo-may-24-30-1968.html
.
“I don’t remember what I told him”
: J. Randy Taraborrelli,
Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story 1958–2009
(New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2009), p. 38.
Vibrations stealing dance steps
: Author interview with Carl Fisher.
“Everybody was ranting and raving” and “Right there, at the Apollo”
: Author interview with Teddy Young.
July 1968 at Regal
: Adrian Grant,
Michael Jackson: A Visual Documentary 1958–2009: The Tribute Edition
(London: Omnibus Press, 1994/2009), p. 9. I confirmed many dates with this source.
Eddie Patterson recollections and “Michael was like a little magic kid”
: Author interview with Eddie Patterson.
Snakepit description
: Nelson George,
Where Did Our Love Go?
(New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1985), p. 112.
Worn spot
: From Motown Museum tour, Detroit, Michigan.
“He wouldn’t let himself get away,”
“Michael, this is advanced,” and Joe hitting MJ
: Author interview with Ed Wolfrum. Bobby Taylor says the hitting incident
never happened; Motown arranger Paul Riser, who was there, doesn’t recall but vouches for Wolfrum; Joe Jackson and all Jackson 5 members refused interview requests.
“If you’re going to deal with it” and “I certainly morally couldn’t leave it alone”
: Ibid.
“I once pulled a gun”
: David Ritz, liner notes, Jackson 5,
Soulsation!: 25th Anniversary Collection
(Motown, 1995), p. 35.
Taylor’s first call was to Seltzer
: Declaration of Ralph Seltzer,
Toriano Jackson, et al., vs. Motown Record Corp., et al.,
Superior Court of the State of California, March 5, 1976.
“I had a reluctance” and “terrific”
: Author interview with Ralph Seltzer.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Dick Scott, video camera, and eighth floor
: Berry Gordy Jr.,
To Be Loved: The Music, the Magic, the Memories of Motown
(New York: Warner Books, 1994), p. 279.
“Uh, Mr. Gordy”
: Ibid., p. 281; Jermaine tells a variation in his book.
July 26, 1968, and one and a half or two hours
:
Toriano Jackson vs. Motown
, March 5, 1976.
Joe’s argument and Seltzer made a show
: J. Randy Taraborrelli,
Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story 1958–2009
(New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2009), pp. 44–45.
“Most of our artists” and “I didn’t have gigantic respect”
: Seltzer interview.
Gordy let Taylor take over the Jacksons’ career and MJ singing like an adult
: Ritz, Jackson 5,
Soulsation!
, pp. 29–33.
Four-hour drive, mattress and sleeping bags and “projecting”
: Jermaine Jackson,
You Are Not Alone: Michael Through a Brother’s Eyes
(New York: Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 2011), pp. 97–98.
“He got it”
: Ritz, Jackson 5,
Soulsation!
, p. 36.
Steeltown contractual issues
: Seltzer declaration,
Toriano Jackson vs. Motown
, March 5, 1976.
They continued performing and club names
: Jermaine Jackson,
You Are Not Alone
, p. 98.
“How in the world”
: Brenda Holloway interview,
Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon
(David Gest Productions, 2011).
“DIANA ROSS!”
: Jermaine Jackson,
You Are Not Alone
, p. 95.
“We was quite nervous”
: Tito Jackson interview,
Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon.
Gordy and boxing
: Gordy,
To Be Loved
, p. 49.
Supremes, Temptations, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Motown problems, Gordy’s first LA home, group Gordy could control
: Gerald Posner,
Motown: Music, Money, Sex, and Power
(New York: Random House, 2002), pp. 182–85, 205–7, 227, 234, 242–43.
“Their music was not the R&B”
: Author interview with Martha Reeves.
“They thought the West Coast”
: Author interview with Clay McMurray.
“Berry was very, very direct”
: Author interview with Paul Riser.
Sound Factory
: Author interview with Deke Richards.
$105 per session
: Author interview with Gene Pello.
Freedom to improvise
: Author interviews with Louie Shelton and David T. Walker.
“The Funk Brothers were all jazz musicians”
: Author interview with Don Peake.
“All we needed was a hit”
: Nelson George,
The Michael Jackson Story
(New York: Dell, 1984), p. 54.
Jacksons moved to LA in August 1969
: Katherine Jackson with Richard Wiseman,
The Jacksons: My Family
(New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1990), p. 67;
Toriano Jackson vs. Motown
, March 5, 1976; Michael Sangiacomo, “Reflected Glory: Jacksons’ fame, fortune, attract those who knew them when Gary was home,”
Gary Post-Tribune,
April 21, 1988, p. B5.
Gladys Knight,
“I Wanna Be Free,” Joe Sample glissando, and “Don’t get on the plane,”
: Author interview with Suzee Ikeda.
“Direct it towards kids”
: Freddie Perren quoted in George,
The Michael Jackson Story
, p. 61.
Make the Jackson 5 sound like themselves
: Nelson George,
Thriller: The Musical Life of Michael Jackson
(New York: Da Capo Press, 2010), p. 33.
“The writers were different”
: Riser interview.
Richards recognized the Jackson 5’s versatility, $10,000 session, and “I had to stop it”
: Richards interview.
“More than a tutor”
: Rabbi Shmuley Boteach,
The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation
(New York: Vanguard Press, 2009), p. 96.
3:02
P.M.
: Richards interview.
CALL PAPA JOE
: Deke Richards, liner notes, Jackson 5,
Come and Get It: The Rare Pearls
(Motown/Hip-O Select, 2012), p. 19.
He never called, Jackie’s stern hand, Three Stooges hijinks, and “When you’ve got one [song]”
: Richards interview.
Studio and park
: Author visit to 4317 Romaine Street, former Motown studio that is now the West Hollywood Maintenance Building.
“They just felt comfortable”
: Author interview with Russ Terrana.
Jackson 5 royalty rates
:
Toriano Jackson vs. Motown
, March 5, 1976.
“Just about everyone got ripped off”
: Posner,
Motown
, p. 212.
Operation Crime Alert and 11 percent crime increase
: James B. Lane,
City of the Century: A History of Gary, Indiana
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1978), p. 295.
Tito held at gunpoint
: Katherine Jackson,
The Jacksons
, p. 65.
“Everyone down!”
: Jermaine Jackson,
You Are Not Alone
, p. 85.
“Joseph did rule”
:
The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty
(A&E, 2009).
Dodge Maxivan, drive to LA, Santa Monica Boulevard, and Hollywood Motel
: Katherine Jackson,
The Jacksons
, p. 68.
“Which was nothing special either”
: Joseph Jackson,
Die Jacksons
(Munich: Random House Germany, 2004), p. 110.
1601 Queens Road
:
Toriano Jackson vs. Motown
, March 5, 1976.
Fairfax High School and Susan and Sherry
: Author interview with Susan Jackson and Sherry Danchik.
Gardner Street Elementary
: Ian Lovett, “Elementary School Reclaims Link to King of Pop,”
New York Times,
October 31, 2010, p. A21.