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"ABC" Album Photoshoot

Date assessed from the fact that the article with photos from the unused painting session (see Image 2 of Early 1970 entry) mentions that the “current album is ‘Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5.” and ABC’s album name is unknown in the article, so it was sometime in 1970 before ABC’s release (May 8, 1970)

Soul Magazine, “What It’s Like to be Michael Jackson” (August 10, 1970)

Michael also collects pets of the sort a nine-year-old boy is most find of. He keeps white mice in a cage in the family room, when he’s not wearing them across his shoulders.

“I have a snake too,” he boasts, “that we found at the beach. We were out taking pictures for the “ABC” album cover and Chris Clark saw him in the bushes on the way back to the car. We caught him just before he crawled into his hole and she gave him to me.”

Chris Cadman, author, “Michael Jackson the Maestro”

The photo shoot for the ABC album took place on El Matador Beach in Malibu. Berry Gordy set up the all-day affair, where Michael found a little snake. The discovery of ‘Rosie The Snake’ later developed into an episode idea for the J5 cartoon series when Michael’s love of animals was featured, renamed ‘Rosie ‘The Crusher.’