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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (The Jackson 5 First National Tour)

“Look” Magazine (August 25, 1970), transcript

One weekend not long ago, The Jackson Five jetted in from Los Angeles, where they now live, to give a concert at Philadelphia’s Convention Hall. Besides their father Joe, cousins Johnny Jackson (who plays drums with the group) and Ronnie Rancifer (who plays organ and piano), their entourage included Suzanne de Passe, a young “stylist” who helps the boys perfect their act, coordinator Tony Jones, who handles logistical details, a Motown still photographer, a magazine photographer, a five-man cinema crew hired by Motown to film the concert, the Jacksons‘ chauffeur, and a schoolteacher who accompanies them on out-of-town trips. Along with the group came a truckload of instruments, amplifiers, and other electronic equipment. On-stage in cavernous Convention Hall, The Jackson Five erupted in a dizzying display of intricate footwork and song, with Michael writhing and wailing, a combination James Brown and Sammy Davis, Jr., packed into one small frame. The J-5's songs sell clean-cut sex for the prepuberty crowd. On the tune, “The Love You Save”, Michael pipes to an imaginary grade schooler: “Isaac said he kissed you beneath the apple tree, when first he held your hand he felt electric-teee! When Alexander called you, he said he rang the chime, Christopher discovered, you're way ahead of your time.” Somehow, coming from the lips of this ten-year-old, it‘s all believable. Beneath the precocious sex (“Sit down, girl, I think I love you!”) is a swinging, bluesy beat that moves.

It's only been a year since the Volkswagen bus tours, but the Jacksons have come a long way in that time. They've done the big network TV shows like Sullivan and Griffin several times, the fan mail rolls in, and the fan clubs proliferate. More significantly. offers arrive from places like Las Vegas and London (their hit single “ABC” topped the English charts). But most of the offers are turned down. The Jacksons are being shephered by Motown head Berry Gordy, Jr., who developed The Supremes, Diana Ross, The Temptations, and other headliners. Gordy is intent on keeping the bad vibrations away from the Jacksons. Along with Joe and Katherine Jackson, the boys‘ parents, he makes the big decisions in their lives. Jackie, the eldest, graduated in June, and all the others continue to go to Los Angeles public schools. (One school had to have its telephone number changed several times because youthful fans kept calling to speak to Michael.) And their infrequent concerts are squeezed in on holidays or on weekends. Joe Jackson exerts a steadying hand in the exhilarating flush of the boys' new popularity. “You have to work a lot on keeping things in proportion”, he says. “I tell them what would happen if they changed and got swelled heads. That‘s something I never want to see.”

So the young stars keep to a strict schedule that sees them up at seven a.m. for school, and in bed by ten. Sandwiched somewhere in between are afternoon rehearsals, recording sessions, homework, a spot of songwriting (Michael collaborates with Jermaine and Tito), interviews, and--if time permits--a pickup baseball game with Gordy’s sons and Diane Ross’ younger brother, Chico. With such a schedule, keeping the boys “just boys” is a lot harder than it may sound, but between the senior Jacksons and Gordy, it works. At home with the rest of the family--sisters Latoya, 14, Janet, 4, and brother Randy, 7 (a married sister, Maureen, 20, lives in Kentucky), a German shepherd named Lobo and three pet mice, the boys are part of a closely knit clan. Katherine Jackson, a quiet but steady mother, helps keep everybody's head on straight. “I guess I always knew Michael was an unusual child”, she says. “From the beginning, he was very musical. And, of course, he keeps us laughing all the time.” Michael is the Jackson wonder. At ten, he exhibits a worldliness far beyond his years. A born mimic, he picks up routines, embellishes them with his own special genius. Though Michael receives a lot of attention, he fits on well with his brothers. “They know he’s the lead singer”, says Joe Jackson, “and they each have their own part. We pull together in this family.”

The pulsing J-5 sound proved too much for neighbors in their first Hollywood Hills home, where Jermaine's booming bass and Ronnie Rancifer’s amplified organ resounded through the canyon. So they moved to a new Beverly Hills spread, replete with swimming pool, and a spacious practice room. Though they've come up with several record smashes, The Jacksons do not intend to settle in any one groove. Bongo-playing Randy may join the group, making The Jackson Five an even-hotter Jackson Six.