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"Round the Clock with The Jackson 5" Article

Date range assessed by the fact that the article mentions that “Jackie graduated from high school in June of 1970”, so the article was most likely published soon after that.

"Round the Clock with The Jackson 5" article, transcript

Eight o'clock on a weekday morning finds you inside the Jacksons' home. In the room they share, Jackie is trying desperately to get Tito and Jermaine out of bed. It's a school day and every single member of the J-5 is still in school and has to get up. In fact, Jackie graduated from high school in June of 1970 and decided to continue his education at a business college. He's the only member of the J-5 who's had a choice so far--the others must still go to to school. With a minimum of grumbling, all five brothers finally make their way to the breakfast room to partake in a nourishing breakfast before officially starting the day.

Usually, the boys go to school five days a week, but if they're scheduled to appear at a concert, they'll stop Friday and have a tutor travel with them so that they don't fall behind in their schoolwork.

They study the usual academic subjects, but they had to change schools last year. The other kids at the public school were constantly asking for autographs and following them home, and it just got impossible for anyone to concentrate. So now four of the five brothers attend a small private school not far from home.

At three o'clock, school is over for the day. Michael and Marlon do their homework right after they get home, or if they're really lucky that day they have a swim in their pool and then do their homework. Schoolwork has a very high priority in the Jacksons' daily routine--in fact, that and rehearsing are the boys' main activities.

On an ordinary day, the brothers spend a good deal of their time at home. And they've got a beautiful house, with lots of land around it, a spacious practice room where they can make music to their hearts' content without disturbing a soul, and right in their backyard a fabulous swimming pool where you can be sure to find Michael, Marlon, Jermaine, Tito, or Jackie at almost any time. For time-outs from the pool, the boys love to play basketball. This is easily done, too, since they have their very own basketball court...

Back in the house, Michael and Marlon are probably glued to the TV screen watching--can you guess?--cartoons. In fact, it just may be the cartoon series about the J-5 themselves! Or, they might be drawing pictures, of spacemen--or animals.

Six PM means time for dinner at the Jackson house. Mmmm, something smells good. Jermaine might be out in the kitchen, whipping up a delicious, spicy Mexican dish for the whole family to enjoy. He seems to be the only one of the brothers who's displayed a talent for cooking as yet. If the menu is to be Marlon's choice you'll be sure to be eating pork chops, ice-cream and drinking 7-up. Whatever is served, all the brothers seem to do their share of the eating. Just ask their mother Katherine!

After dinner, when it's certain that everyone's done his homework for the day, the real Jackson 5 emerge. It's rehearsal time. Down to the practice room they all head. Even little brother Randy is going to join in, playing his bongos and singing, too. Randy is apparently showing signs of blossoming into an able musician and is quote a master on the bongos. It's more than likely he may make it to Jackson 6 quite soon.

...Rehearsals are much more important than anyone probably realizes. The reason the Jacksons seem so natural is that they are. They're relaxed and sure of their material so it just seems logical that a good performance follows all this hard work.

Mixed in with rehearsal time are recording sessions. Twice a week the brothers are usually called down to their studio to record. Soon they hope to be doing some of their own songs...

But rehearsals aren't all singing. Those great dance routines they do during a performance are carefully rehearsed. Jackie and Michael put most of the routines together, but every one of the Jackson 5 is a great dancer. That's what makes them such fun to watch as well as great to listen to.

It doesn't seem like there's any time left for the J-5 but somehow that's not true. Each one of them still manages to fit into each day more of the things they love to do.

For Michael, it's taking pictures. Ever since he received a camera for a Christmas present, Michael has been snapping away at everything and everyone he sees. Even the family dog. And sometimes, he takes pictures of his fans. If he can possibly squeeze it into the day, Mike likes to go for a ride in the family VW bus. His favorite spot: Sunset Strip. right smack in the middle of Hollywood...