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"Black Stars" Magazine Interview

Publishing date confirmed on magazine itself

"Black Stars" Magazine (November 1971)

Everyone knows them. They're The Jackson Five. Michael, Marlon, Jermaine, Tito, and Jackie Jackson. Five of the nine children of Joseph and Katherine Jackson, formerly of Gary, Indiana. And just about everyone (especially under 21) knows their staggering statistics. The fact that they were number one in single record sales during 1970, their first year under contract to Motown. The fact that nine days following the release of their second single, "ABC", they'd sold a million copies. The fact that during the first 12 days of a recent 40-city, 60-day national tour they pulled in over a million dollars. The fact that one of their records, "I’ll Be There", has sold nearly four million copies to date.

All of this is admittedly impressive. Even dazzling. The blinding bright lights glaring from the depths of a concert hall onto a stage during a Jackson Five appearance. The screaming teenagers. The young girls pleading for a look, a smile, any recognition at all from any one of their peer idols. The Caddy limousines set as decoys after a concert which are swarmed by autograph-seeking fans while the Jacksons speed away unnoticed in a van. The thousands of fan letters which pour in every week to Motown publicity offices. It’s a hell of a lot to have happen to five boys whose youngest member is 13 and whose oldest is 20.

But what of the five individual personalities behind the expensive and elaborate costumes? When the excitement of a concert or a television special or their cartoon series or their latest record has subsided and they’re just five healthy, young men at home in dirty, ragged tennis shoes shooting pool or swimming or just jivin' around, what are The Jackson Five like?

This is exactly what we set out to discover recently and the results were fairly predictable: The Jackson Five, though they are obviously exceptional in terms of talent and exposure. especially for their tender years, are still five boys with individual likes and dislikes, ambitions, moods, personalities, and aspirations.

Like most boys, they like to eat. And they do it constantly, no matter where they are. Michael, Marlon, and Jermaine dig catfish. It's their favorite and they try to get it wherever their numerous and extensive tours find them. After a concert, when they're all back in their hotel, they like to sit around eating spareribs until bedtime. Michael likes raw tomatoes and Marlon can usually be found with a lemon in his hand. He thinks it is good for his throat. And all enjoy an endless array of hot dogs, cakes, and French fries.

And even when they're on the road they have to observe bedtime hours. Their father, Joseph Jackson, and their road manager, Tony Jones, insist on maintaining a strong sense of direction. They also have a security officer who travels with them and everyone is concerned that the boys get enough rest.

They also have a teacher-welfare worker traveling with them. This is required by California law and it is a part of her job to watch over their nest and to tutor them. She also keeps an eye out to ensure that the boys' environment is "of proper standards for minors involved in the entertainment industry."

But the boys themselves assume the bulk of the responsibility for seeing they get proper rest. They realize that with the pressures of travel, catching planes, airports, rehearsals, hotels, concerts, etc., they simply have to be careful of being properly rested. If their resistances are lowered, they can easily become susceptible to every cold and flu bug around. So they're in bed each night by 12:00 midnight. No visitors are allowed after 11:30 pm. They're often asked to leave by 11:00 pm. if, in fact, visitors are allowed at all while the boys are on the road. Many times, because of their hectic schedule, visitors simply aren't allowed.

When they are at home, their father is pretty rigid when it comes to their schedules (there are, after all, nine Jackson children and some semblance of order must be maintained), but there is more flexibility, depending on their schedules at school, recording sessions, press interviews, etc. When they do have free afternoons they usually prefer to nap or just mess around. Jackie has a Datsun 240-Z sports car which he likes to put on the road whenever possible and Tito will be getting his own car soon. Still, the younger boys are in bed by 10:00 pm. and the older fellows by 10:30 pm. And they're usually up by 7:00 o'clock each week day preparing for school.

Of course, the older boys have girlfriends and find time to date whenever they're in town, which is usually during the school months. Jackie has reportedly been dating Motown president Berry Gordy's 17-year-old daughter, Hazel. But none of them is actually "going steady", for the simple reason that they travel so much it would be unfair to any was lady to try and maintain such an inconsistent relationship. As one of the boys put it, "Why tie up a girl's heart and then not be able to see her for a month or two?"

Even when they're in town they seldom have the time to maintain a long-range relationship because their professional activities are scheduled so closely together. However, they manage to get their romantic time in and even Michael and Marlon are at that age where they're well aware of girls and their effect on the opposite sex But, then, they're exceptionally mature and exposed teenagers and exhibit commendable maturity for their years.

When you approach the Jackson home, which is nestled in the cool foothills of the San Fernando Valley's exclusive Encino area, you are at first confronted near the tree-lined street by an iron gate. To the left of it is a metal box on the end of a pipe which juts out of the ground. In the metal box is a microphone, a speaker, and a button. Once you've pressed the button, a voice (belonging to whichever Jackson happens to be near the corresponding mechanism in the house) asks who you are. After you've responded and it's been affirmed that yon have a proper appointment, the person in the house pushes another button and the iron gate begins to hum electronically and open ever so slowly to let you in. I've always had a fear that someday that gate is going to reverse itself in midstream and come crashing back into the driver's side of my car, but I’m sure that would never really happen.

Once inside the gate, you find yourself driving along a beautiful, long, shaded driveway which takes you past the front entrance to the house and on to the rear, where a very large parking lot is located. Usually Jackie's 240-Z will be parked there (his battery is constantly running down because he's away and doesn't drive it continually) next to Mrs. Jackson's new Audi and Mr. Jackson's fabulous gold Mercedes 300-SE convertible. Also parked there is the huge family van looking very much like a fancy mini-bus of some sort.

The house itself is one-story and typically Californian. The Spanish furniture, visually expensive, was tastefully selected. The family room, with a recessed floor surrounded by a wrap-around couch, is piled high with gold and platinum records and numerous plaques and awards from everywhere and everyone. But most of the boys' time at home is spent outside, either in their Olympic-sized swimming pool or in the huge garage at their billiard table. And there are citrus trees and exotic plants at every turn.

Tony Jones, who has known them for three years and traveled with them for two, is perhaps closer to the Jacksons than anyone except another member of the family. He sees the boys as a group with six dimensions. "There are five finite individuals", he points out, "then there's the group personality, which is so unified it can sometimes appear as one person. They're just that relaxed and coordinated."

Michael is pursuing and enhancing his knowledge of art and his ability to draw and sketch and paint. He's a capable artist who shows genuine promise. Marlon also has a decided interest in art, but in addition shows impressive signs of becoming a fine athlete. Right now he's interested in developing his muscles.

Jermaine is in the process of writing a book on his family which will concentrate on his brothers and himself. The book will be in two parts, with the first section dealing with basically biographical material and the second consisting of a day-to-day accounting of some of the highlights of their career to date. That should be some book. Jermaine also likes to write music and is continually trying to come up with new and innovative things to do musically on his guitar.

Tito is a good photographer and uses Tony Jones' Nikon camera like an expert. He also has two other expensive professional cameras and develops his film in his own darkroom at home.

Jackie likes to write music and is also interested in producing records and other groups eventually. He's more business oriented. To that end, he'll be entering a business college this fall to pursue a degree in business near his home.

Many people are concerned about what will happen "when their voices start to change." Well, according to the boys, there's no cause for alarm. In fact, Jermaine's voice has done just that. He once had a range similar to Michael's and was even the group's lead singer. But the group's plans to change with whatever vocal changes occur. One important factor is to be found in the fact that Michael is far from being just a cute little kid with a passingly slick voice. There are tapes of 13-year-old Michael's voice when he was six and he was equally impressive then. All of the boys have a definite quality and rhythm in their voices which will doubtless remain in their stead.

So the record material will simply he tenured to fit whatever changes take place in their voices. Songs will be designed around Michael's and Jermaine's voices since they're the basic leads.

When the Jackson family first arrived in California two years ago the boys were enrolled in public school. This didn't work out well at all. The school was, as are most California schools, over-crowded. Even though it was in Beverly Hills, an area where kids are presumably used to seeing stars and offspring of stars, hoards of young girls began to hang around them and follow them between classes. The boys began to feel uncomfortable.

They wanted to feel more relaxed and to attend school like regular students. This was obviously not possible at a public institution, so they transferred to a private school. With their heavy schedule of activities, it turned out to be far easier to work with a private tutor in a private situation with lots of individual attention to make sure they maintain a high educational level, something their parents worried about when they first arrived in the state from Gary, Indiana. Their current situation meets with everyone's approval.

Jermaine admits openly that he tires of the hectic routine at times. He is particularly bored by the many picture sessions, complaining that "We seldom get to see the pictures." But he concedes that there is a definite advantage in terms of travel and all the places and people they get to see and meet. He insists that he never tires of the traveling from place to place ("I like to be able to move continually").

Jermaine feels that going to college is going to present certain problems, but he is willing to make whatever sacrifices necessary because he feels that an education is important. He doesn't find having eight brothers and sisters that unusual. After all, his father's sister has 12 kids. But even though he likes being in a big family, he wouldn't prefer to have a lot of children himself. Two or three would be enough for him. He feels that he'd be able to give more individual attention to his kids if there were fewer of them; he wouldn't be forced by their sheer numbers to treat them pretty much the same. When he's older, like 25 or 30, Jermaine thinks he'll try his hand at playing the stock market. He also plans, as has already been mentioned, to become a serious writer. His own favorite writers are Edgar Allan Poe and J. D. Salinger.

And Jermaine has an interesting point to offer on the trials of being young and famous: "We have to be especially careful not to hurt people's feelings. It's like they expect us to be stuck up or something when they meet us in person, so we have to he extra nice." He says wouldn’t prefer to have a lot of children himself. Two or three would be enough for him. He feels that he’d be able to give more individual attention to his kids it there were fewer of them; he wouldn't be forced by their sheer number: to treat them pretty much the same. When he's older. like 25 or 30. Jermaine thinks he'll try his hand at playing the stock market. He also plans. as has already been mentioned, to become a serious writer. His own favorite writers are Edgar Allan Poe and J. D. Salinger.

Marlon says he sometimes tires of all the girls hanging around and pulling on him, but that sometimes it's fun, too. He dislikes not being able to walk on the street by himself ("People start coming around and if they see you want to leave, they get other people and running toward you"). He says this doesn't frighten him, but he does get tired of it. He wants to go to college, but hasn't decided what he wants to study yet. Of all the cities they've been to, Marlon likes Miami best because the hotels are next to the beach. Like Jermaine he also says that Michael is the funniest member of the group and that Jackie is the most serious.

Tito reflects that he would like to be "a normal person" for a while to see who his real friends would be and how people would treat him, not knowing he was famous. Like his brothers, he feels he has to read people carefully to see where they're really coming from. He prefers quiet people who don't talk too much. He wants people to treat him just like a regular person and not break their necks to kiss his behind just because he's Tito Jackson.

The best things about being famous, according to Tito, are money and travel. The worst thing is all the deceiving people and those who just want to hang around a star. He plans to enter college next year and study mechanical engineering and music theory. If he weren't a member of The Jackson Five, he says "I'd probably be a mechanic if I didn't have anything to do with show business." He feels he'll spend "about a decade and a half" in show business. then he'll "Go out and work at something, anything, just like any ordinary person." He feels Jackie and Marlon are the group's serious members. And he concedes that he's pretty serious, too. He says Jermaine and Michael are the funniest.

Tito digs his big family and says he has "a population" planned for himself and his wife when the time comes. He hopes to have even more than his mother had. And as for how he keeps himself down on the ground and resists getting egotistical: "I'm not the type of guy, and neither are my brothers, who thinks he's anything special or wants to drive a Caddy just because I can afford it. And I don't care about having high-class friends who are rich or famous. I don't forget where I came from and how it was down there. I know how it is and how it was and I'm not ever going to forget. All of us are like that. My father has said many times that the public can break you just as fast as they make you. And I believe that. Getting big-headed is just plain stupid."

Unlike his brothers, who entertain ideas of someday doing something outside the entertainment industry, Jackie sees a long and productive future for the group as a unit: "I want to stay in show business all my life; as long as we can stand up." He also wants to get into acting. If he hadn't become so successful as a performer, he'd most probably have been a professional athlete. He's been offered a basketball scholarship and a baseball contract. There were scouts watching him when he was in the 10th grade playing baseball. He was a top-flight shortstop and pitcher.

At first he was a bit sorry he didn't try pro ball, but that didn’t last long. He enjoys his large family, but prefers a smaller one for himself. He finds he has to study people to tell who's for real and who isn't. "We always talk about that around the house", he says. "We get together and discuss that all the time. We really dig it when people are straight with us."

Jackie says that even though Gary, Indiana is his hometown, he likes Los Angeles better: "Gary gets cold in the winter and I can't stand being cold." He says Jermaine and Michael are playful and that he and Tito are the thinkers. He says that of all the famous people they've met thus far, Bill Cosby and Sammy Davis, Jr. have left the biggest impression on him. Davis has invited them to his house on many occasions.

There's another Jackson, eight-year-old Randy, who’ll be joining his famous brothers in the near future. No one knows yet whether their name will change to the Jackson Five Plus One or the Jackson Six, but Randy will play bongos. His father recently bought him an $800 set and he'll probably begin traveling with the group soon. So there we have them. Five incredible young black boys. Michael Joe Jackson, born November 29, 1958 (Ed. note - Michael's birthday is in August); Marlon David Jackson, March 12, 1957; Jermaine LaJaune Jackson, December 11, 1954; Toriano Adaryll (Tito) Jackson, October 15, 1953; and Sigmund Esco (Jackie) Jackson, May 4, 1951. And in addition to young Randy, there are three sisters: Maureen, 21; LaToya, 16; and Janet, 5. Their father, Joseph Jackson, was a crane operator in Gary, but he spent his off hours playing guitar and writing songs. His wife, Katherine, sang good country-western with a touch of blues. It didn't take much for the younger Jacksons to follow their musically inclined parents' lead and join in the family songfests. Papa Joe is quick to point out that "It was fun. The kids liked it and it was one way of keeping them home and not roaming the streets. The neighborhood we lived in offered a lot of ways to get into trouble."

Papa Joe did, indeed, get his boys off the streets--and into the minds and hearts of millions of thankful fans throughout the entire world.