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"Crawdaddy" Magazine Interview
Date range of interview confirmed in Chris Cadman’s “Michael Jackson the Maestro” (“Crawdaddy journalist Garry George sat down with Michael in the family music room in the summer of 1972”) / Date range of publication also confirmed in Chris Cadman’s “Michael Jackson the Maestro” (“September 1972”)
Crawdaddy journalist Garry George sat down with Michael in the family music room in the summer of 1972 about his success with his brothers and future plans.
Highlights included:
Did he consider himself a star:
“Yeah, sometimes when we go to the movies or go cart or horseback we have to have security cause like, everybody pile up and follow us around.”
There is the publicity story of how Diana Ross discovered them at a talent show in Indiana.
Did they spend much time in the studio?
“When it’s time to go on the road we come in here every day six to nine or three to six and rehearse. When we know it’s time to go on the road we know, like, we have the whole show down but we do more improvements as we go along. Like we might find something funny or add new things or find a talk spot, you know, so we come in and do it.”
Rockin’ Robin was first sung by Michael in the office to see how it sounded. When signs were good upon hearing it, Michael went to the studio to record it.
The rest of the brothers supported Michael when he was recording his first solo album, helping out with ideas.
What would happen if his voice changed?
“Everybody’s voice changes, but when your voice changes it has nothing to do with singing a different way or can’t sing no more. If it just changes then you sing the same way.”
Besides music Michael what else would Michael like to do?
“I like to do other things outside of that too like acting, producing, going to college.”
Favourite actors:
“I like Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin and James Coburn.”
Michael showed during this interview of things that concerned him in the world. When he was asked what he’d do if President Nixon gave him a lot of money to get something done Michael replied:
“There’s a lot of people starving and dying ‘cause there’s no food. Now if they wouldn’t go to the moon so much just to see some rocks we can use it for something else.”