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"Jet" Magazine Interview

Date range assessed by the fact that they were “on a promotional tour in Los Angeles during the celebration of their tenth anniversary in show business”, in which one of those celebrations was the January 1979 taping of the “Soul Train” 10th anniversary special.

“Jet” magazine (February 1, 1979)

At last count, there were over half a million surnamed Jacksons working in the U.S. (603,003 according to social security figures), but only five of this vast number are instantly identifiable as “The Jacksons” — Jackie, Tito, Marlon, Michael and Randy.

They are currently celebrating their 10th anniversary as a musical group, which started out as the Jackson family when Katherine and Joseph Jackson and five sons began to sing informally in their living room back in Gary, Ind. The dream their father instilled in them has finally become a reality with the release of their Epic Records album "Destiny".

The Jackson brothers wrote all but one of the LP's eight songs ("Blame It On The Boogie"), which range from the soft ballad "Push Me Away" up-tempo disco tunes like "Shake Your Body". They all agree that the album is a high point in their still progressing careers.

"That, plus other things, honorary things, like playing for the Queen of England", adds Michael, the popular lead singer.

Jackie gleefully explains: "For the first time, we actually got a chance to get all the tunes and produce them ourselves. Not to take anything away from all the the other producers who worked with us in the past. They were great producers, as you can tell. We had many great hits; you can see the records that were sold. Nobody can take that away from them. I give them 100 percent, but we decided to take a chance. It was something we always wanted to do. We want to conquer every field in the entertainment industry and we felt that [producing] was one of them... to write and produce ourselves."

The Jacksons are busy preparing for a U.S. concert tour of several theaters-in-the—round, followed by an overseas jaunt that will include appearances in Johannesburg and Soweto, South Africa.

“Of course, we won’t be playing to segregated audiences”, declares Joe Jackson, patriarch of the multi-talented clan, which includes daughters LaToya (she's into modeling) and Janet of TV’s "Good Times". (“We’re looking for a spin- off series for her”, her father says.)

Explaining his decision not to boycott South Africa, Jackson points out that both Blacks and Whites in the racially troubled country should not be denied entertainment because of the government’s policies. He feels that exposure to Black artists may help change those policies for the better.

From the beginning the guiding force in his son’s lives and now their manager, Joe Jackson is justifiably proud of the boys who grew from cute rock 'n soul idols of the bubblegum set into handsome young men who are entertainers of international stature.

The story of their rise from local favorites in Gary, to gigs at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and the Uptown in Philadelphia, their subsequent “discovery” by Diana Ross and affiliation with Motown Records is well known to the public.

Yet, it’s not all glamorous or easy. Although the five Jacksons have been surrounded by tutors, bodyguards and their protective parents, there have been scary incidents that marred appearances before screaming fans.

“There have been a lot of them”, Marlon vividly recalls. “Two bomb threats--I won’t mention the places--and we didn’t do the shows.”

The incident that might well have sidetracked the group en route to super-stardom was the decision by Jermaine to pursue a solo career with Motown after he married Berry Gordy Jr.'s daughter Hazel. Without missing a beat of the congas, which he occasionally played with the Jackson Five, the talented Randy stepped into the vacant spot in the group.

The fraternal feeling remains strong; Jermaine and Hazel were at a surprise party for Tito given recently by his wife DeeDee, and Jermaine later joined his brothers in a fun-filled charity baseball game. Although Jermaine lives in Bel Air, Jackie, Tito and Marlon have their separate homes in Encino, within five miles of their parents' sprawling home where they still visit and rehearse frequently. Michael and Randy still live there with their parents.

The lifestyle of the Jacksons has not altered much through the years. Always active boys, they are now young men who eagerly participate in athletic games or anti-drug campaigns and other worthy causes. Tito owns a 27-foot boat and spends a lot of time in the outdoors, whereas Marlon concedes, “I stay home a lot, and every once in a while I play tennis or basketball. That’s about it. I don’t go out that much."

As for their lucrative earnings over the past decade, Marlon says, “We have investments and all that.”

"Yes, we have really good investments... buildings and things”, Michael joyously adds, assuring that the Jacksons are taking care not to end up on the financial scrap heap. “Uh, uh. I don’t go for that, I try as hard as I can to learn so that won’t happen. To me, that’s a terrible thing. You work hard, then lose it all. What’s great about it though, if you do lose it at least you brought a lot of joy to a lot of people, which is rewarding, too. I could name some people who brought a lot of happiness to people, but they lost a lot too.”

Admitting that he is perhaps better fixed financially than his brothers, Michael says, “I do more than the other brothers. I do solo albums, I do TV shows they don’t do, and there are movie projects which they have too, but it’s up to them whether they want to do them or not, and that makes my 'mole hill' a little tougher.”

In addition to their own work, the Jacksons have publishing and production projects that will, in Tito’s words, “allow us to be able to write and publish our songs, as well as to publish songs of new young writers who feel they could be successful, but don’t have the contacts to get them across. So we will advertise in songwriting magazines, and in the future, we want to set up songwriting schools,” Tito, while candidly commenting on the fame, money and adulation earned over the years, says. “We pretty much try to stay on a level basis, because we feel it was a gift to us to be able to do what we’re doing. I don’t say it’s something we worked totally hard to get, because there are a lot of people out there who are working hard and still can’t do it. So I think it’s a gift from God. That’s why we put a lot of work into it to keep it up. I think every group should remember that, because there’s always somebody out there just as good, no matter what the situation is. To be gifted with that [talent] is a token of life. I don’t think it’s something you should brag about or get big-headed about. Just be thankful that you have it, and try to share it with others. That’s what’s important.”

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Joseph Jackson Talks About His Famous Sons

Accompanying his famous sons, The Jacksons, on a promotional tour in Los Angeles during the celebration of their tenth anniversary in show business, Joseph Jackson had fond recollections as he summed up his feelings about the celebrated singers he now manages:

...MICHAEL JOE JACKSON, 20, a Virgo (Aug. 29, 1958): “Well, Michael is like the golden watch that makes everything tick. Michael is a fantastic singer, and he has great ideas about writing songs. Michael is a great songwriter and he’s a fantastic dancer. He did his first film with "The Wiz", which is doing fantastic. We all are happy about it from a Black standpoint, too, because the movie means a whole lot to Black people and we really appreciate this. And Michael is fantastic. In other words, Michael is tops!”