Note: If viewing Michael Jackson Ultimate Archive on archive.org (Wayback Machine), please view the latest snapshot of this page for the most up-to-date information and media.

"Faces" Magazine Interview

Date of publication confirmed on “Faces” Magazine article

“Faces” magazine (April 1984)

Everyone is talking about Michael Jackson these days. I mean, everyone. I had my palm read for $5 at a shopping center recently: The girl told me that love would fulfill me, that I had lots of success around me (you know the rap); and when she finished, she asked me what I do for a living. (Can’t you just look at my hand and tell me?) When I told her I interview rock n' rollers, she got wide-eyed and asked in awe, "Have you ever met Michael Jackson?" (I still think she should have been able to read the answer in my palm.)

A few days later I went to a birthday party for a girlfriend who had just turned 43. All the other ladies present were her age (I was the young one in the crowd), and one of them sighed lustily, "Do you all find Michael Jackson as sexy as I do?" At which point my friend volunteered, "Laura interviewed him." Everyone turned to me with the same question the palm reader had had: "What's he really like?"

And the honest answer is: I don't know. But since I've met and talked with Michael Jackson three times (and since that's three times more than most people), I'm going to share my impressions of him with you.

To start with, I, too, have heard all the "weird" stories about Michael Jackson. He's homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual, asexual. He's Diana Ross in drag. He's terribly stupid; he’s amazingly bright. He's the Howard Hughes of rock. He’s afraid of his own shadow; he dances down Sunset Boulevard like a free spirit. He's a sprite; he's under his father's thumb; he controls his father. The rumors go on and on. In all fairness, one of the reasons for the rumors is Jackson's almost total inaccessibility to the press.

There are people who do know Michael Jackson though, and their reflections on the man echo a respect and a genuine liking for him. George Martin, who produced the McCartney-Jackson collaborations, "Say. Say. Say" and “The Man" enthuses, "He's an amazing talent, because he's so young, still, and yet he's been in the business an enormous amount of time - 16 or 17 years. And in spite of that, in spite of his vast experience, he still has a wonderful air of innocence about him. And he's a marvelously friendly and lovable person. He actually does radiate an aura when he comes into the studio - there's no question about it."

Paul McCartney recently said on MTV that he has a lot of fun singing with Jackson. "He's great, Michael. He's a nice fellow, you know, a good fellow to be around, and he's talented. and so, what more do you want?"

Smokey Robinson has said, "He is so hot right now... he is so hot that you can't touch him!"

Nobody can touch Michael Jackson, or the amazing impact he's had on the music business this past year. Everyone knows he's sold umpteen million copies of "Thriller." And that for the first time in the history of the music business, six Top 10 singles have emanated from the same album. But people seem to be missing the main barriers that Jackson's been blasting. Like the color barrier (which, unfortunately, is still very real). And the barriers of sexual stereotyping.

And now, the hottest tour of 1984, without doubt, will be The Jacksons tour in which Michael reunites with his brothers and sends Americans into a frenzy of joy. And they'll probably all be asking, "What's he really like?"

I've already admitted that I've only met this person three times (not quite the basis for a book or anything), and I must also admit that when I first met him, Jackson was not yet a superstar. He had just started writing his own songs and producing his own material (along with his brothers), and he had just completed his starring role as the Scarecrow in The Wiz. Being sensitive, hip, aware, and amazingly bright, did I realize that the being sitting before me was about to unfold in splendor? Of course not. (I don't feel too bad about my lack of pre-science. Everyone I've met who met the Beatles before they happened had no idea what was coming.)

Chris Cadman, “Michael Jackson the Maestro” (Summary / Quotes, second half of article missing)

Highlights from the interview were:

What it was like to be on stage from a young age instead of doing normal things like being in the playground.

“It was a lot of fun. It still is. I feel it was something we were meant to... I mean, there’s no way you can think that Ali or somebody like that was meant to be a boxer. Seems like they are just perfect for it. I feel I was meant to do this and I’m gonna do it the best way I can. Long as i remember, that’s what we’ve been doing.”

How he got the job as the scarecrow in the Wiz:

“One day I was at home, and I got this call. It was my father on the phone, and he said, “Mikeus, how would you like to play this.”

“Yeah he said, ‘Mikeus how would you like to play the scarecrow in the Wiz?’ Are you joking?”

Michael spent the weekend reading the scripted and loved it. But shortly after he was struck down by loss of breath and was informed to rest up for two months, which was close to the first date of filming. Thankfully it cleared up and he was able to go to New York and start shooting his part.

Sidney Poitier and Ryan O’Neal (Tatum’s father) gave him some acting tips for the role.