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Jennifer Batten

Jennifer Batten, guitarist on Bad and Dangerous tours, Village Voice article

“Every drum hit, Michael did something with his body,” she says. “Most people, if they did that for one song, they would have to take a nap.”

Batten was playing in five different bands when she got the call, in 1987, to audition for Jackson. She showed up to find no band, just a video camera. She played funky rhythms, followed by her solo arrangement of John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” a product of her years of jazz training. Then she tapped out the monstrous solo for “Beat It,” originally recorded by Eddie Van Halen.

A few days went by. Batten was asked to rehearse again, this time with a band. It seemed to go well, but still she heard no final verdict. After even more rehearsals, she was given a passport, a plane ticket to Tokyo, and a makeover that traded her brown hair and glasses for an electric mohawk and heavy makeup. After her arrival, as a gesture of goodwill, Jackson closed Tokyo Disneyland to the public and let his 100-person entourage enjoy themselves without crowds or nagging fans.

Batten was frolicking in the Disneyland gift shop with Sheryl Crow, then a background singer on the tour, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to find the King of Pop standing there. “He said, ‘I like how you’re playing the “Beat It” solo,’” she remembers. “And I thought, ‘Wow, what a great surprise and a validation.’ That was when I knew I had the gig.”

“Maximum Jackson” (February 2010) (archived)

"Maximum Jackson": You’ve made 3 solo albums of your own. Did MJ hear any of your music?

Jennifer Batten: I think I gave him both records, cos the second one was released just before the History tour. So his reaction was, I have to sing! He said, "If you wanna be famous you’ve gotta sing!"

"Maximum Jackson": Have you seen Michael Jackson’s This Is It?

Batten: Yeah, I’ve seen it twice. I loved it! I hadn’t played with him for 12 years. It just brought back the memory of his talent, in every way.

"Maximum Jackson": What you saw in the This Is It rehearsals, is that how you remember Michael?

Batten: Yeah! It was wonderful the way he moved his body. His voice was in wonderful shape and a lot of people felt really sad watching that. But I just soaked it in, with good memories.

"Maximum Jackson": When I first heard the band members had been selected for This Is It, I was surprised to see your name wasn't there. Were you asked to be a part of it?

Batten: No, he wanted to get new faces in, young players and dancers. And a new face on guitar, which is fine.

"Maximum Jackson": Do you know Orianthi?

Batten: Yeah, yeah, we’re e-mail buddies. She’s got a skyrocketing career just now, she’s doing great and she plays all over the world. It was a good move on his part [getting Orianthi on guitar].

"Maximum Jackson": Which was your favorite Michael Jackson tour?

Batten: Bad, definitely. It was energetic and new for everybody. I still stay in touch with some of the band members, they’re great people. Ricky Lawson the drummer, and Greg Phillinganes I see every couple of years. Michael’s hairdresser, I stay in touch with her all the time. The Bad tour had the best energy, things shifted a little with the Dangerous tour when he started cancelling dates. My focus was a little different, I was taking the opportunity to promote my record in every city on Dangerous and History. So I was really busy.

"Maximum Jackson": Was MJ specifically looking for a lead female musician for his tours?

Batten: I don’t know, I never heard. I didn’t see who else auditioned. I had no idea how many men and women came to audition for him.

"Maximum Jackson": Which MJ song was your favorite to play on tour?

Batten: Human Nature. Yeah, and that was my favorite on the This Is It movie too. It was beautiful, the way he sang it. I remember the lighting of it, live, was just spectacular.

"Maximum Jackson": You’re writing a book about touring with Michael Jackson. How is that coming along?

Batten: I’ve got 3 or 4 chapters done. My sister is a book editor! But I’ve been so busy, I haven’t touched it in months. I’m taking my time with that, when I go home I’m gonna go back and look at all the films. I’ve got 20 hours of film from the tour, so I need to stir up the memories again. But it’s in the works. I got turned down by all the major publishers because there’s gonna be no gossip in the book!

"Maximum Jackson": Were you ever asked to work on any of Michael’s studio albums?

Batten: He had guys like Slash and Steve Stevens, high profile. Those guys were the top of the game. I’ve got no complaints, I did get to play onstage with him for 10 years!

"Maximum Jackson": Somebody we know wanted us to ask you if you have ever met Prince.

Batten: Yeah, I didn’t actually officially meet him. He came backstage at one of the Jackson shows on the Bad tour, he had Sheila E and Cat with him. I had some friends who were sitting behind him at the show, they said he went nuts when I did my solo on Beat It! [chuckles] But I never met him personally.

"Maximum Jackson": ...When was the last time you spoke to Michael Jackson?

Batten: The last date of the HIStory Tour. About 12 years ago!

"Maximum Jackson": So you pretty much had a strictly professional relationship with Michael Jackson?

Batten: Yeah. We worked with each other for 10 years and it was during the tours. During rehearsals we could have access to him, but once we were on the road…we would have a group prayer before every show and he was gone before we even left the venue. There were 100 people in the entourage and we took up 3 hotels. A couple of times we’d stay in his hotel, but not often. But being on the road with him was fun.

[We give her a picture from the History tour to sign, and she chuckles at the large wig covering her face in the picture.]

Batten: I had a couple of those wigs. I thought it was such a dreadful look. I don’t think about that too much! The original picture it came from was pretty cool, but once it all came to life…it wasn’t so cool any more! But Michael always wanted to shock people.