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.

Jerry Marcellino

Jerry Marcellino, Motown producer and writer, “StarFacTree” press release (June 26, 2009) (archived)

I started working with Michael when he was eleven years old as a producer and writer at Motown Records. When I saw Michael he was always a happy kid. When were in the studio recording he would always like to play pranks. He had a great sense of humor. I wore a baseball jacket he would put it on and it was too big for him. I wore three rings on each hand and he would pick a ring he wanted to wear and I would give it to him and he would wear it that day. We made recording fun. He was also an excellent artist and I like to sketch pictures, cartoon characters we exchanged them. Sometimes he would sketch me and made my nose too long.

The amazing thing about his talent in those days, he would learn a song by hearing it three or four times and he would know the song and record it perfectly. One example of the great singer he was naturally, was when we recorded the standard classic “All the Things You Are” by Rogers and Hammerstein, which is difficult to sing in the first place with so many chord changes and vocal range. He would hear it run through it a couple of times and sing it perfectly. I was a little disappointed years later when he became the great star that he is and never sang with the dynamics that he did as a child.

He was always childlike as we all know. For a boy whose life became so lonely. He was by himself so much not doing the things that normal children do at his age. His imagination became his retreat. One other thing, he use to call me up and if one of my sons answered, he would say it is Michael. If I answered the phone he would use a fake voice and say he was Dr. Johnson or Mr. Smith. I knew who he was and we would laugh and talk.