Showing posts with label 1968. Show all posts

1968 - The Jackson Five perform at the Apollo Theater's legendary Amateur Night.

Joseph in a visit to New York, secure the group their most daunting gig to date, an appearance at the Apollo Theater's legendary Amateur Night as the opening act for Dave Prater (of Sam & Dave). As seasoned performers, the Jackson Five had little to fear and their worries proved unfounded. Not only did they win the ‘Superdogs Final’, they also earned a rare standing ovation from a notoriously fickle audience.

1979 – The Jacksons perform their Destiny Tour in Geneva, Switzerland.

1983 - The short film for “Beat It” is paid for and conceptualised by Michael Jackson himself, directed by Bob Giraldi and co-choreographed by Michael Jackson and Michael Peters, and takes place on Los Angeles Skid Row around February 14, 1983.

Jackson asks Giraldi to come up with a concept for the "Beat It" video because of the singer liking a commercial Giraldi has directed for WLS-TV in Chicago, which it features a married couple of two elderly blind people who, instead of running from a run-down neighborhood of minorities, which all the other white folks had fled from, choose to stay and throw a block party for all the young kids in the area. The cast for ‘Beat It’ includes 80 members of two real rival street gangs from L.A., Crips and Bloods - the entertainer’s idea - the promo for the video costing Jackson an estimated $140,000 or $50,000, after CBS refusing to finance it. “Beat It” sees the unification of two gangs through the power of music, message and dance. The heavily repeated chorus goes

draw up an emblematic anthem against violence and taking chance on it as a demonstration for manhood. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that the song is both "tough" and "scared". In his room, Jackson contemplates the violence breaking outside, him dancing his way through the diner and pool room of a hotel (presumably), towards the gang conflict, where he starts dancing and the gang members joining him. The single reaches to the number-1 chart position a week after its release and Michael Jackson becomes the first black artist to have a number-one album and single simultaneously in the United States and the United Kingdom. The single will be certified gold, a few months after its release, for shipments of at least one million units. In 1989, the standard format single will become re-certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, based on the revised sales level of one million units for platinum singles. The total number of digital sales in the United States, as from September 2010, amounts to at 1,649,000.

1985 - Michael helps with the delivery of Valentino, a baby deer born to his pet deer, Prince and Princess at Hayvenhurst in Encino.

1989 - Michael and his manager Frank Dileo, were parted company.

No real reason was given for the abrupt split, leaving the media to speculate about possible causes, suggesting that Dileo was trying to be bigger than Michael, that his managing technique was too flamboyant and that he tried to promote him as a wacky person.

Dileo managed Michael's career from March 20, 1984 to February 14, 1989.

1996 - Veja magazine, Brazil


2001 - A special evening at New York City's Carnegie Hall for Michael Jackson, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Mother Love, Loveline's Dr. Drew Pinsky, Dr. Stanley Greenspan, publisher Judith Regan, attorney Johnnie Cochran, Temptation Island host Mark L. Walberg as well as for fans who traveled to New York City from all over the world:

A debate entitled "Love, Work & Parenting: Can You Be a Success in the Bedroom and the Boardroom?" to introduce the newly founded charity of Jackson and Boteach "Heal The Kids".

From Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's introduction:

"This initiative, 'Heal The Kids', is designed to save us from the worst kind of hell: a life where you are surrounded by people and you're still totally alone; a life where your children don't talk to you about meaning, but rather about your being a pay station for PlayStation; a life where the TV always blared, but your soul was never bared; a life where shopping at Barney's came before playing with your children and their Barneys...a life where surfing the Internet for content came before searching hearts for meaning."

"Who would've believed one day we'd hear of parents bored of their children turning on fantasy television - 'Star Wars', 'The Wizard of Oz'? Have you ever heard of escaping your children's reality by escaping into someone else's reality?"

"We're talking about you having deprived them of every child's birthright: the right to feel loved without deserving it, to feel admired without earning it."

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who co-founded "Heal The Kids" with Jackson last year, introduced Jackson, saying that "the real Michael Jackson isn't famous for the moonwalk, he's famous for... his love for children."

From Michael Jackson's introduction:

"Tonight, we're here in the world's most famous concert hall to hear an entirely different kind of music, a loftier melody.... This music I speak of is...more harmonious than a thousand voices joined in a hymn, and more powerful than all the world's percussive instruments combined....

That sound is the sweet sound of love. That sound has become a forgotten refrain. Instead of dinner conversations, there is the noise of video games. Instead of regular conversations between parents and children about drugs or violence, there is the deafening sound of silence."

"Who would have believed that the sound of children at their playgrounds would be replaced by the sound of automatic machine-gun fire? That the sound of little girls skipping rope would be overshadowed by the frantic screams of little children dodging bullets? Yet, instead of loving our children more, we install metal detectors in our schools."

"With two children of my own, I know what it means to balance the demands of family and career - and let's not even talk about finding a date for myself. Rabbi Shmuley keeps telling me he'll find me the perfect woman. My response is, 'As long as she's not a journalist.' "

Mother Love, who openly wept during Jackson's speech, spoke extensively about her 28 years of marriage, while Regan expounded on the difficulties of single motherhood.

The event ended with a short question-and-answer session, followed by brief closing words from Jackson, who explained he would give more details about love and family at the next "Heal The Kids" event that will take place at Oxford University in Great Britain.

He promised a speech "certain to surprise you".

Launched about the same time is the official website for Michael Jackson's "Heal The World Foundation". Be informed about upcoming events, Heal The Kids, Teach The World by visiting this great site!

Michael Jackson’s Heal The World Foundation and The Seminar Center present a Valentine’s Day Seminar at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The event, organized by Jackson and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, promotes family love and is the first public event by the "Heal the Kids" initiative, a HTW campaign aiming to educate the occupied adults in favor of reprioritizing their children. Jackson introduces his guests, a panel of children's experts and celebrities - who hold discourses on balancing romantic love, family commitment and professional dedication - and holds a speech pertaining to the event’s theme (read the speech here). The entertainer displays his lingering concern towards the illegal and augmentative child access to machine guns, leading to fire attacks in educational institutions, as a result to a faulty parenthood, and speaks on the importance of parents raising their children responsibly. Prior to the event, the entertainer invites his fans via a letter, to participate at the inaugural evening: "This is a serious and entertaining event and I have asked some of the top experts on love and parenting to come and talk to you", moreover, specifying that the seminar’s proceeds will benefit "Heal The Kids"

1968 - The Jackson 5ive's first actual single, the Steeltown recording of "Big Boy" was released.

This was supposed to be the story of the child-prodigy Michael Jackson's first studio recording; the earliest known studio recording of Michael Jackson and his brothers, cut in Chicago in 1967, which had been lingering on a shelf for two and a half decades has been rescued from tape.

Steeltown Records cofounder Gordon Keith, 70, is the man with the largest body of tangible evidence to back up his claim: he estimates that "Big Boy" sold more than 60,000 copies.

After school one afternoon in November 1967, Michael, 8, Marlon, 10, Jermaine, 12, Tito, 14, and Jackie, 16, piled into the family Volkswagen with Joseph and rode across the state line to Chicago's West Englewood neighborhood, parking in front of Sunny Sawyer's recording studio on West 69th.

In a single lengthy session the group recorded four songs, all of which Keith says were already in their repertoire. "Big Boy" was by saxophonist Eddie Silvers, who at the time was playing in a group called the Soul Merchants and working as music director for Chicago R & B label One-derful Records. Its eventual B side, "You've Changed"—the only Steeltown track the Jacksons would record again for Motown—is by Gary native Jerry Reese.

Though in Moonwalk Michael recalls being giddy to put on a pair of too-big headphones and sing in a studio with adult musicians, he was far from unprepared. In addition to exhaustively rehearsing at home and hustling amateur nights and talent contests with pristine ten-minute sets, the brothers had also been doing proper shows at Chicago nightclubs like Spann's Burning Spear and the Confidential Club, and they had a regular gig, sometimes playing multiple sets, at Mr. Lucky's nightspot in Gary. Joe had even bought a microphone for their home to help the boys get used to singing into one

Despite the kids' professionalism, the session was grueling, in part because the Ampex's dead track meant they had to stop more often to mix down and free up space on the tape. As the night wore on the boys grew weary. "I remember looking at the clock—it was 10 or 11 at night—and looking at these young kids up that late who had been at school earlier," says Bridgeman. "I left the studio and went and brought sandwiches for them, because they hadn't eaten since I don't know what time. They had been too intense with the recording to stop to eat."

Though the Jacksons finished all their tracks at that marathon session, Bridgeman says he and two other vocalists, Solomon Ard and George Rias, returned to Sawyer's to redo some backups. Keith recalls bringing the tapes to Pressner's studio in Gary for mixing and mastering. Keith sent the master to the Summit pressing plant in Willow Springs, Illinois, and when the records came back he set the single's official release for January 30, 1968. The Jacksons began selling 45s at shows, and Steeltown started working to get local radio to give "Big Boy" a spin.

He'd composed the perfect song for little beyond-his-years Michael: with its combination of juvenile themes (skateboards, Mother Goose) and adult yearning, "Big Boy" would serve as a template for much future black bubblegum music. Silvers's excellent arrangements shine through the slightly murky mix and showcase the somewhat raw, soulful vocal style Michael had developed watching R & B veterans from the wings of the Regal. Though Keith contends that nine-year-old Michael was "a better singer then than what he ended up to be," it's clear from this recording that Motown's infamously rigorous training regimen still had something to offer him. All the same, his slightly nasal, borderline flat singing and odd enunciation (fairy tales is pronounced "fairy ta-wos") add to the single's considerable charm.

The song was neither a critical nor commercial success, but that was the brothers' first record. From here, it seemed, anything might be possible. What a memorable moment it must have been for them, then, when the family gathered around the radio to hear the broadcast of that first recording for the first time. Michael recalled that as it played, they sat in the living room, stunned.

"Then, when it was over, we all laughed and hugged one another. We felt we had arrived. This was an amazing time for us as a family. I can still feel the excitement when I think back on it."

1971 - The Jackson 5ive in concert Columbus, Georgia.

1974 - The Jackson 5 perform Dancing Machine at the Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.


Sally Struthers and The Jackson Five, made a guest appearance at the Sonny & Cher comedy hr, with cameo appearance by Tennessee Ernie Ford.

Sonny and Cher open the show with "Take Life a Little Easier" and banter about the theater being Sonny's first love. In a comedy blackout, an Arabian sheik (regular Ted Zeigler) auctions off two captured maidens (Cher and regular Teri Garr) to the highest bidders.


After, the Jackson Five perform "Dancing Machine", they also takes part in "The Window On the World", a montage of sketches and one-liners based on current events and individuals in the news, including Henry Kissinger's Geneva meetings, a report on famed ecologist Euell Gibbons, the domestic problems of a woman married to a bear, and an attempt by a robber to hold up a gas station that is operated by appointment only. "The Boogie Woogie Sisters" -- Cher, Sally and regular Teri Garr spoof The Andrews Sisters as fairy tales get the satirical treatment. In comedy sketches, Cher plays an aging Goldilocks, with Sally as her youthful replacement; the golden-haired Rapunzel (Cher) is imprisoned in a turret by an evil prince (Sonny); and Stuffed Sally the Ravon lady (Sally) drops by Raggedy Sonny and Raggedy Cher's doll house with her bag of goodies.
Source: justplaincher

1979 - The Jacksons perform a concert in Madrid, Spain on Destiny tour.

1981 - Michael receives 2 awards at the 8th Annual American Music Awards at the ABC-TV Studios in Hollywood.


Michael won Favorite Male Artist (Soul/R&B) and Favorite Album (Soul/R&B) for Off the Wall, (one of them is presented by sister LaToya) which was also nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Album (won by Billy Joel). He also pays tribute to Chuck Berry.

Michael, dressed in a heavily beaded V-neck sweater of deep red rhinestones with black bands on the sleeves and a black bowtie, attended the ceremony with his date for the evening, Diana Ross.

1989 - Eddie Murphy presents Michael with the Special Award Of Achievement at the 16th American Music Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Ca.

Michael was honored for his ground breaking artistry and technology in video, and for the record breaking success of his BAD album and tour. Cashbox magazine awarded Michael the Video Pioneer Award in recognition of his excellence in video as captured in the Triumph video for Can You Feel It, THRILLER, and Moonwalker. The inscription on the Video Pioneer Award reads:

For his pioneering efforts in the field of music videos epitomized by 'The Triumph', a pre 1980's breakthrough in concept and special effects, and THRILLER, an innovative combination of drama, music and dance. The Video Pioneer Award is given to Michael Jackson on the occasion of his new feature length anthology, Moonwalker becoming the largest selling music home video of all time.

The second special award Michael received was an American Music Award of Achievement. Its inscription reads:

Because his album, BAD, is the first ever to generate five number one singles, because it has been a number one best seller for a record breaking twenty five countries around the world, and because it has been the largest international seller in each of the last two years, the American Music Award of Achievement is presented to Michael Jackson on january 30, 1989.

Both of these special awards were presented to Michael by Eddie Murphy, at Michael's request.

Before introducing Michael, Murphy narrated a 14 minute tribute to Michael Jackson showcasing his international tour and recapping the BAD album's five number one hit singles. Walking shyly toward center stage to gather his awards, the audience greeted Michael with deafening applause and a standing ovation. Michael was dressed in black and red, buckles, and no sunglasses.

As the applause subsided and Michael began to speak, his soft voice could bearly be heard over the microphone, which was on a very low stand. He had to bend over and speak directly into the mike to be heard. Holding his awards, he asked Eddie to adjust the mike stand for him, "Could you lift that up please?" Eddie tried to adjust it but it wouldn't budge. "You do it" Eddie told Michael. Michael replied, "I can't, I need your help." It became a joke when Eddie told the audience what was happening. (Their conversation was bearly audible.) "He said, 'Pull it up Eddie', like I was working for him! And do it! Yes Michael!" So, bent over, Michael spoke briefly as always:

I'd like to thank God, who makes all things possible. I'd like to thank my mother and father, Katherine and Joseph Jackson. I'd like to thank Berry Gordy, who gave me my first professional start in show business, the Epic family, Walter Yetnikoff, Larry Stessel, Glen Bundman, Frank Dileo, Quincy Jones, and Bruce Swedian. I love you. And the public. Thank you.

While he was very shy, Michael appeared to be enjoying himself and seemed to be genuinely honored with the awards, the tribute, and the overwhelming response from the audience.

2006 - Michael and his children left Hamburg.

Unable to go out because of the fans & reporters in front of the house, Michael, Anton, Grace & the kids leave Hamburg and fly to Venice.
Before he entered the car, he stopped shortly to wave to the fans.
They land in Marco Polo airport and travel to Florence where they check in Weistein Excelsior Hotel.

While in Hamburg, a fan had his hat taken so that Michael could sign it. But it seems that Blanket, who was there, admired the hat so much that he was allowed to keep it! Michael then took Blanket's t-shirt signed it and gave that to the fan instead! The shirt read "Blankets T-Shirt love Michael Jackson."

2009 - Christian Audigier visits Michael at his Bel Air home.

1968 - The Jackson 5ive performed as part of the benefit concert for Mayor Richard Hatcher at Gary’s Gilroy Stadium, set by Motown’s Record Corporation move to Gary, Indiana.

The Motown Record Corporation brought its “Sound of Young America”, to Gary Indiana, for a special benefit program , the purpose of which was to defray the costs of Richard Hatcher's mayoral campaign. Ewart Abney said that the Motown Benefit was a special salut to Gary, “city of the Century”, honoring Mayor Richard Gordon Hatcher “whom we may consider Mayor of the Century”.

Highlighting the benefit performance were Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and the Pipes, Shorty Long, Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers and Abdullah – but not Diana Ross. Which wouldn’t stop Motown, for years to come, from claiming that this was the concert where Diana ‘discovered’ the Jackson 5ive.

The opening was performed by the Jackson 5ive.

Mayor Hatcher proclaimed the occasion “Soul Day” and proclaimed the entire 27-29 September weedend a “Soul Weekend”.

1984 - Impacto magazine [Spain] featured Michael on their cover.

1987 - Observer magazine[UK] featured Michael on the cover with the story BAD BOY ROCKS JAPAN.

Michael performs BAD tour at Yokohama Stadium in Yokohama [Japan] attending 38,000 fans.

1988 - Michael performs BAD tour at Civic Arena in Pittsburg [Pennsylvania, USA] attending 16,230 fans.

2009 - Tickets to Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT went on sale.

The first day of ticket sales, all 3,000 tickets to the advanced screenings of the film had "sold out within two hours [on] early Sunday [September 27, 2009]." Fans had reportedly waited in line for days.
CinemaBlend.com reported that over 160 showings had sold out.
Reuters.com, stated that "hundreds of screenings in North America have already sold out, a month before the film's October 28 opening."
According to MovieTickets.com, sales of tickets to the film have "accounted for more than 82% of all the tickets sold at the site today [Monday, September 28, 2009]."

CinemaBlend.com described the sale of tickets on MovieTickets.com as being "fairly significant" - but remarked that "this is after all, just a concert documentary."
It was reported that over 80 percent of tickets sold on Fandango.com were for this film.
It was also reported that the film had "accounted for some 80% of all online ticketing in the U.S. within its first 24 hours of sales, dominating presales compared with such upcoming titles as Avatar and The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
Sony, confirmed that over 30,000 tickets were sold in the first 24 hours that tickets went of sale. Sony also stated - as of September 28, - that the film's 'moved' over 1 million dollars in tickets sales in Japan.
Sony announced in a press release that in the "last 24 hours [since September 27]", that over 80% of all Fandango.com and Movietickets.com sales for the film, had already sold out in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Nashville and New York, among others and: "Internationally, exhibitors from London and Sydney to Bangkok and Tokyo have experienced the same epic demand." Sony stated in a statement of the film's good ticket sale's that: "Staggering advance sales were reported in Australia, where tickets for Michael Jackson's This Is It purchased through Village Cinemas exceeded the lifetime pre-sales of such blockbusters as Transformers and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

1968 - The Jackson 5ive were officially signed to Motown Records during a meeting with Joe Seltzer. Michael Jackson was just 9 years old.

After seeing the video tape of J5's performance, Berry Gordy immediately decided to sign the group to his prestigious label. Gordy was especially taken with young Michael. His early mastery of the moves of James Brown is incredible. He duplicates his idol's steps perfectly. This eager, unjaded nine-year-old, only months away from the end of his childhood--a childhood he would pursue for the rest of his life--charmed Gordy with his dancing ability & the emotion with which the 9 year old sang. "This little kid had an incredible knowingness about him that really made me notice. He sang his songs with such feeling, inspiration and pain – like he had experience of everything he was singing about." Gordy recalls. Although he and Joe Jackson signed a contract on July 26, the group’s existing contract with Steeltown had to be dealt with before the new one could be considered legal.

1974 - Jackson 5ive in Concert, Buffalo (New York)

1988 - Michael performs Bad World Tour in Cardiff, Wales, at Cardiff Arms Park.

1991 - Michael & Emmanuel Lewis visit the "Community Youth Sports & Art Foundation" Center in Los Angeles, California, (charity addressing drug abuse problems and approaching relief programs for families with gang members), talks to the children there, offers them financial support and a wide-screen television set.


1997 - "The Best of Michael Jackson And The Jackson 5" hit #5 in the U.K.

1968 – The Jackson 5 give an audition to Motown at the Hittsville Studio in Detroit.

On July 23, 1968, at around 10 a.m., the band’s audition in Detroit was videotaped. Although the record company’s president, Berry Gordy, was not present, several members of Motown’s creative department were there to witness. After performing an impressive set with James Brown’s then current hit "I Got the Feelin'" and “Who’s Lovin’ You”, the audition tape was sent to Gordy two days later, whereupon he immediately decided to sign the group to his prestigious label. "I canceled the Frost show, Bobby Taylor wanted to take us to Motown to audition, and we decided to go. We’ve all been sleeping on the floor at Bobby’s. The boys have already auditioned -- Motown even filmed it. We haven’t been offered a contract yet, but, judging by the smiles on everyone’s faces, Kate, I know it’s going to happen!" Joe explained excitedly.

1984 – The Jacksons concert their Victory Tour at Jacksonville [Florida, USA] by Gator Bowl, attending 45,000.

1984 – Michael Jackson is on People magazine.

Michael Jackson is on McLean’s magazine.

Michael Jackson is on Sound Magazine.

1988 – Bad World Tour London [England, U.K.] Wembley Stadium, attending 72,000.

Michael Jackson’s single “Dirty Diana” hit #4 in the U.K.

1994 – Michael Jackson is on Derniere Heure Magazine & Le Lundi Magazine.


1998 – Disneyland Paris announced that August 17, 1998 would be the last day that Michael Jackson’s Captain EO will be shown.

1968 - The Jackson 5 opened for Motown acts Gladys Knight & the Pips and Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers at Chicago's Regal Theater, during the summer of 1968. The brothers caught Knight's attention, whereby she tried to get Motown brass to come to Chicago to see the boys. Taylor was also very impressed with the boys, and he decided to make the commitment to bring them to Detroit and Motown. Joseph and The Jackson 5 stayed on the floor of Bobby Taylor's Detroit apartment the night of July 22, while Taylor and Motown executive Suzanne de Passe arranged for the Jackson 5 to audition for the label.
The group is invited to perform on the David Frost Show in New York but Joe cancels their TV debut when Bobby Taylor asks them to come to a Detroit studio to make an audition for Motown executives Suzanne DePasse and Ralph Seltzer, and other company staff.

1972 - Concert in Dallas (Texas)

1973 – Concert at the Madison Square Garden of New York City

1981 – The Jacksons give a special benefit concert for the Atlanta Children's Foundation at the Omni Auditorium in Atlanta, Georgia.

They raise 100,000 dollars for the charity, subsequently to lengthy episodes of Black youth disappearances and murders in the mentioned city. Speaking on behalf of himself and his brothers, Michael Jackson reveals, "We Are doing this because we care". LeBaron Taylor, vise president and general manager of Divisional Affairs for CBS Records, distributor of Epic Efforts for whom the Jacksons record, and coordinator of the special event comments, "We are pleased that The Jacksons have scheduled this special performance for such a worthy cause".

1988 – Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck present Michael with a pair of specially engraved ice skates backstage before his fourth concert in Wembley (London, UK).

Michael soldout Wembley Stadium on the 14th, 15th, 16th, 22nd, 23rd July, 26th & 27th August – a stadium record 504,000 people!
Michael's band members speak of the excitement of playing London's Wembley Stadium. Frank Dileo adds,

"Playing Wembley is one of the biggest honors any artist could have. It's a status symbol within artists themselves, whether or not they can sell out Wembley Stadium, and of course Michael set a new record. He sold it out 7 times. You can't get any bigger than that."

1989 – Michael Jackson’s Liberian Girl hit #13 in the U.K, eventually the single went to number one in the UK. and become his 9th Top 30 hit from album–yet another record!

Liberian Girl was released in July 1989, prior to shutting down the Bad album campaign as the 9th and final single. The song was dedicated to Michael’s good friend, Elizabeth Taylor. The promo directed by Jim Yukich was a real star-studded affair, starring thirty-five of Michael’s celebrity friends: Bubbles, Quincy Jones, Steven Spielberg, Whoopi Goldberg, Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta, Weird Al Yankovic, Billy Dee Williams, Dan Aykroyd, Jackie Collins, Don King, Paula Abdul, Lou ‘The Incredible Hulk’ Ferrigno, Debbie Gibson & David Copperfield; who wait on the set for Michael to film the music video, only to discover he is behind the camera, filming them all along.

1992 - Michael Jackson performs Dangerous World Tour in Werchter, Belgium, at Festival Ground Stadium, attending 40,000.