bedroom window, wearing a fright mask and screaming. He said he wanted to teach the
children not to leave the window open when they went to
sleep. For years afterward, Jackson said he suffered night-
mares about being kidnapped from his room.

Joseph ac-
knowledged in 2003 that he had whipped Jackson as a child.
Michael first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in an
Interview with Oprah Winfrey broadcast on February 10,
1993. He said that he had often cried from loneliness and
would sometimes throw up when he saw his father. In an
interview with Martin Bashir, aired on February 3, 2003
as Living with Michael Jackson, he covered his face with
his hands and began crying when talking about his child-
hood abuse. He recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a
belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, and that "
if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really
get you.
He showed talent early in his life, performing in front of classmates during a Christmas
recital at the age of five. In 1964, he and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band
formed by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and
tambourine. Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing; at the age of
eight, he and Jermaine assumed lead vocals, and the group's name was changed to The
Jackson 5 The band toured the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968, frequently per-
forming at a string of black clubs known as the "chitlin'circuit", where they often opened
stripteases and other adult acts. In 1966, they won a major local talent show with rendi-
tions of Motown hits and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)", led by Michael.

The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including "Big Boy", for the local record label
Steeltown in 1967, and signed with Motown Records in 1968.

Rolling Stone magazine
later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts,"
writing that he "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer." The group set a chart
record when its first four singles ("I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save," and
"I'll Be There") peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. During The Jackson 5's
early years, Motown's public relations team claimed that Jackson was nine years old, two
years younger than he was, to make him appear cuter and more accessible.

Starting in 1972, Jackson released a total of four solo studio albums with Motown, among
them Got to Be There and Ben, released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise, and producing
successful singles such as "Got to Be There", "Ben," and a remake of Bobby Day's
"Rockin' Robin". The group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members
chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input. Although
they scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5 disco single "Dancing Machine" and
the top 20 hit "I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975. .

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26