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Fortsetzung der Buchzusammenfassung
Chapter 7 - Jackson Mania
First Motown concerts. Bill Bray new security person. Fans rushing to the stage, following them, jumping on cars. Michael calls fans reactions as "wild". Girls running after car, Michael saying "look at that girl's titties wobbling". Concerts, fans, fame. Michael can't understand why girls throwing panties and bras to stage. Mobs of fans, grabbing them everywhere they went. Fans following them to planes, hotels even to their home. Michael seeing fans as a second family, respecting them, loving them and caring about them. Being confined in hotels due to fans. Sprints in the corridors, Michael dropping water balloons, pranking other people such as tying Bill Bray's shoe laces when he's napping then calling him and making him fall when he stand up. Michael's interest with clasical music, Nutcracker Suite, you can hear similar threads at Dirty Diana for example.
Jermaine and Michael sharing room on the road, Joe stayed in a adjoining room. Michael hated Joe coming into their room whenever he liked. Michael is nosy and likes to eavesdrop (with putting glass on the wall) on Joe, Motown executives, lawyers etc. Michael wanting his name to be in "guinness book of world records". Brothers get along very well. Jermaine and Michael only fight over bathroom mirror to shape their afros. Room service is Michael's habit on the road. Plays pranks places orders to other rooms. Teasing the roadies by changing his voice like girls liking them.
Alabama they experience KKK, hotel not wanting to give them rooms. Bad weather when returning from Alabama, plane shaking and dropping, leaving them scared. Later Michael would hide under beds and refuse to go on planes. Bill Bray carrying a screaming and kicking Michael on his shoulder, brothers giving him candy. International success. Always welcome in Gary.
Chapter 8 - Life Lessons
Hayvenhurst. Twin rooms. Michael sharing a room with Randy. $5 weekly allowance. Michael spending his money on art supplies and magic. They still did household chores. Joe put a payphone in Hayvenhurst. Michael receiving death threats so kids got pulled from public school and sent to private school - Walton School. They meet John McClain - became friends for life. Tito and McClain jammed together. Michael and McClain both mischievous. Example : a mouthy kid, they dig a hole and bury him in the hole up to his chest. Michael following Jermaine around. Catching him while kissing a girl and shouting it.
Jermaine when home saw Hazel a lot, it was puppy love. On the road he find it hard to resist female attention and had to sneak girls from Bill Bray and Joe. Michael made it harder for him. One day Michael is no where to be seen. Jermaine has sneaked a girl and is about to have sex. Girl mentions how she likes Jermaine touching her thighs but Jermaine wasn't stroking her tighs. Michael was hiding under the bed, touching her. It turns out Michael was hiding under the bed the whole time.
Girls banned. Motown didn't want them to have girlfriends, wanted them to be single bachelors looking for love. Joe also told them girls were bad, girls would distract them and hurt the record sales. Michael confused between the available boyfriend versus girls being poison. Joe sees Tito kissing Dee-Dee, beats him. Using Michael as a wingman to get phone number of girls. Michael telling Jermaine he always wants to treats girls as a gentleman.
Tastes in woman. Michael looking for a lady, honest and kind. Growing crush on Diana. Seeing her as the perfect woman.
Rose their tutor. Started Michael's love of books and reading. debunks biographers and says Michael wasn't a terrible student. 9th grade report card 5 A's, 1 B+ and 1 B-. Michael drawing soldier with stop the war written over. Giving a Charlie Chaplin drawing to a girl in exchange for help with Algebra.
Michael is the only Jackson boy still attending Kingdom Hall. Meeting Commodores, learning song writing. Friendship with Lionel Ritchie. First European tour. Playing and meeting the Queen. Meeting Elton John. Hole in the wall and seeing the next door dressing room, naked woman.
Michael's love for Rebbie's kid Stacee, pure love of children.
World tour. Jacksons become cartoons. Michael watch his cartoon every saturday.
Chapter 9 - Growing Pains
Acne and his nose.
"In fact, he hated his skin and his nose so much that he found it hard to look at himself in the mirror. This wasn’t just typical teenage self-consciousness: it became a full-blown inferiority complex. The more he looked at himself, the unhappier he felt."
Jermaine "bumpy face", Marlon "Liver lips", Michael "big nose" and they didn't realize how Michael struggled with that name till much later.
Jermaine realizes a white blemish on his left thigh. Doctor says it's vitiligo and not to worry unless it spreads. says Michael never bleached his face or skin and was proud of being black.
Gordy starts solo projects for Michael and Jermaine. Press portrays them as rivals. Jermaine says there was no jealusy or rivalry.
J5 releases more albums. chart success is declining. Michael says they need to write their own material. Jermaine had proposed to Hazel. Jermaine is thinking how to tell his family that he would marry Hazel, believes Joe will be angry (as he was angry with Tito marrying Dee-Dee and Michael will be sad). Michael acts happy but later Katherine tells him and Michael feels that everyone is marrying and leaving him and he'll be lonely. Michael never said anything to Jermaine about this topic, hid his feelings. The ceremony. Getting house in Bel-Air.
Michael working on "the robot". Jackson variety show. Brothers behavior towards Jermaine is changing, he realizes something is up. Katherine finds out that Joe has a mistress. Family is angry , tells Katherine to divorce. Katherine forgives. Meeting Bob Marley.
Wives going to tour. Berry Gordy arranging separate cars/ limos, security for his daughter. It started causing problems. Fights happened. Michael didn't like it. wives caused drama and distractions. Michael says he will never marry until he found his soul and creative match. "Wanna be starting something" is about these fights.
A lot of people leaving Motown. Michael asked for more freedom in their music, Gordy refused.
to be continued.
Chapter 10 - Seperate ways
Joe calls and tells Jermaine to come over without Hazel. Joe tells Jermaine to sign the contract with CBS. Jermaine doesn't sign. Jermaine says Michael was also tempted to sign with a promise with dinner with Fred Astaire - never happened. Jermaine stays with motown. Jacksons move to CBS without him. Jermaine wants to talk to Michael but doesn't do it because there was tension between him and the brothers.
Some time later Michael calls Gordy and asks Jermaine to join them at Westbury Music Fair. Jermaine goes but stays his ground doesn't go on stage. Disappointments. New morning Jermaine joins them at CBS to hear the plans for the future. Isn't impressed and leaves CBS. That's how they went their separate ways.
"There was a suggestion for years that I broke up the group by leaving, but I’ve never viewed it that way. I did not leave them: they left me. They left “home”—and I will believe that until the day I die."
Brothers doesn't talk to Jermaine for 6 months. Katherine kept in touch over the phone. Joe occasionally called him. Jermaine was depressed. Fans banish him. End of 1976 brothers starts talking to Jermaine again and Jermaine starts going to Hayvenhurst.
Tatum was Michael's first girlfriend, childhood sweetheart.
Drowning accident. (In the book the time is correct) Michael is in knee-deep water. (fits with Michael's MoonWalk version, contradicts Jermaine's Bio Channel close call version). Hard time breathing. Jermaine drives him to hospital. Michael is released after a few hours.
Being friends with Muhammed Ali. Michael learned about Islam from Ali.
One afternoon Jermaine sees Michael with bandages on his face. He fell down in the living room, broke his nose and then got a nose job. Says Michael kept his plastic surgeries private as well. Jermaine says he understood why he had surgery - his big nose made him miserable.
Michael thinking about going solo. All the brothers are either married or left home. Diana tells him to go solo. The Wiz. Michael becomes even closer to Diana.
"As for how intimate they truly became, this is where his music—nearly always semi-autobiographical—should speak for itself. Go listen to the wistful lyrics of “Remember The Time,” released in 1992. That song was, as Michael told me, written with Diana Ross in mind; the one great love that, as far as he was concerned, escaped him."
Michael feels isolated. Walking streets to find people to talk to. They didn't realize this until later. Quincy Jones, Off the Wall. Michael crying after the Grammy's because he didn't win album of the year. Wrote on bathroom mirror "thriller. 100 millions of sales. sell-out stadiums". Focus. Dedication. Determination. Perseverance. is the things that will take him there.
Chapter 11 - Moonwalking
80's. Michael's morning meditation, listen to a tape that says “YOU ARE CONFIDENT . . . You are strong . . . You are beautiful . . . You are the greatest.” as pep-talk to himself. Says Michael would be angry with him for sharing this because it was his private ritual.
Michael is becoming more and more famous. Fans breaking into Hayvenhurst to see him. Jermaine and Jackie receiving letters from girls saying they are the father of their children. Michael never slept with a fan. Delusional "Billie Jean" fans. Michael remodeling Hayvenhurst. Michael liked to sleep on floor - said it's good for his back. On his wall he had pictures of Ava Gardner, later Shirley Temple and last years Alicia Keys. Memory room in Hayvenhurst. One room with memorallibia and awards. One wall celebrity wall - pictures of Michael with other celebrities.
Michael recording his conversations. Going through other people's drawers.
Thriller. Obsessed with it. They hardly saw Michael in 1982. Thriller released, breaking records. Motown 25. Michael hesitant about Motown 25. Jermaine calls him, Michael says he doesn't want to do TV. Gordy convinces Michael. Michael accepts but also wants a solo spot for "Billie Jean". They didn't know what Michael prepared for his solo spot. Jacket is Katherine's. Before the show Michael was in Diana's dressing room, going through her luggage (Diana wasn't in the room). Jermaine is happy that they perform once again. Michael does his solo spot. Fred Astaire calls him next morning. Michael gets to meet him a few weeks later. Michael is happy. Michael kept Katherine's jacket that he used in Billie Jean, later gave it to Sammy Davis Jr for a wristwatch.
Chapter 12 - Animal Kingdom
Michael's love for animals. Buying a llama, the seller acts prejudiced. Michael puts him to his place. eventually buys it from other place. Other animals as well.
Bubbles. Michael acting parental with Bubbles. Bubbles listening to him. Bubbles not sleeping in his crib but in Michael's bed. Michael is sleeping on the floor. Bubbles had wonderful clothes. Jermaine sometimes dressed Jeremy in Bubbles clothes because they were better. Michael and Bubbles playing hide and seek. Bubbles is at Center for Great Apes. and according to Jermaine his behavior patterns show that he's his father's son. Latoya's visit with Bubbles after Michael's death.
Janet - how she surpised everyone. How she felt she was forced into music. Her success.
Thriller video. John Landis. How it was financed. Michael plays it to family at the theather in Hayvenhurst. Rebbie's son Austin was freaked out whenever Michael tried to get close to him - afraid that Michael would change into a werewolf in real life as well. Kingdom Hall not happy with the video. The disclaimer - Kingdom Hall insisted for it. John Landis wrote the disclaimer not Michael.
Michael feels conflicted between his passion for music and his religious beliefs. 2 elders started to shadow Michael make sure that he stray from God's path. Disguises for his pioneering work.
Joe is no longer adequate for managing the increased popularity, they hire other managers. Joe is hurt. He wasn't shut out completely , all brothers seeked advice from Joe. Ron Weisner and Demann. Michael later hired Dileo. Branca is hired.
"Those two were a double-act that gelled from day one. They reminded me of Abbott and Costello because Frank was the roly-poly guy with a thick cigar in his mouth, while Michael was the one doing all the crazy capers. Frank was a deflector and mouthpiece—a front man—but his know-how also brought a new slickness to all that Michael did. John Branca, a fair-haired New Yorker, had become my brother’s new attorney and he, too, would provide expert guidance in the years ahead. The Branca-Dileo combination was the professional operation Michael was happy to have surrounding him."
Jermaine is in talks with Clive Davis of Arista Records. Talks with Gordy. leaves Motown. Signs with Arista. Clive asks his opinion about this new artist - whitney houston. they started working together. There was attraction between Jermaine and Whitney.
Michael's song writing and colloborations. Michael sang on Jermaine's “Tell Me I’m Not Dreaming” song , first release with Arista. Sony didn't want Michael on a song that would coflict with his own releases. so that was only released as a B-side.
Talks of reunion tour, album.
Michael meeting McCarthy. Learning about music publishing. Say say say. Neverland that he would purchase several years later.
will be continued.
Chapter 13 - The Hardest Victory
1984 - Victory Tour.
"VICTORY TOUR WAS ANOTHER IDEA that had to be sold to Michael before he agreed. And, as with Motown 25, his change of heart walked him into another page of The Guinness Book of World Records. It also led to reports that we, as brothers, “pressured” or “coaxed” him into taking part. This was the start of a mistaken and enduring belief that we were only interested in coat-tailing Michael’s fame for profit, as if he were an overnight sensation and we had just woken up to his talent, as opposed to having grown up alongside it."
"Unlike Epic and then Sony, we never viewed Michael as a robotic money-making machine. We viewed him as brother with whom we wanted to share more glory. Our passion to perform with him never changed en route from our bunk beds to Hollywood. That desire between brothers was always consistent, pre-fame, post-fame."
Jermaine says Michael first didn't want to do Victory tour, later as a stage addict he couldn't resist it and in the end he insisted on it planning design and concept. Joe and Katherine are the architect of Victory, he had Janet and Latoya on the line up as well. Jackie said it was better if it was only brothers.
Blames Michael's camp for probably saying him the tour wasn't a good idea. Michael telling Katherine he wants to focus on movie ideas. Decides to help brothers with a tour and album so they'll be out of their contracts and be free.
"But in the back of his mind, he always wanted it to be his last tour with us—even if we didn’t. He proposed a tour name: “The Final Curtain.”"
$5 million Pepsi deal. Michael didn't drink Pepsi because he didn't like it. Pepsi compromised. Pepsi commercial. Burn incident. Jermaine thought Michael was shot by the way people rushed. 3rd degree burns. Michael enjoying the ambulance ride. Michael never intended to sue Pepsi but they donated $1.5 million to a burn unit.
Surgery to stretch a part of his scalp over the burned area. an implant. He was in pain for years. Demerol is prescribed to Michael.
Jackie hit by a car, bust his knee. He can't perform. Don King conviction for manslaughter makes the headline. Michael hears it and refuses to perform.Joe talks to him. Michael agrees to perform but Don King receives a legal letter that says the can't conduct business on Jacksons behalf. Later his roles were reduced.
Michael 50% at rehearsals, saved his 1000% for stage. Michael would go home and practice on his own.
Media stories of Michael being a homosexual begin again before the tour. Michael married to music, devout JW, waiting for the right woman.
The sun comes with the ***** J** name. PR strategy is to plant weird and wonderful stories about him hence oxygen chambers and elephant man's bones stories. then comes weirdo, freak, added with his surgeries and his closeness to animals and children. Michael sends an open letter to the media. "ghosts" also addresses this.
Also there's quite a mention of politics going on with the tour, lawyers, representatives for different parties and what it caused.
Chapter 14 - The Reunion Party
First concert for the tour. Kansas. Marlon Brando's message to Michael "“MICHAEL—DON’T MAKE AN ASS OF YOURSELF AND FOR GOD’S SAKE, DON’T FALL IN THE ORCHESTRA PIT—MARLON.”. Describe the performance. Says Victory tour wasn't miserable. Huge difference between the business aspect and the show aspect. any business arguments didn't carry into hotel rooms or stage. Jermaine had suspicion that any rumors, subliminal messages etc was started by people that wanted to replace the brothers for Michael. More money for these people if money isn't split among the brothers.
Jermaine's tiger Bakana going on tour with them. Michael is touring with his 2 shadows from Kingdom Hall. Michael first seemed okay but he also valued his space.
"Their van had stopped at a set of traffic lights in Kansas City when Michael spotted three hookers on the street corner, with one wearing sequined hot pants. Michael’s eye couldn’t help but wander. “Oh my goodness, hurt me!” he said, playfully—Jackson-speak for “Oh wow, she’s looking hot.” Then, just as the lights were about to change, he stuck his gloved hand out of the window and waved. Three hookers did a double-take, wondering if that was . . . just maybe . . . it can’t be . . . Michael Jackson. Just to make sure that they were certain, Michael opened the van door a little and, looking back as the van began to move away, he showed his face, chuckled, and then slammed the door tight. He twisted around in his seat to watch three hookers jumping up and down with excitement. I don’t know what the two Jehovah’s Witnesses made of this interaction but it made Michael’s day and made one thing clear: he wasn’t always going to be squeaky-clean."
JW monitors followed Michael for 3 more years. Smooth criminal. Machine gun scene - JW's can't hold or possess or use a firearm. Kingdon Hall was harsh. "Michael wrote to the Kingdom Hall disassociating himself from the Jehovah’s Witnesses and specifically asking not to be recognized as a baptized Witness."
Michael and his sense of humor and pranks didn't change. Still Bill Bray was his target. Dileo also became his target.
Jacksons receiving death treats. The person who threathened them goes into a McDonalds and kills 22 injures 19 and killed in the shootout. Security increases if he had an accomplice that would carry out the plan against Jacksons. Travel in armored cars. Michael saying he would move so much on the stage so no one would be able to get him. Saying that Tito and Jermaine with their guitars were tied to a spot.
Madonna starts to hang with them in NY especually with Michael and Randy. Madonna wanting attention from Randy. Randy had a girlfriend.
"But we soon learned that very little deterred Madonna. Ignoring his girlfriend, she walked up to Randy, grabbed his face, stuck her tongue down his throat and told him, “When you’ve finished with this bitch, give me a call.”
Jermaine says Michael dated Madonna for shortest while in 1991. 2 mistakes Madonna did : try to change Michael and criticize Janet.
After that Michael seriously dated Brooke Shields. they remained friends and had communications till the day he died.
Jermaine continue working with Whitney Houston. More and more temptation. Michael and Clive Davis realizes it. They go their seperate ways as it's the right and sensible thing to do. Whitney Houstons “Saving All My Love For You.” is written about the events between her and Jermaine.
Brothers want to take Victory tour to Europe but Michael announces that it's their last and final show, announcing his detachment from Jacksons. Tells Katherine that this is something he needs to do alone. Brothers were hurt but accepted it.
1985 Jermaine see little of Michael as they are both recording. Jermaine releasing second Arista album, touring. Michael attending one of Jermaine's concerts in disguise. Jermaine can't realize it's Michael. (Jermaine says there's a picture of it in the book) Michael also use the same disguise during Bad Tour to mingle and sight see places.
John Lennon being killed by a fan. Makes Michael paranoid. disguises to hide. Looking for a secluded place to live.
Chapter 15 - Once Said.
"BETWEEN OUR LAST TOUR ENDING IN December 1984 and 1992, the family saw Michael sporadically, say three or four times a year in those eight years."
"Michael didn’t carry a cell phone so it wasn’t as if we could call him. Communications technology was never his forte and the system dictated now that we call his offices at Neverland or in L.A. and leave a message. And another. And then another. They all went unreturned and I didn’t know what to think."
1988 Jermaine comes up with the idea of Family Day. Michael sometimes made them sometimes didn't. 1989 2300 Jackson street song. Jermaine's marriage to Hazel ends in 1987 because he can't resist temptation when he mets Margaret. Jermaine moves back to Hayvenhurst. 1989 Jermaine visits Middle East. Converts to Islam. Returns to California. Moves to a duplex with Margaret and their 2 sons.
1990 news stories that Michael was taken to hospital with chest pains. Jermaine visits him. Michael says he didn't have chest pains but having throbbing pain , headaches. He was getting Demerol via IV. Reading about marriage and divorce. Jermaine mentions Islam to Michael.
Jermaine tells Michael he's moving to Atlanta to work on his next album with LA Reid and Baby Face. Stays with Michael that night at hospital.
Jermaine moves to Atlanta with Margaret and his 2 sons. Calls LA Reid and Baby Face about the album, hears that there's a delay. While waiting Jermaine starts talking with Stan Margulies (who would later produce Jacksons: American dream). He had a movie idea Tutankhamun and wanted Michael to play the pharaoh . Jermaine leaves a message to Michael about it and waits him to call back. Does this (call leave a message and wait) for several days. Michael never calls. 3 months pass in Atlanta. Jermaine hears LA Reid and Baby Face are in CA working with another artist - Michael.
As Jermaine was contracted to LAFace records an needed to deliver one more album to Arista he waited. LA Reid and Baby Face finally came back and they were upset with Michael as well. They didn't like Michael's insistence about Bruce Swedien and that Michael wasnn't going to continue with any of their songs. They had written "Word to the Badd".
(Note: I'll do direct quotes as most of you are curious about this)
"The hook that resonated—because of its implied selfishness"
"The lyrics they had written in anger met with my still-brewing anger toward Michael. Not only that: all my pent-up energy to get into the studio combined internally with a deepening sense of injustice. It was a perfect emotional storm in which no one was thinking, just letting fly. If a studio session is an outlet for anything, it is for releasing unexpressed emotion. Music can be cathartic that way and I won’t have been the first artist to arrive at the mic with an intention to get it all out. In fact, it was typical of me to vent on my own instead of saying anything direct to Michael."
"When I arrived at the studio to start work, I was presented with the finished song, and L.A. Reid and Babyface had come up with one particular verse that went like this: Reconstructed Been abducted Don’t know who you are Once you were made You changed your shade Was your color wrong? It was a clear dig at Michael, and I knew it. Those lyrics were consistent with a mistaken perception about him and I didn’t agree with them—but I did agree with the angry tone. I was mad. I embraced this secret retaliation. The moment that song sheet was in my hand, I was singing with an anger that therapists would have applauded, even if Michael’s fans would not. In my naïvety, I didn’t expect for a single second that those words would be heard outside the audience of two producers and one engineer because, in my mind, they were lyrics never intended for release. After I’d laid down my angry vocals—and felt much, much better for getting it off my chest—we recorded another version: the intended version of “Word to the Badd,” featuring T-Boz from TLC. It kept the same hook but ditched all of the innuendo toward Michael."
Bootleg version of Word to the Badd leaked. Jermaine calls Gordy. Gordy tells him to take responsibility. Jermaine wants to call Michael but sees no point as Michael doesn't return calls. Jermaine goes on Larry King / CNN says he should never have sang or recorded it. Michael calls Katherine to ask if it's really Jermaine singing the song. Katherine calls a meeting at Hayvenhust between the two.
"I went first. Not with an apology, but with the undercurrents. It is a conversation that remains vivid. “We used to be close,” I said, “but it’s been eight years . . . eight years, Michael. Eight years that we haven’t spent proper time together. I’m speaking for all of us, not just me.” He looked at me. Now we had eye-contact. I continued: “In those eight years, everyone has said everything they can about this family as if they know us and know you, and we should have stuck together but you went off and—”“And for those eight years you thought I deserved that song?” he interrupted. “That is hurtful, and I didn’t expect that . . . not from you, Jermaine.” “I didn’t write it.” “You sang it.” “I sang it when I was upset, but those lyrics don’t reflect how I feel about you and you know it,” I said. “You put your voice to those lyrics,” he said, forcing his point home. I could see in his eyes how hurt he was, and it killed me, knowing that I was responsible. “I’m sorry I hurt you,” I said. My betrayal acknowledged I tried to explain how I had reached out to him numerous times, leaving messages, and how frustrating that felt. “Like the King Tut movie idea you ignored . . .” “I don’t know anything about a King Tut movie,” he said, looking genuinely surprised. “I didn’t get any of those messages.” “Doesn’t that tell you something? That the people around you are not passing on messages from us!” I said, feeling agitated all over again, renewing my suspicion that our messages were being filtered by his gatekeepers. Michael promised to look into it. “But that still doesn’t excuse how much time you let pass during those eight years,” I reminded him. If we’re going to do this, let’s bring it all out, I thought. Michael went into a long-winded justification, saying it wasn’t deliberate, he was just busy. There had been a lot of traveling and touringand recording and shooting videos. He went on and on with what I considered to be rationalising. Eventually I had heard enough. “BUT, MICHAEL, WE’RE YOUR FAMILY! You’ve GOT to make time for family!” I yelled, and, in a fit of frustration, I slammed my fist on the coffee-table. The cups and saucers jumped on the silver tray and Michael almost leapt out of his skin. There was something so timid and fragile about him, so easily startled, that I felt bad for raising my voice. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to make you jump . . .” Then he smiled. “Look at your face,” he said, and then he started to laugh. “You’re so uptight!” As kids, we’d laughed nervously in the most serious of situations and Michael’s chuckling, made me laugh now. With that, everyone relaxed."
Michael starts turning up to more Family Days but yet still not regularly available to them. Jermaine says that fans held "Word to the Badd" against him and acted like families do not fight. Michael didn't and they made up.
Chapter 16 - Forever Neverland
Neverland - Michael's happily ever after.
"I see him lazing at home with the “Michael Jackson image” hung up in the wardrobe as he shuffles about the kitchen—morning or night—not so pristine in a white V-neck T-shirt, pajama bottoms or sweat pants, and black velvet house slippers with a gold crest and the letter “J” on the toe."
"The core fact is that my brother looked at life through a child’s eyes. Age, status, persona and other people’s expectations of him had nothing to do with it. He had a child’s heart and he never outgrew a childlike enthusiasm for fun—and this was why he had a natural affinity with children."
Desctiption of Neverland. House, gardens, paintings, zoo etc. Black-and-gold wrought-iron gates were from Jermaine's old house. Michael added UK's coat of arms to it. His name and a crown. Michael's love for royalty and British monarchy. Amenities, statues, theather, beds for sick children, arcade etc.
Michael wanted to help less fortunate and sick children. Children being invited to Neverland, Michael visiting hospitals while touring.
Princess Diana. Meeting her during Bad tour. Calls between Michael and Diana between 1991 and 1994. Michael and Diana have the ability to spend hours on the phone. Michael says Princess Diana is a "a wise, sweet, sweet woman".
Oprah interview. Michael wanted to correct misconceptions about himself, wanted it to be live so there could be no editing. Jermaine says it was more of a career changing thing for Oprah than it was for Michael. Joe is seen as abusive. Michael disclose his vitiligo.
"The truth is that Michael noticed a small white patch on his stomach around 1982, just as I had found a spot on one thigh. Where mine didn’t worsen, his spread. I had suspected something was going on as early as 1984 and Victory, because he started to cover up all the time."
Single glove had nothing to do with Vitiligo.Glove was first suggested by Jackie just to attract attention to his hand movements. Michael showed less and less skin during Victory.
"I suspected something but really had no idea how serious his vitiligo was getting."
Karen Faye realizes patches in 1983 during Say Say Say. First matching them to darker tone. As they got biggger she had to match them to the lighter tone. and he also needed heavier use of makeup.
"A spiritual soul with blonde hair and animated by a bubbly energy, Karen had first been assigned to Michael’s team some time around Thriller and she quickly evolved from a trusted professional to a true friend he affectionately nicknamed “Turkle.” Soon Karen’s wise words and comforting friendship proved as indispensible as her brushes and make up."
"When you understand how sensitive he was about his condition, you also understand how much he trusted Karen. It was invasive work but every professional choice she made was designed to give him freedom and confidence, and make him look like the star he was. And he equally relied on her keeping all her work confidential. Some members of his entourage, video directors and photographers, didn’t understand that Karen’s challenge was to keep Michael looking perfect, and she couldn’t explain her actions because she was sworn to secrecy. So observers only saw an overly fussy makeup lady—one who sometimes inexplicably disappeared with her client. This was misconstrued: people decided she was competing as a woman for his attention. The truth was that she was working her butt off to keep him feeling safe and secure, ensuring none of his vitiligo was visible to anyone crowding near him."
Michael also got diagnosed with Lupus. Caused red blotches on his face. Lupus and Vitiligo are the reasons that Michael used umbreallas.
Brett Livingstone-Strong. painting in a hangar. theraphy of art to escape the craziness. Public learned about this in 2011. Jermaine visited the hangar to see his art. 7 figure.
Michael's friendhsip with Dave Dave and Ryan White. Friendship with child actors Emmanuel Lewis, Maculay Culkin. Brett Barnes, Wade Robson, Cascio siblings. A lot of "surrogate families". Jermaine only experienced Michael's relationship with Wade Robson and his family. Talks about Wade.
Michael desperately wanting to have children but he's consumed with work and the right woman didn't come along. Michael wanted to have 9 children.
To be continued.
Chapter 7 - Jackson Mania
First Motown concerts. Bill Bray new security person. Fans rushing to the stage, following them, jumping on cars. Michael calls fans reactions as "wild". Girls running after car, Michael saying "look at that girl's titties wobbling". Concerts, fans, fame. Michael can't understand why girls throwing panties and bras to stage. Mobs of fans, grabbing them everywhere they went. Fans following them to planes, hotels even to their home. Michael seeing fans as a second family, respecting them, loving them and caring about them. Being confined in hotels due to fans. Sprints in the corridors, Michael dropping water balloons, pranking other people such as tying Bill Bray's shoe laces when he's napping then calling him and making him fall when he stand up. Michael's interest with clasical music, Nutcracker Suite, you can hear similar threads at Dirty Diana for example.
Jermaine and Michael sharing room on the road, Joe stayed in a adjoining room. Michael hated Joe coming into their room whenever he liked. Michael is nosy and likes to eavesdrop (with putting glass on the wall) on Joe, Motown executives, lawyers etc. Michael wanting his name to be in "guinness book of world records". Brothers get along very well. Jermaine and Michael only fight over bathroom mirror to shape their afros. Room service is Michael's habit on the road. Plays pranks places orders to other rooms. Teasing the roadies by changing his voice like girls liking them.
Alabama they experience KKK, hotel not wanting to give them rooms. Bad weather when returning from Alabama, plane shaking and dropping, leaving them scared. Later Michael would hide under beds and refuse to go on planes. Bill Bray carrying a screaming and kicking Michael on his shoulder, brothers giving him candy. International success. Always welcome in Gary.
Chapter 8 - Life Lessons
Hayvenhurst. Twin rooms. Michael sharing a room with Randy. $5 weekly allowance. Michael spending his money on art supplies and magic. They still did household chores. Joe put a payphone in Hayvenhurst. Michael receiving death threats so kids got pulled from public school and sent to private school - Walton School. They meet John McClain - became friends for life. Tito and McClain jammed together. Michael and McClain both mischievous. Example : a mouthy kid, they dig a hole and bury him in the hole up to his chest. Michael following Jermaine around. Catching him while kissing a girl and shouting it.
Jermaine when home saw Hazel a lot, it was puppy love. On the road he find it hard to resist female attention and had to sneak girls from Bill Bray and Joe. Michael made it harder for him. One day Michael is no where to be seen. Jermaine has sneaked a girl and is about to have sex. Girl mentions how she likes Jermaine touching her thighs but Jermaine wasn't stroking her tighs. Michael was hiding under the bed, touching her. It turns out Michael was hiding under the bed the whole time.
Girls banned. Motown didn't want them to have girlfriends, wanted them to be single bachelors looking for love. Joe also told them girls were bad, girls would distract them and hurt the record sales. Michael confused between the available boyfriend versus girls being poison. Joe sees Tito kissing Dee-Dee, beats him. Using Michael as a wingman to get phone number of girls. Michael telling Jermaine he always wants to treats girls as a gentleman.
Tastes in woman. Michael looking for a lady, honest and kind. Growing crush on Diana. Seeing her as the perfect woman.
Rose their tutor. Started Michael's love of books and reading. debunks biographers and says Michael wasn't a terrible student. 9th grade report card 5 A's, 1 B+ and 1 B-. Michael drawing soldier with stop the war written over. Giving a Charlie Chaplin drawing to a girl in exchange for help with Algebra.
Michael is the only Jackson boy still attending Kingdom Hall. Meeting Commodores, learning song writing. Friendship with Lionel Ritchie. First European tour. Playing and meeting the Queen. Meeting Elton John. Hole in the wall and seeing the next door dressing room, naked woman.
Michael's love for Rebbie's kid Stacee, pure love of children.
World tour. Jacksons become cartoons. Michael watch his cartoon every saturday.
Chapter 9 - Growing Pains
Acne and his nose.
"In fact, he hated his skin and his nose so much that he found it hard to look at himself in the mirror. This wasn’t just typical teenage self-consciousness: it became a full-blown inferiority complex. The more he looked at himself, the unhappier he felt."
Jermaine "bumpy face", Marlon "Liver lips", Michael "big nose" and they didn't realize how Michael struggled with that name till much later.
Jermaine realizes a white blemish on his left thigh. Doctor says it's vitiligo and not to worry unless it spreads. says Michael never bleached his face or skin and was proud of being black.
Gordy starts solo projects for Michael and Jermaine. Press portrays them as rivals. Jermaine says there was no jealusy or rivalry.
J5 releases more albums. chart success is declining. Michael says they need to write their own material. Jermaine had proposed to Hazel. Jermaine is thinking how to tell his family that he would marry Hazel, believes Joe will be angry (as he was angry with Tito marrying Dee-Dee and Michael will be sad). Michael acts happy but later Katherine tells him and Michael feels that everyone is marrying and leaving him and he'll be lonely. Michael never said anything to Jermaine about this topic, hid his feelings. The ceremony. Getting house in Bel-Air.
Michael working on "the robot". Jackson variety show. Brothers behavior towards Jermaine is changing, he realizes something is up. Katherine finds out that Joe has a mistress. Family is angry , tells Katherine to divorce. Katherine forgives. Meeting Bob Marley.
Wives going to tour. Berry Gordy arranging separate cars/ limos, security for his daughter. It started causing problems. Fights happened. Michael didn't like it. wives caused drama and distractions. Michael says he will never marry until he found his soul and creative match. "Wanna be starting something" is about these fights.
A lot of people leaving Motown. Michael asked for more freedom in their music, Gordy refused.
to be continued.
Chapter 10 - Seperate ways
Joe calls and tells Jermaine to come over without Hazel. Joe tells Jermaine to sign the contract with CBS. Jermaine doesn't sign. Jermaine says Michael was also tempted to sign with a promise with dinner with Fred Astaire - never happened. Jermaine stays with motown. Jacksons move to CBS without him. Jermaine wants to talk to Michael but doesn't do it because there was tension between him and the brothers.
Some time later Michael calls Gordy and asks Jermaine to join them at Westbury Music Fair. Jermaine goes but stays his ground doesn't go on stage. Disappointments. New morning Jermaine joins them at CBS to hear the plans for the future. Isn't impressed and leaves CBS. That's how they went their separate ways.
"There was a suggestion for years that I broke up the group by leaving, but I’ve never viewed it that way. I did not leave them: they left me. They left “home”—and I will believe that until the day I die."
Brothers doesn't talk to Jermaine for 6 months. Katherine kept in touch over the phone. Joe occasionally called him. Jermaine was depressed. Fans banish him. End of 1976 brothers starts talking to Jermaine again and Jermaine starts going to Hayvenhurst.
Tatum was Michael's first girlfriend, childhood sweetheart.
Drowning accident. (In the book the time is correct) Michael is in knee-deep water. (fits with Michael's MoonWalk version, contradicts Jermaine's Bio Channel close call version). Hard time breathing. Jermaine drives him to hospital. Michael is released after a few hours.
Being friends with Muhammed Ali. Michael learned about Islam from Ali.
One afternoon Jermaine sees Michael with bandages on his face. He fell down in the living room, broke his nose and then got a nose job. Says Michael kept his plastic surgeries private as well. Jermaine says he understood why he had surgery - his big nose made him miserable.
Michael thinking about going solo. All the brothers are either married or left home. Diana tells him to go solo. The Wiz. Michael becomes even closer to Diana.
"As for how intimate they truly became, this is where his music—nearly always semi-autobiographical—should speak for itself. Go listen to the wistful lyrics of “Remember The Time,” released in 1992. That song was, as Michael told me, written with Diana Ross in mind; the one great love that, as far as he was concerned, escaped him."
Michael feels isolated. Walking streets to find people to talk to. They didn't realize this until later. Quincy Jones, Off the Wall. Michael crying after the Grammy's because he didn't win album of the year. Wrote on bathroom mirror "thriller. 100 millions of sales. sell-out stadiums". Focus. Dedication. Determination. Perseverance. is the things that will take him there.
Chapter 11 - Moonwalking
80's. Michael's morning meditation, listen to a tape that says “YOU ARE CONFIDENT . . . You are strong . . . You are beautiful . . . You are the greatest.” as pep-talk to himself. Says Michael would be angry with him for sharing this because it was his private ritual.
Michael is becoming more and more famous. Fans breaking into Hayvenhurst to see him. Jermaine and Jackie receiving letters from girls saying they are the father of their children. Michael never slept with a fan. Delusional "Billie Jean" fans. Michael remodeling Hayvenhurst. Michael liked to sleep on floor - said it's good for his back. On his wall he had pictures of Ava Gardner, later Shirley Temple and last years Alicia Keys. Memory room in Hayvenhurst. One room with memorallibia and awards. One wall celebrity wall - pictures of Michael with other celebrities.
Michael recording his conversations. Going through other people's drawers.
Thriller. Obsessed with it. They hardly saw Michael in 1982. Thriller released, breaking records. Motown 25. Michael hesitant about Motown 25. Jermaine calls him, Michael says he doesn't want to do TV. Gordy convinces Michael. Michael accepts but also wants a solo spot for "Billie Jean". They didn't know what Michael prepared for his solo spot. Jacket is Katherine's. Before the show Michael was in Diana's dressing room, going through her luggage (Diana wasn't in the room). Jermaine is happy that they perform once again. Michael does his solo spot. Fred Astaire calls him next morning. Michael gets to meet him a few weeks later. Michael is happy. Michael kept Katherine's jacket that he used in Billie Jean, later gave it to Sammy Davis Jr for a wristwatch.
Chapter 12 - Animal Kingdom
Michael's love for animals. Buying a llama, the seller acts prejudiced. Michael puts him to his place. eventually buys it from other place. Other animals as well.
Bubbles. Michael acting parental with Bubbles. Bubbles listening to him. Bubbles not sleeping in his crib but in Michael's bed. Michael is sleeping on the floor. Bubbles had wonderful clothes. Jermaine sometimes dressed Jeremy in Bubbles clothes because they were better. Michael and Bubbles playing hide and seek. Bubbles is at Center for Great Apes. and according to Jermaine his behavior patterns show that he's his father's son. Latoya's visit with Bubbles after Michael's death.
Janet - how she surpised everyone. How she felt she was forced into music. Her success.
Thriller video. John Landis. How it was financed. Michael plays it to family at the theather in Hayvenhurst. Rebbie's son Austin was freaked out whenever Michael tried to get close to him - afraid that Michael would change into a werewolf in real life as well. Kingdom Hall not happy with the video. The disclaimer - Kingdom Hall insisted for it. John Landis wrote the disclaimer not Michael.
Michael feels conflicted between his passion for music and his religious beliefs. 2 elders started to shadow Michael make sure that he stray from God's path. Disguises for his pioneering work.
Joe is no longer adequate for managing the increased popularity, they hire other managers. Joe is hurt. He wasn't shut out completely , all brothers seeked advice from Joe. Ron Weisner and Demann. Michael later hired Dileo. Branca is hired.
"Those two were a double-act that gelled from day one. They reminded me of Abbott and Costello because Frank was the roly-poly guy with a thick cigar in his mouth, while Michael was the one doing all the crazy capers. Frank was a deflector and mouthpiece—a front man—but his know-how also brought a new slickness to all that Michael did. John Branca, a fair-haired New Yorker, had become my brother’s new attorney and he, too, would provide expert guidance in the years ahead. The Branca-Dileo combination was the professional operation Michael was happy to have surrounding him."
Jermaine is in talks with Clive Davis of Arista Records. Talks with Gordy. leaves Motown. Signs with Arista. Clive asks his opinion about this new artist - whitney houston. they started working together. There was attraction between Jermaine and Whitney.
Michael's song writing and colloborations. Michael sang on Jermaine's “Tell Me I’m Not Dreaming” song , first release with Arista. Sony didn't want Michael on a song that would coflict with his own releases. so that was only released as a B-side.
Talks of reunion tour, album.
Michael meeting McCarthy. Learning about music publishing. Say say say. Neverland that he would purchase several years later.
will be continued.
Chapter 13 - The Hardest Victory
1984 - Victory Tour.
"VICTORY TOUR WAS ANOTHER IDEA that had to be sold to Michael before he agreed. And, as with Motown 25, his change of heart walked him into another page of The Guinness Book of World Records. It also led to reports that we, as brothers, “pressured” or “coaxed” him into taking part. This was the start of a mistaken and enduring belief that we were only interested in coat-tailing Michael’s fame for profit, as if he were an overnight sensation and we had just woken up to his talent, as opposed to having grown up alongside it."
"Unlike Epic and then Sony, we never viewed Michael as a robotic money-making machine. We viewed him as brother with whom we wanted to share more glory. Our passion to perform with him never changed en route from our bunk beds to Hollywood. That desire between brothers was always consistent, pre-fame, post-fame."
Jermaine says Michael first didn't want to do Victory tour, later as a stage addict he couldn't resist it and in the end he insisted on it planning design and concept. Joe and Katherine are the architect of Victory, he had Janet and Latoya on the line up as well. Jackie said it was better if it was only brothers.
Blames Michael's camp for probably saying him the tour wasn't a good idea. Michael telling Katherine he wants to focus on movie ideas. Decides to help brothers with a tour and album so they'll be out of their contracts and be free.
"But in the back of his mind, he always wanted it to be his last tour with us—even if we didn’t. He proposed a tour name: “The Final Curtain.”"
$5 million Pepsi deal. Michael didn't drink Pepsi because he didn't like it. Pepsi compromised. Pepsi commercial. Burn incident. Jermaine thought Michael was shot by the way people rushed. 3rd degree burns. Michael enjoying the ambulance ride. Michael never intended to sue Pepsi but they donated $1.5 million to a burn unit.
Surgery to stretch a part of his scalp over the burned area. an implant. He was in pain for years. Demerol is prescribed to Michael.
Jackie hit by a car, bust his knee. He can't perform. Don King conviction for manslaughter makes the headline. Michael hears it and refuses to perform.Joe talks to him. Michael agrees to perform but Don King receives a legal letter that says the can't conduct business on Jacksons behalf. Later his roles were reduced.
Michael 50% at rehearsals, saved his 1000% for stage. Michael would go home and practice on his own.
Media stories of Michael being a homosexual begin again before the tour. Michael married to music, devout JW, waiting for the right woman.
The sun comes with the ***** J** name. PR strategy is to plant weird and wonderful stories about him hence oxygen chambers and elephant man's bones stories. then comes weirdo, freak, added with his surgeries and his closeness to animals and children. Michael sends an open letter to the media. "ghosts" also addresses this.
Also there's quite a mention of politics going on with the tour, lawyers, representatives for different parties and what it caused.
Chapter 14 - The Reunion Party
First concert for the tour. Kansas. Marlon Brando's message to Michael "“MICHAEL—DON’T MAKE AN ASS OF YOURSELF AND FOR GOD’S SAKE, DON’T FALL IN THE ORCHESTRA PIT—MARLON.”. Describe the performance. Says Victory tour wasn't miserable. Huge difference between the business aspect and the show aspect. any business arguments didn't carry into hotel rooms or stage. Jermaine had suspicion that any rumors, subliminal messages etc was started by people that wanted to replace the brothers for Michael. More money for these people if money isn't split among the brothers.
Jermaine's tiger Bakana going on tour with them. Michael is touring with his 2 shadows from Kingdom Hall. Michael first seemed okay but he also valued his space.
"Their van had stopped at a set of traffic lights in Kansas City when Michael spotted three hookers on the street corner, with one wearing sequined hot pants. Michael’s eye couldn’t help but wander. “Oh my goodness, hurt me!” he said, playfully—Jackson-speak for “Oh wow, she’s looking hot.” Then, just as the lights were about to change, he stuck his gloved hand out of the window and waved. Three hookers did a double-take, wondering if that was . . . just maybe . . . it can’t be . . . Michael Jackson. Just to make sure that they were certain, Michael opened the van door a little and, looking back as the van began to move away, he showed his face, chuckled, and then slammed the door tight. He twisted around in his seat to watch three hookers jumping up and down with excitement. I don’t know what the two Jehovah’s Witnesses made of this interaction but it made Michael’s day and made one thing clear: he wasn’t always going to be squeaky-clean."
JW monitors followed Michael for 3 more years. Smooth criminal. Machine gun scene - JW's can't hold or possess or use a firearm. Kingdon Hall was harsh. "Michael wrote to the Kingdom Hall disassociating himself from the Jehovah’s Witnesses and specifically asking not to be recognized as a baptized Witness."
Michael and his sense of humor and pranks didn't change. Still Bill Bray was his target. Dileo also became his target.
Jacksons receiving death treats. The person who threathened them goes into a McDonalds and kills 22 injures 19 and killed in the shootout. Security increases if he had an accomplice that would carry out the plan against Jacksons. Travel in armored cars. Michael saying he would move so much on the stage so no one would be able to get him. Saying that Tito and Jermaine with their guitars were tied to a spot.
Madonna starts to hang with them in NY especually with Michael and Randy. Madonna wanting attention from Randy. Randy had a girlfriend.
"But we soon learned that very little deterred Madonna. Ignoring his girlfriend, she walked up to Randy, grabbed his face, stuck her tongue down his throat and told him, “When you’ve finished with this bitch, give me a call.”
Jermaine says Michael dated Madonna for shortest while in 1991. 2 mistakes Madonna did : try to change Michael and criticize Janet.
After that Michael seriously dated Brooke Shields. they remained friends and had communications till the day he died.
Jermaine continue working with Whitney Houston. More and more temptation. Michael and Clive Davis realizes it. They go their seperate ways as it's the right and sensible thing to do. Whitney Houstons “Saving All My Love For You.” is written about the events between her and Jermaine.
Brothers want to take Victory tour to Europe but Michael announces that it's their last and final show, announcing his detachment from Jacksons. Tells Katherine that this is something he needs to do alone. Brothers were hurt but accepted it.
1985 Jermaine see little of Michael as they are both recording. Jermaine releasing second Arista album, touring. Michael attending one of Jermaine's concerts in disguise. Jermaine can't realize it's Michael. (Jermaine says there's a picture of it in the book) Michael also use the same disguise during Bad Tour to mingle and sight see places.
John Lennon being killed by a fan. Makes Michael paranoid. disguises to hide. Looking for a secluded place to live.
Chapter 15 - Once Said.
"BETWEEN OUR LAST TOUR ENDING IN December 1984 and 1992, the family saw Michael sporadically, say three or four times a year in those eight years."
"Michael didn’t carry a cell phone so it wasn’t as if we could call him. Communications technology was never his forte and the system dictated now that we call his offices at Neverland or in L.A. and leave a message. And another. And then another. They all went unreturned and I didn’t know what to think."
1988 Jermaine comes up with the idea of Family Day. Michael sometimes made them sometimes didn't. 1989 2300 Jackson street song. Jermaine's marriage to Hazel ends in 1987 because he can't resist temptation when he mets Margaret. Jermaine moves back to Hayvenhurst. 1989 Jermaine visits Middle East. Converts to Islam. Returns to California. Moves to a duplex with Margaret and their 2 sons.
1990 news stories that Michael was taken to hospital with chest pains. Jermaine visits him. Michael says he didn't have chest pains but having throbbing pain , headaches. He was getting Demerol via IV. Reading about marriage and divorce. Jermaine mentions Islam to Michael.
Jermaine tells Michael he's moving to Atlanta to work on his next album with LA Reid and Baby Face. Stays with Michael that night at hospital.
Jermaine moves to Atlanta with Margaret and his 2 sons. Calls LA Reid and Baby Face about the album, hears that there's a delay. While waiting Jermaine starts talking with Stan Margulies (who would later produce Jacksons: American dream). He had a movie idea Tutankhamun and wanted Michael to play the pharaoh . Jermaine leaves a message to Michael about it and waits him to call back. Does this (call leave a message and wait) for several days. Michael never calls. 3 months pass in Atlanta. Jermaine hears LA Reid and Baby Face are in CA working with another artist - Michael.
As Jermaine was contracted to LAFace records an needed to deliver one more album to Arista he waited. LA Reid and Baby Face finally came back and they were upset with Michael as well. They didn't like Michael's insistence about Bruce Swedien and that Michael wasnn't going to continue with any of their songs. They had written "Word to the Badd".
(Note: I'll do direct quotes as most of you are curious about this)
"The hook that resonated—because of its implied selfishness"
"The lyrics they had written in anger met with my still-brewing anger toward Michael. Not only that: all my pent-up energy to get into the studio combined internally with a deepening sense of injustice. It was a perfect emotional storm in which no one was thinking, just letting fly. If a studio session is an outlet for anything, it is for releasing unexpressed emotion. Music can be cathartic that way and I won’t have been the first artist to arrive at the mic with an intention to get it all out. In fact, it was typical of me to vent on my own instead of saying anything direct to Michael."
"When I arrived at the studio to start work, I was presented with the finished song, and L.A. Reid and Babyface had come up with one particular verse that went like this: Reconstructed Been abducted Don’t know who you are Once you were made You changed your shade Was your color wrong? It was a clear dig at Michael, and I knew it. Those lyrics were consistent with a mistaken perception about him and I didn’t agree with them—but I did agree with the angry tone. I was mad. I embraced this secret retaliation. The moment that song sheet was in my hand, I was singing with an anger that therapists would have applauded, even if Michael’s fans would not. In my naïvety, I didn’t expect for a single second that those words would be heard outside the audience of two producers and one engineer because, in my mind, they were lyrics never intended for release. After I’d laid down my angry vocals—and felt much, much better for getting it off my chest—we recorded another version: the intended version of “Word to the Badd,” featuring T-Boz from TLC. It kept the same hook but ditched all of the innuendo toward Michael."
Bootleg version of Word to the Badd leaked. Jermaine calls Gordy. Gordy tells him to take responsibility. Jermaine wants to call Michael but sees no point as Michael doesn't return calls. Jermaine goes on Larry King / CNN says he should never have sang or recorded it. Michael calls Katherine to ask if it's really Jermaine singing the song. Katherine calls a meeting at Hayvenhust between the two.
"I went first. Not with an apology, but with the undercurrents. It is a conversation that remains vivid. “We used to be close,” I said, “but it’s been eight years . . . eight years, Michael. Eight years that we haven’t spent proper time together. I’m speaking for all of us, not just me.” He looked at me. Now we had eye-contact. I continued: “In those eight years, everyone has said everything they can about this family as if they know us and know you, and we should have stuck together but you went off and—”“And for those eight years you thought I deserved that song?” he interrupted. “That is hurtful, and I didn’t expect that . . . not from you, Jermaine.” “I didn’t write it.” “You sang it.” “I sang it when I was upset, but those lyrics don’t reflect how I feel about you and you know it,” I said. “You put your voice to those lyrics,” he said, forcing his point home. I could see in his eyes how hurt he was, and it killed me, knowing that I was responsible. “I’m sorry I hurt you,” I said. My betrayal acknowledged I tried to explain how I had reached out to him numerous times, leaving messages, and how frustrating that felt. “Like the King Tut movie idea you ignored . . .” “I don’t know anything about a King Tut movie,” he said, looking genuinely surprised. “I didn’t get any of those messages.” “Doesn’t that tell you something? That the people around you are not passing on messages from us!” I said, feeling agitated all over again, renewing my suspicion that our messages were being filtered by his gatekeepers. Michael promised to look into it. “But that still doesn’t excuse how much time you let pass during those eight years,” I reminded him. If we’re going to do this, let’s bring it all out, I thought. Michael went into a long-winded justification, saying it wasn’t deliberate, he was just busy. There had been a lot of traveling and touringand recording and shooting videos. He went on and on with what I considered to be rationalising. Eventually I had heard enough. “BUT, MICHAEL, WE’RE YOUR FAMILY! You’ve GOT to make time for family!” I yelled, and, in a fit of frustration, I slammed my fist on the coffee-table. The cups and saucers jumped on the silver tray and Michael almost leapt out of his skin. There was something so timid and fragile about him, so easily startled, that I felt bad for raising my voice. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to make you jump . . .” Then he smiled. “Look at your face,” he said, and then he started to laugh. “You’re so uptight!” As kids, we’d laughed nervously in the most serious of situations and Michael’s chuckling, made me laugh now. With that, everyone relaxed."
Michael starts turning up to more Family Days but yet still not regularly available to them. Jermaine says that fans held "Word to the Badd" against him and acted like families do not fight. Michael didn't and they made up.
Chapter 16 - Forever Neverland
Neverland - Michael's happily ever after.
"I see him lazing at home with the “Michael Jackson image” hung up in the wardrobe as he shuffles about the kitchen—morning or night—not so pristine in a white V-neck T-shirt, pajama bottoms or sweat pants, and black velvet house slippers with a gold crest and the letter “J” on the toe."
"The core fact is that my brother looked at life through a child’s eyes. Age, status, persona and other people’s expectations of him had nothing to do with it. He had a child’s heart and he never outgrew a childlike enthusiasm for fun—and this was why he had a natural affinity with children."
Desctiption of Neverland. House, gardens, paintings, zoo etc. Black-and-gold wrought-iron gates were from Jermaine's old house. Michael added UK's coat of arms to it. His name and a crown. Michael's love for royalty and British monarchy. Amenities, statues, theather, beds for sick children, arcade etc.
Michael wanted to help less fortunate and sick children. Children being invited to Neverland, Michael visiting hospitals while touring.
Princess Diana. Meeting her during Bad tour. Calls between Michael and Diana between 1991 and 1994. Michael and Diana have the ability to spend hours on the phone. Michael says Princess Diana is a "a wise, sweet, sweet woman".
Oprah interview. Michael wanted to correct misconceptions about himself, wanted it to be live so there could be no editing. Jermaine says it was more of a career changing thing for Oprah than it was for Michael. Joe is seen as abusive. Michael disclose his vitiligo.
"The truth is that Michael noticed a small white patch on his stomach around 1982, just as I had found a spot on one thigh. Where mine didn’t worsen, his spread. I had suspected something was going on as early as 1984 and Victory, because he started to cover up all the time."
Single glove had nothing to do with Vitiligo.Glove was first suggested by Jackie just to attract attention to his hand movements. Michael showed less and less skin during Victory.
"I suspected something but really had no idea how serious his vitiligo was getting."
Karen Faye realizes patches in 1983 during Say Say Say. First matching them to darker tone. As they got biggger she had to match them to the lighter tone. and he also needed heavier use of makeup.
"A spiritual soul with blonde hair and animated by a bubbly energy, Karen had first been assigned to Michael’s team some time around Thriller and she quickly evolved from a trusted professional to a true friend he affectionately nicknamed “Turkle.” Soon Karen’s wise words and comforting friendship proved as indispensible as her brushes and make up."
"When you understand how sensitive he was about his condition, you also understand how much he trusted Karen. It was invasive work but every professional choice she made was designed to give him freedom and confidence, and make him look like the star he was. And he equally relied on her keeping all her work confidential. Some members of his entourage, video directors and photographers, didn’t understand that Karen’s challenge was to keep Michael looking perfect, and she couldn’t explain her actions because she was sworn to secrecy. So observers only saw an overly fussy makeup lady—one who sometimes inexplicably disappeared with her client. This was misconstrued: people decided she was competing as a woman for his attention. The truth was that she was working her butt off to keep him feeling safe and secure, ensuring none of his vitiligo was visible to anyone crowding near him."
Michael also got diagnosed with Lupus. Caused red blotches on his face. Lupus and Vitiligo are the reasons that Michael used umbreallas.
Brett Livingstone-Strong. painting in a hangar. theraphy of art to escape the craziness. Public learned about this in 2011. Jermaine visited the hangar to see his art. 7 figure.
Michael's friendhsip with Dave Dave and Ryan White. Friendship with child actors Emmanuel Lewis, Maculay Culkin. Brett Barnes, Wade Robson, Cascio siblings. A lot of "surrogate families". Jermaine only experienced Michael's relationship with Wade Robson and his family. Talks about Wade.
Michael desperately wanting to have children but he's consumed with work and the right woman didn't come along. Michael wanted to have 9 children.
To be continued.
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