It would be a couple of years before Marlon began playing around with groupies. However, Michael was never a player; he simply wasn't interested, and thought his brothers' behaviour towards their female fans was deplorable. After years of traumatizing overexposure, it was as if the very idea of sex had become abhorrent to him.
A person who has known Michael since 1974, once told me, ‘I was having a conversation with Rebbie when she said, “Michael doesn't have time for girls.” I asked, “What kind of guy doesn't have time for girls?” She said that there were special circumstances with Michael. When I asked her what she was talking about, she told me a horrible story.
‘She said that when Michael was fifteen years old, a certain member of his family, someone he trusted – I won't say who, even though Rebbie did – decided he was old enough to have sex, and that he had to have it. This person then arranged the services of two hookers for Michael. He told them to work him over, and then locked Michael up in a room with them. Rebbie said that this incident absolutely traumatized her brother. I don't know whether or not Michael actually had sex with the hookers. Rebbie didn't say.’
Certainly, if this story is true, such a scenario must have had a deep psychological impact on Michael, as it would on any youngster going through puberty. After that happened, it's been said, Michael turned to prostitutes, not for sex – but for conversation. It was as if Michael had retaliated against his brothers' actions with groupies by trying to reassure himself that women were good for more than just fun times in bed. James McField, the group's former pianist and band director, recalled, ‘Sometimes – maybe once, maybe twice – Michael just needed to have someone to talk to and – maybe once, maybe twice – a woman would be introduced to him as someone very nice that he could be with, to have the company of a female. But he wouldn't have sex with her, to my knowledge. As far as I know, nothing intimate would ever happen. He liked nice girls, pure girls who appeared to have no street background.’
One such ‘date’ remembered meeting Michael after a concert in New York. ‘I was hanging around backstage, working Madison Square Garden's dressing area,’ said Lillias Harris, ‘when someone who introduced himself as an employee of the Jacksons came over to me and asked me if I wanted to spend an evening with Michael. “Hell, yeah,” I said. He asked me how much, and I told him I would do it for free. I wanted to have sex with Michael Jackson. Who wouldn't?
‘He brought me back to the dressing room. Michael was there, alone. I walked in, and he told me to close the door. The first thing out of his mouth was, “Why are you a prostitute?” I answered, “Because I need the money.” He said to me, “Would you like to have sex with me?” and I said, “Yes, of course I would.” He asked me how much it would cost. I told him, “No charge.” He seemed interested. So, I undid my blouse and showed him my breasts. He then turned his head, repulsed. “Stop. I can't have sex with you,” he said. “Please put them back,” he added, referring to my breasts.
‘When I asked him why, he told me, “Because I just can't.” I thought he meant he couldn't get an erection, he looked so sad. Then, he said, “Can we talk about you and your life?” I didn't want to talk, that's not why I went there. So I gave him my telephone number.
‘ “Anytime you want to get off, you call me,” I said. Michael looked at me and asked, “What does that mean, get off?” He was totally sincere. “It means screw, Michael,” I told him. “Anytime you want to screw, call me. Get it?”
‘He said, “Oh, okay. Maybe I'll call you someday. I doubt it, though.” And then I left.
‘He struck me as lonely and naive,’ Lillias Harris concluded. ‘He was a nice, mixed-up, good-looking guy who wanted female companionship. No way was he about to have sex that night, though. He was scared to death. I wondered if he would ever call me. He never did.’
‘Rockin' Robin’ and ‘Ben’
By winter of 1972, Motown had released two more solo singles by Michael Jackson, the first being ‘Rockin' Robin’. While Michael twitters his way through the song, the session player bangs out the easy ditty on the piano to create a song that was irresistible. ‘Rockin’ Robin' became an even bigger success than ‘Got to Be There’. The song peaked in the same position for Michael as the original did for the late Bobby Day, at number two.
One early record of Michael's that still brings snickers today is ‘Ben.’ The words of the song extol friendship, though there is no clue in the lyrics that the song is actually about a rodent. (In the film, Ben, a young boy befriends a rat named… Ben. A little-known fact is that Bing Crosby was one of the movie's producers.) Michael's voice complements the delicately orchestrated piece, with its solo guitar accompaniment; the recording is layered at all the emotional peaks with a precise string arrangement. The song obviously stood on its own, independent from the film. It became Michael's first number-one solo record, selling an amazing 1,701,475 copies. It was also nominated for an Oscar.
Michael saw the movie Ben many times, sitting in the back of the theatre just waiting to hear his song and then see his credit on the screen. As a child, Michael loved rats. At one point, Katherine was horrified to find that Michael had thirty rats in a cage in his bedroom. He was passionate about the rodents until the day he discovered that they were eating each other – as rats will do. Sickened by the sight, Michael put the rat cage outdoors.
In addition to his solo records, Michael started recording the group's songs separately from his brothers, putting the lead vocal on tape alone in the studio. Later, the brothers would come in and record their background vocals. Often, additional – anonymous – singers would be added to the mix. This was a decision made by Motown to make the recording process more expedient. All it did for Michael, though, was make him feel more singled out, and not a part of the group. He didn't like it.
In November 1972, The Jackson 5 embarked on a twelve-day European tour, which would begin with a royal command performance before Queen Elizabeth. There was actually some concern at Motown that the tour would not be a success, based on the group's flagging record sales in Europe. Unlike the situation in America, sales were down for The Jackson 5 in Europe, and especially in Britain. The group's Maybe Tomorrow album, for instance, didn't even make the UK Top 50. Their single ‘Sugar Daddy’ also flopped in the UK. However, as a solo recording artist Michael was faring well. ‘Got to Be There’ and ‘Rockin' Robin’ sailed to the British number five and three positions, respectively. Later in the month, ‘Ben’ would peak at number seven and sell more than a quarter of a million copies, just in the UK. So even if the group was falling short in record sales with a British audience, it was hoped that thanks to Michael's popularity the tour would draw audiences. It did, and in a big way. As British teenagers swarmed London's Heathrow Airport to welcome the group, the ensuing mob scene was reminiscent of Beatlemania.
‘Large plugs of hair were jerked from the scalp underneath Jermaine's giant Afro by souvenir hunters,’ reads Motown's 22 November press release. ‘Noise so intense that it drowned out the whine of jet engines drove tears to Michael's and Marlon's eyes. Tito was bruised and shaken by the stampede of the thundering herd. Randy nearly panicked when frenzied females devoured him with bear hugs and wet kisses. Jackie was cool but more than a little bit worried. It was sheer pandemonium. It was near chaos. It was frightening. It was JACKSONMANIA.’
Besides losing a shoe, Michael was almost choked to death. ‘He was really frightened,’ recalled Jermaine. ‘They were pulling on both ends of his scarf, actually choking him. He had to put his hand up under his scarf and start screaming so that it wouldn't tighten up on his neck.’
Michael loathed such mob scenes. He recalls having to run through crowds of screaming girls with eyes covered by his hands for fear that their nails would scratch him. He remembers hiding in broom closets, hoping the throng would rush by and miss him. ‘They grab your hair and pull hard and it hurts like fire,’ he recalled. ‘You feel as if you're going to suffocate or be dismembered.’
Fans barricaded the entrance to the Churchill Hotel where the group stayed in London, preventing them from leaving the scene after their royal variety performance. Joseph called the police, who arrived with water hoses, which they unleashed on the fans. The next day, a nine-year-old girl threatened to use a knife on a hotel doorman unless he allowed her access to Michael's room. She was detained by the police. A Rolls-Royce limousine carrying the group sustained twelve thousand dollars' worth of damage when it was dented and scratched by young girls clawing to get to their idols. Later, as the Jacksons performed at the Talk of the Town nightclub, souvenir hunters stripped their limousine of its cushions, radio, lights, tyres…
It was this way wherever the brothers travelled on the rest of their tour, whether in Amsterdam, Brussels, Munich, Frankfurt or Paris.
Katherine Files for Divorce
Katherine Jackson had tolerated many years of unfaithfulness from Joseph. She knew he was cheating on her. Everyone knew. Joseph had been on the road with the boys for years and having brief encounters with their groupies. Not only had her friends told her, several of Joseph's more audacious girlfriends had telephoned the house over the years to brag about their encounters with him. ‘I don't want those women calling the house,’ she would scream at Joseph, sometimes in front of the children. ‘I'm sick of it, Joseph. Enough is enough.’ The reasons for Joseph's actions didn't matter to Katherine. She wasn't even sure she wanted him to stop his philandering, as she told one friend. She simply wanted him to be more discreet. ‘Do you have to play me for a fool?’ she would ask him, tearfully. A terrible rage began to fulminate in her. ‘Don't you dare treat me like I'm stupid,’ she screamed at him. ‘There's nothing worse than being made to feel this way.’
In truth, Joseph treated Katherine just as she had allowed him to treat her for as long as they'd been husband and wife. There was little reason for him to stop, as far as he was concerned. In his view, he worked hard for the Jacksons, he supported his family, he gave them a good life, so what he did on his free time was none of their concern, as long as he was present when they needed him.
In January 1973, Katherine learned that one of Joseph's girlfriends had become pregnant and had a miscarriage. At first, she couldn't believe it; it was more than she could bear. However, when she confirmed that it was true, she decided that she had no choice but to end the marriage. ‘It's over,’ she announced. ‘My marriage is over.’
Immediately, the children sided with her; oldest daughter Rebbie, who was twenty-three, couldn't bear to be in the same room with her father. ‘I don't know how my mother hung in there all those years,’ she later said. ‘She didn't need that heartache with everything she had to deal with, being a mother, supporting the children's performance, getting involved in the business end of things. It was too much. I encouraged her to leave him. I knew that he was damaging her spirit, that she couldn't possibly have peace of mind.’
The Jackson offspring had seen Joseph mistreat Katherine for so many years, they were happy to see her finally take a stand against him. ‘I hate Joseph,’ Michael said to one of the Motown staffers. ‘I hate him so much for what he has done to my mother. I hate him more than I can even say.’
‘But, Michael,’ the Motown employee said, ‘you shouldn't feel that way. After all, he's your father.’
‘I wish he wasn't my father, sometimes,’ said fourteen-year-old Michael. ‘I wish it with all of my heart. He's the loser here,’ Michael said. ‘His whole thing is always about winners and losers and who wins and who loses. With this thing, he loses. Big time.’
Katherine filed for divorce in Los Angeles on 9 March 1973.
Joseph was stunned. He had been controlling and manipulating Katherine for so many years, he couldn't fathom her righting back in this manner. He also knew that he could not live without her. Plus, they had a family, growing children. He had to change her mind. Who was going to raise all of those kids?
Katherine was faced with a dilemma when she and her attorneys began filling out the required forms. She didn't have a clue as to the value or extent of her community property with Joseph. She had no idea how much her husband – or her children – earned annually, or what the extent was of their now vast business enterprises. She didn't even know Joseph's social security number. Therefore, she had to leave two pages of questions regarding this personal information unanswered. Her lawyer, Neil C. Newson, typed on the form, ‘The information required in this declaration is currently being compiled. A separate amended financial declaration will be filed.’ Katherine paid her attorney $150 and then went back to the house on Hayvenhurst. She did not move out of the house, and neither did Joseph. They just didn't speak to each other.
‘When Motown heard that Katherine had filed for divorce, all hell broke loose,’ remembered one family friend. ‘This could have ruined everything in terms of their family image. All of those stories about how close they were, what a loving family they were… It had the potential to be a public relations disaster. It was decided by Gordy that no one was to know that Katherine and Joseph were splitting up. It would be a closely guarded secret by the press department. Today, you couldn't keep something like that out of the press, especially with a court filing. In the early seventies, the press wasn't as intrusive as they are today. The news was never leaked. However, Katherine was badgered constantly by company officials who tried to convince her to reconcile with Joseph for the sake of her family's image.’
‘I'm finished with Joseph,’ Katherine told one Motown official at a meeting to discuss the possible consequences of her decision. She looked bone-tired, recalled the lawyer. She wore a simple yet elegant black dress, pearls at her neck, a fine, diamond pin on her shoulder. Her hair was a jet black coif around her head. ‘It should have nothing to do with the boys' career,’ she said, firmly. They can still make records and be famous, and their parents can be divorced, and that will just have to be the end of it, I'm afraid.’
Though the Motown adviser was not convinced, her son, Michael, had made up his mind about his parents' marriage. ‘As far as I'm concerned, it's over,’ he told Diana Ross, according to a later recollection. ‘My father has hurt my mother, and that's all I need to know. That, to me, is the end of it.’
‘But people are so complicated,’ Diana told Michael, hinting at the complexity of Joseph's problems. ‘Who knows why they do the things they do.’
‘I know why,’ Michael insisted. ‘It's because Joseph is a bad man, that's why. My brothers are going down the same road,’ he concluded. ‘I can see it, already.’
After a couple of months, Katherine withdrew her divorce papers. Joseph promised her that he would try to change, and that she should not break up the family over his past behaviour. Much to the dismay of her children, Katherine and Joseph were reconciled.
The Downslide
Despite The Jackson 5's world-wide popularity with concert-goers, trouble was brewing where their record sales were concerned. In Europe, sales had always been uneven. However, record store performance in America had always been strong. By April 1972 though, whether from overexposure or lack of promotion, the group was losing steam. The April release of ‘Little Bitty Pretty One’, was a huge disappointment. Except for a seasonal release of ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’, it became the poorest-selling Jackson 5 single to date, netting only 590,629 copies, globally. Its follow-up, ‘Lookin' Through the Windows’, fared even worse: 581,426 copies. This was a terrible showing. (It is interesting, though, that this song marked a sudden sales resurgence in Britain – a Top 10 hit that was no doubt a consequence of their recent tour.) When ‘Corner of the Sky’, from the Broadway musical Pippin (which Gordy had financed), sold only a disappointing 381,426 copies worldwide, Joseph became irate.
‘What the hell is going on?’ he fumed. He began showing up at Motown, harassing the sales staff and badgering the promotion executives. The problem was that Berry Gordy was no longer personally involved in what was going on with the record company. Instead, he put in
charge a man named Ewart Abner, a seasoned executive in the recording industry by the time he got to Motown. For his part, Berry now devoted most of his time to Diana Ross's film career, and to establishing Motown Productions in the movie business. Although still Motown's chairman of the board, he was interested only in filmmaking, not in record production. A star vehicle for Diana Ross called Mahogany was in the works, a venture that would monopolize most of Berry's time.
At the time, Motown was capitalizing on a more socially conscious sound with Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. Perhaps The Jackson 5's audience had become hungry for a hipper sound than what they got with the group's next release, ‘Hallelujah Day’. It sold less than a quarter of a million discs; too bad, it was a terrific little record with leads shared by Michael, Marlon and Jackie.
In truth, Ewart Abner didn't care about The Jackson 5. He wasn't involved in signing them to the company, and he felt their best days were behind them. ‘They already had their own cartoon, for Christ's sake,’ he argued. ‘Why spend any more money on them?’ If sales figures were low and the group was losing its audience, it was the group's fault, not Motown's, he decided. With that point of view, it wasn't surprising that Joseph disliked Ewart Abner, and in an intense, passionate way.
When an album, Skywriter, was released in March and sold only 115,045 copies, it became the group's poorest-selling album. (It didn't even reach the Top 50 in Britain.) Joseph believed that all of the records which had been failures could have been more successful if Motown had simply promoted them properly.
There was a reprieve in the downward slide when producer Hal Davis put together a terrific track for the Jackson boys called ‘Get It Together’. The production was tight; the music, background vocals and Michael's maturing lead all blended nicely on this performance, a departure from the sweeter, pop music styles previously associated with the group. Released in August 1973, it sold over 700,000 copies. Though not a million-seller, it encouraged Joseph in his belief that his sons still had an audience. To his way of thinking, The Jackson 5 was not finished. If anything, he was finished… with Motown.
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