1968 Conqueror of American Rock - Chapter 148



Only Noblemtl

148. Save the King of Pop (2)

Annie, who had promised to change her image with a soft song, completely captured Diana Ross’ heart with her explosive performance of ‘I’ll Be There’ like Mariah Carey.

The fantastic chemistry between Stella’s older sister and Angela, who appeared on stage as a chorus and piano player, also played a big role.

As expected, Annie was actually invited to Diana Ross’s house. Of course, her sisters Stella and Angela were with her.

“Did you sing so passionately because you were going to change your image? You’re a rocker through and through, hahaha.”

“I don’t know. I just had this energy boiling up without me knowing, but when I tried to hold it in and sing, it got so tense that it just exploded.”

It was a stage that could have been boring if it had been a Michael Jackson impersonation. Annie changed the sad original song into a bright atmosphere. Diana must have been attracted to that part.

“But it wasn’t just for that reason. There was a strange sense of sadness when Michael Jackson sang ‘I’ll Be There.’ It was more than just savoring the lyrics of the song; he didn’t sound like a twelve-year-old boy.”

Now I’ve gone beyond acknowledging this feeling and have come to believe in it.

“Actually, I felt that way too. If you ever meet him, try talking to Michael.”

“Hehe, I asked him after the recording was over. He said he’s in LA right now. When I told him I’m a huge Michael Jackson fan, he said he’d let me meet him. Isn’t that awesome? Hahaha.”

But you can’t say that Michael Jackson was being abused, how do you explain this······.

“Annie, did you know that back in the day, Queen had a bad manager and had to perform like crazy but didn’t get paid much?”

“I know. But I heard there are a lot of those kinds of guys in the music industry. Bad guys······.”

“Tom Waits almost signed an unfair contract recently. And I heard this from a producer, but there are people who exploit their children by making them celebrities. Since that’s a family affair, the children can’t help but stay quiet.”

It’s just a story I made up, but it’s probably a story that could happen somewhere. It’s also a story that happened in the future where I lived.

“No, what kind of trash parents are there!”

Being a bad parent was a very sensitive trigger for Annie.

“By the way, did you know that my dad is the manager of the Jackson 5?”

“Is it true?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think they’re exploitative or anything. Their sons are the best in the music industry. How pretty and lovely they must be.”

“Michael is especially cute. He’s also the best at it. Surely, that would never happen.”

In this way, I planted a tiny seed of doubt in Annie. Now, all that was left was to wait for that seed to grow.

* * *

“Again! Again! The beat is a little off! Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, you don’t dance much, but you can’t keep the beat as well as Michael?”

He slammed his belt on the floor with a “bang.”

Joseph Jackson trained his children, who were already at the top, rigorously. On days when there were no performances, they practiced for long hours without fail.

“Michael, you’re all good, but when you sing ‘I’ll Be There,’ could you make your expression a little less sad? That song isn’t a sad song, it’s a love song.”

Joseph glared at Michael, holding his leather belt rolled up in one hand.

“Yes······I will do that.”

“Don’t just say things like that!”

Michael shivered.

After all that terrifying practice, it was time for the whole family to gather for dinner.

“Hey kids, today we’re having your favorite turkey dish.”

The Jackson brothers’ mother, Catherine, was the only person Michael could rely on. Michael was able to endure the tough practice hours because he could see his mother even for a short while.

Michael sat next to his mother at every meal, with his younger brother Randy Jackson and his youngest sister Janet Jackson sitting close to him.

“thank you for this food!”

It was a turkey dish that other people could only eat on Thanksgiving. When the Jackson family lived in the slums, it was a dish they couldn’t even eat on holidays. Now, thanks to the success of the Jackson Five, it’s a dish they can eat on weekdays.

“Congratulations on winning first place again, our beloved sons!”

The nine brothers and sisters began to enjoy the food their mother prepared.

“Jackson Five, you guys, pack up after dinner. We’re going to stay at Diana’s for a few days. I heard the Kings have started a music radio station. They’re a bunch of unlucky white guys, but the Kings are a force to be reckoned with. It wouldn’t hurt to know them.”

Michael’s face lit up. Diana was Michael’s second favorite person after his mother. He still didn’t know what love was, but he loved everything about her.

‘I miss you soon, Diana.’

I felt like I could go to sleep tonight with an excited heart.

* * *

Aerosmith comes to LA.

It was the appearance of young men before their debut. Steven Tyler had already been wearing a fancy flower boy shirt, bell-bottom pants, horse shoes, and a long muffler around his neck since his 20s.

Huh, this isn’t a performance costume, it’s everyday clothes.

Five members signed with our CW, and I personally took them around and introduced them to the company.

“Hey, it’s pretty big for a new company, huh?”

Steven Tyler opened his huge mouth.

“It was a much smaller building than this one when we first started. We were lucky enough to debut at Woodstock, so we were able to move here pretty quickly.”

The members probably had no idea that a company they founded in a small country like Korea would grow to this scale. I guided them to a dedicated practice room.

“Wow, how much does all this equipment cost······. There’s even a guitar amp I’ve never seen before?”

Brad Whitford, who plays guitar in the band with Joe Perry, looked at the Leopard 1970 amp and asked:

“That’s an amp that James developed. It sounds really hot. We’re going to record our first album with that amp too, haha.”

Joe Perry explained excitedly.

“You will practice here in the future, perform at clubs, and even appear on KMTV.”

I gave a brief introduction to KMTV to the Aerosmith members from Boston.

“If it’s The Tonight Tonight Show, is it like The Ed Sullivan Show?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s a talk show and there are various segments in it. We also introduce the Billboard charts.”

“Haa······ If it’s Billboard, the Jackson 5 are sweeping it······.”

Steven Tyler sighed.

“Steven, we’re a rock band. Of course, black music like the Jackson 5 or the Supremes are easier to listen to, but we have our own charm. Let’s not be too obsessed with the charts.”

“James is right, Steven. We have a goal of making authentic American rock. Let’s not lose our original intention. Just being able to put out an album like this is a huge accomplishment for us.”

Joe Perry was also the centerpiece of the band.

“But you know, I’m not racist at all, but the Jackson Five. They have a bad reputation.”

Steven Tyler has a rather complicated lineage. His father is of Italian and German descent, his mother is of Polish and English descent, and his maternal grandfather is from Ukraine. There was even a black man on his father’s side going back five generations.

“What rumor?”

“Oh, this is it. The way the father of the Jackson Five trains his sons is really harsh. They say he even uses violence. I didn’t believe it at first. But when I was in high school, I worked as a staff member for a local contest. I didn’t mean to see it, but I heard a loud noise in the waiting room, so I heard it outside the door. The father was swearing like crazy. I could even hear the sound of a whip being cracked.”

“If a father were to educate his children, he might get angry. They are still young.”

Joe Perry also had an expression on his face that said, “Surely that wouldn’t happen.”

“I also thought that the kids had made a big mistake. But Bob, who worked with me there, worked in the same factory as Joseph Jackson, and he had a really bad personality. He said that because he had failed in music, he would make his sons the best band no matter what. This is a country like America where black people can only succeed if they become soldiers, athletes, or entertainers. At the time, the Jackson family lived in a really poor slum called Gary, Indiana.”

Steven Tyler reiterated that he was by no means a racist, and told of the miserable lives of poor black people and instances of domestic violence he had heard about from a black colleague named Bob.

“Robert Johnson, Billie Holiday, Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix… The lives of legendary black artists were not all smooth sailing….”

My heart sank as each name came out of Stephen’s mouth. I knew all about their miserable lives······.

* * *

Thanks to Steven Tyler, I had a good excuse. I went back home and called the three women Diana had invited. And I told them what I had heard, adding a little more spice to it.

“Hey, really? You would do that to your precious children, even if you put them in your eyes. And they’re doing so well right now.”

“No, Sister. I don’t believe that. The humans who gave birth to me abandoned the child they loved so much. What James said is entirely possible. Of course, I hope not.”

The seeds of doubt planted in Annie are beginning to sprout.

“America is a country with more serious racism than you might think. Just like how we have been liberated but still have a strained relationship with Japan, even though we were liberated a long time ago, they can never forget their history of being slaves.”

“James is right. In fact, there are still groups of white people in the United States who look down on and despise black people. There have been many riots over this issue. It is also true that there are an overwhelming number of poor black people compared to white people. This is a very complicated and difficult problem······.”

Angela was white, but she grew up in the church and had egalitarian ideas.

“So, the US military in Korea was naturally divided into clubs for white people and clubs for black people.”

Annie nodded too.

“Well, Asians are no slouch when it comes to racism. I was bullied badly by black people when I first came to Las Vegas.”

“really?”

Annie told Angela about Stella’s experiences in Las Vegas.

“Ah······ You guys are really going too far.”

“Angela, that’s nothing. James and I are told that if we go to Korea, we’ll be treated like total monsters.”

Angela was shocked to hear that mixed race people were not looked upon favorably in Korea in the 1960s.

“Anyway, James, don’t worry. You know my animal instincts? I’ll be on high alert and observing. Anyway, lend me your camera. I’ll take a picture with Michael Jackson.”

I took Annie aside under the pretense of teaching her how to use the camera and worked hard to sow the seeds of her doubt.

Sister Stella was a person whose reason governed 90% of her actions, while Angela was a person who could control her emotions about 50% through the power of religion.

But who is Annie? She is someone whose emotions take up more than 90% of her time.

Seed of doubt, grow and flourish.