Michael's Secret Phone Calls

In May 1972 16 magazine promised to reveal some juicy secrets, gleaned from listening in on Michael and Jermaine's phone calls.

As usual, the teasers promised more than they delivered. First, we saw the banner headline on the cover, announcing:  MICHAEL JERMAINE Listen to Their Secret Phone Calls.

Right inside the front cover, we got another invitation, this time in the form of a full color glossy photo of  lovely Jermaine, asking the question: What do I talk about on the phone?

And in case you missed it, there was Michael inside the back cover, also in the form of a glossy color poster, begging us to turn to page 16 to find out his secrets:

By now, you're probably dying to know his secrets and surprises, right? But if you've read enough teen magazines, you probably think they're going to reveal their summer concert dates, don't you? Ah, but this is even better. In this case, it's not so much what Michael says on the phone as it is who he says it to. Read on.

Oldies Week: Sixteen Candles

Michael wasn't the first to sing an old hit from 1958 when he recorded "Rockin' Robin." The Jackson 5 themselves did it first with "Sixteen Candles," a song that was released in April 1971 on the group's fifth LP, Maybe Tomorrow.

The song was originally released in 1958 by The Crests:

So why why did the Jackson 5 ever record such a hokey, dated song? Well, we may have a couple of clues in the song itself. Jermaine sings the lead vocals, and he changes the lyrics in a significant way. Instead of singing what The Crests did:

Sixteen candles make a lovely light
But not as bright as your eyes tonight

Jermaine sings:

Sixteen candles make a lovely sight
But not as bright as your hazel eyes

Is it mere coincidence that Berry Gordy's daughter Hazel has just turned 16 a few months before the song first appeared on a Jackson 5 LP? Or that since Hazel was 15, Berry had known his daughter had such a huge crush on Jermaine that she wrote him over-the-top fan letters? Could it be that Berry had arranged to have Jermaine sing the song as a birthday surprise for Hazel when she turned 16 on August 24, 1970, and then liked it so much he decided to put it on the J5's next LP?

It's all speculation, of course, but the pieces do all fit together.

In Holland and Sweden, where "How Funky Is Your Chicken" was released as a single, "Sixteen Candles" was used as the B-side.


Whether is was an album cut or a single, it was never a popular song among fans, except for those young female fans about to turn 16. They all knew exactly who Jermaine was singing to.

TcB!'s Super Giant Color Pinups!

One of the best features of any teen fan magazine was the color posters they included in each issue. The creators of TcB! must have known how important they were because they highlighted them on the front of the magazine:



There are four color posters inside the issue. Right inside the front cover was an adorable poster of Michael.


And inside the back cover was a beautiful poster of Jermaine.

This marked the first time that any individual Jackson brother was featured in a full-color full-page glossy poster. By the end of 1970, many fans like me felt we should have been getting posters like this in the mainstream fan magazines. But it wasn't until TcB! came out that the brothers got their due. Of course, I wanted to see full-page glossy color posters for each of the brothers, but Michael and Jermaine were at least a start. The others would come in time in Right On! (but never in one of the mainstream mags, which only ever gave Michael and Jermaine the full-page color poster treatment reserved for the big stars).

But for me, the best poster in TcB! was the centerfold.

It was the first full-color glossy centerfold poster I ever had to hang on my wall. Its publication in TcB! marked the first time I had ever seen this photo (or the one that's the same pose where they are holding their gold records, which I use as my avatar on this blog).

The back of the magazine was a fourth color poster with a great photo that was obviously taken at the same time as the centerfold. It shows the brothers in a an adorable pyramid-type pose -- I always felt sorry for Tito and Jackie, bearing all that weight! -- with Michael in the middle blowing a bubble. Although the bubblegum covers up most of Michael's mouth, you can still see the edges of a smile around it. It looks like he was pleased with the pose and quite proud of the bubble.

The Subtle Knife

If we can believe the editors as Spec and 16 (and that's a big if), the Jackson 5 had a photo session scheduled with the teen magazine giant on Jermaine's 17th birthday. Everyone forgot Jermaine's birthday, it seems, except for the fine folks at 16/Spec who surprised him with a cake. The whole day was documented in their May 1972 issue, complete with the photo evidence and Spec's classic teen-cheese write up.


I had this pin-up of Jermaine hanging up on my bedroom wall and I looked at it daily for almost a year, but I never noticed until I saw the real photo from the session that Jermaine isn't actually holding a knife in his hands -- he's just pretending to cut the cake.


I don't know if they had planned to have their graphic artist draw the knife in later, or if they just thought no one would notice. I know I never did -- I was too busy looking at Jermaine's sweet face.

He is holding something in his hands though. I can't tell what it is, but the photographer obviously gave him something that would simulate a knife handle so he'd get the pose right.


As for the cake topper, I can't tell if it's John, Paul or George.

Love Gifts for Jermaine

Wait! Close that wallet! According to TcB! Jermaine would rather have something you have made yourself.


Off to work on my special prayer for Jermaine...

Rings and Crazy Hats

Jermaine's birthday is just around the corner. If you haven't done your shopping for him yet, you may want to check out 16's "All-Star Birthday and Gift Guide" from their January 1971 issue.


I never understood why the teen magazines included clothing sizes in these gift guides. Did anyone ever actually send Jermaine socks?

On the Road with Jackie

I bought an eBay lot a few months ago that included an interesting series of snapshots taken by someone who was obviously a fan of Jackie. Judging from Jackie's clothes, I'd say these were taken early in 1970. He's wearing a vest he wore a lot in the early days. In the first one, he's posing with an unidentified man (who looks official, even if anonymous).


And then things heat up a bit as the camera follows Jackie to his hotel room -- room 1229 to be exact.




Don't you wonder who was cut out of the picture?

The same lot had two snapshots taken on an airplane. I don't know if they were taken by the same person, or even at the same time. The first one is of the group's drummer, Johnny Jackson.


The second one shows Jermaine in the window seat (first class!), next to a kid about his age that I don't recognize. He looks kind of like Diana Ross's brother, Chico, but I can't imagine why he would be traveling with them, unless they were headed to their concert date in Detroit and he was along to visit family.

For some reason, everyone in this photo is wearing red socks. Maybe they were headed to Boston.

Song of the Week: My Cherie Amour

by Corey Sheppard

Jermaine Jackson was one of music’s first teen idols. His voice and bass playing sent thousands of girls through a frenzy. Jermaine (as said by J5C….numerous times) was the sex symbol out of the five boys. His chilled, mellow leads were the perfect opposite of Michael’s piping lead, but their two styles totally blended together. He was an integral part of the group, and was often looked at as the “fan favorite.”

Jermaine had shown potential from the very beginning and producer Bobby Taylor must’ve known it. Jermaine was given two tracks to record on the J5’s debut album Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5. One of the tracks chosen for Jermaine was a frantic version of the Temptations “(I Know) I’m Losing You.” As for the second cut, Bobby Taylor must have wondered: hmmm, what would be the perfect song for a growing 14-year old to sing to the young ladies……ding…a-ha Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour.”

Stevie Wonder was flying fresh off of one of his biggest hits that winter of 1969, when the J5’s version popped up on their debut album on December 18. Jermaine’s first lead comes right directly in the middle of the album, sandwiched in between Michael’s leads on the J5-original “You’ve Changed” and the masterpiece “Who’s Lovin’ You” (the perfect spot if you ask me).

I have always looked at Jermaine’s version of the tune as the acoustic, unplugged version of Stevie’s classic, if you will. With brushes being the only percussion being used, (also a triangle used in the intro and outro), and an acoustic guitar strumming beautifully throughout the song, it gives an opposite affect to Stevie’s version with his relying more on the string orchestra, and a prominent snare drum on the track. It definitely helped the soul-vibe of the track by it being recorded in Detroit, Michigan.

Being that this track is one of the first J5 recordings that we hear Jermaine singing on, we get a slight hint of Jermaine’s man-child voice. This record comes at in interesting time for Jermaine’s voice. He had a very raspy tone at this time. Jermaine’s voice would not fully change until late 1971, partially due Jermaine getting rid of his tonsils, and the other factor just being Mother Nature.

With that being said, I like his voice here. He sounds a lot better than most of the young boys that are out now (these kids now are just whining up a storm!!!). The main reason why I love Jermaine on this record is because he sings this song with a lot of passion. From his very beginning notes, to the finale (listen to the fade-out Jermaine is still wailing away till the very end of the take) this kid was extremely eager to make a statement.

My two favorite sections of this record are the intro and the bridge. The intro is nearly flawless (except for a slight flat note from the acoustic guitar at 0.14 ) and the bridge is simply excellent. The background vocals are a delight as well (it sounds like it might just be Michael and Jackie here). The brothers totally wrap themselves around the bridge leading in to the final verse (which is slowed down a bit). The harmonies and delivery from the boys is downright perfect. Who would expect this kind of delivery from young kids who haven’t even graduated from high school yet?


Once again, I recognize and appreciate Bobby Taylor’s versatility on this track. He created the perfect cool, relaxed instrumental for Jermaine and the boys to lay their vocals onto. No one would’ve thought to give the young group such a strong and emotional tune. But just like every other obstacle in the Jackson 5’s early career, they were successful in breaking through.

After this recording, the Jackson 5 had a long history and association with Stevie Wonder for many years. While only covering two more songs from the Wonder catalog, the Five collaborated with Stevie on his number one recording “You Haven’t Done Nothin.” Around the same time, Stevie Wonder returned the favor by giving the brothers a tune called “Buttercup” (a song speculated in the press around 1975, but not released until 2009) and according to sources a couple more songs including a song entitled “You’re Supposed to Keep Your Love For Me.” Ironically ten years later, Stevie Wonder found himself working side-by-side with Jermaine on the latter track and also on Jermaine’s top-ten single “Let’s Get Serious.” It must have been a real delight for Jermaine to be working with one of his mentors.

But now back to 1969. This record was very important for the boys (and especially Jermaine) in more ways than one. It showed Motown that Jermaine was quite capable of handling not only a lead vocal but a classic tune with a unique arrangement as well. Motown paid attention to this and less than six months later was given his first B-side entitled “I Found that Girl” (which actually replaced “My Cherie Amour” in the Five’s live concert act).

Because of the significance of this record (and the fact that I just simply adore the arrangement) I would say this is my favorite early Jermaine record. A major thanks goes to Bobby Taylor, for reintroducing Jermaine as a lead vocalist. Jermaine (more than likely) had only one shot to prove himself as a vocalist to the eyes of Motown. And luckily for all of us fans, he passed that test with flying colors!

Next Weeks Song Hint: Since You’ve Been Gone/I’m Just Not the Same Baby

- - - - - - -
Corey Sheppard, 20, has been a Jackson 5 fan since 1993. His favorite hobbies are listening to music, playing racquetball at the YMCA, and hanging out with friends. Corey’s life passion is centered on music. His latest project is an all-new production company shared with Robert White Jr. entitled "Ask About It Productions."

Just... Jermaine

I may have mentioned once or twice that Jermaine was my favorite brother when I was a young teen, dreaming of growing up to marry one of the Jackson 5. I wasn't alone in my passion -- Jermaine took his position as the group sex symbol early on (although, in retrospect, I can't see why Jackie wasn't considered the sex symbol instead. Too old, you think? Perhaps, but he was still a year younger than David Cassidy, and probably about 20 years younger than Bobby Sherman).

Anyway, I not only loved feasting my eyes on Jermaine's adorable face, perfect afro, and gorgeous body, I also loved his singing voice. In fact, I first fell for him when I heard him singing his lead parts in "Stand" on The Ed Sullivan Show. "I Found That Girl" was my favorite Jackson 5 song and I would still place it in my top five. Songs with Jermaine leads were just a bit more mellow and mature -- more appropriate for someone at the ripe old age of 13.

When I first heard that Jermaine was working on a solo album, I was ecstatic. I couldn't wait for an entire LP with Jermaine singing lead vocals. I even had a title picked out for the album -- Just... Jermaine. (I never got word through to Motown on that one.)

I can clearly remember the day when I first saw the album. I was in the record section of a downtown department store called Younkers. And there was Jermaine, on display.


Oh, my God, he had never looked so perfect, so cute. It didn't even bother me too much that they had given the album such an uninspired name, like they thought it was going to be Jermaine's only solo album. I stared at the cover for a long time before turning it over to see what he sang, noting that there was another adorable picture of him on the back. He's holding a stick (he's holding a stick!) and looking very pensive. Soulful. Just... Jermaine.


I recognized some of the song titles -- "Ain't That Peculiar," a great Marvin Gaye song; "Homeward Bound," okay, why not, he did a good job on "Bridge Over Troubled Water," I'll give it a try; "If You Were My Woman," hmmm... Gladys Knight song? I'll have to see... The other songs I didn't know, but I would soon enough because I played that album over and over again for the rest of the summer and into the fall.

Nothing, however, prepared me for the surprise awaiting me when I got the album home and took the cellophane off.


Are you kidding me?! Are you kidding me?! Unbelievable! I had to run and call my best friend Janet to come over to look at my new Jermaine album, even though her favorite brother was Tito. We spent the afternoon, sprawled out on the floor with the album open, staring at Jermaine while we listened to all his new songs, over and over again. Then Janet's mom called and she had to go home. So it was back to just... Jermaine -- and me.

Seeing Jermaine and Randy in D.C.

Here's a funny blog post by a woman who ran into Jermaine and Randy at a restaurant in Washington, D.C.

Back in town and with the Jacksons

Why doesn't this sort of random encounter happen to me? The only brush with fame I had on my last trip was with Connie Chung and Maury Povich, who were staying in the same hotel as me. And I didn't even see them -- my sister and her husband shared an elevator with them.

J5 Fashion Friday: Hair and Make Up

Most of the photos we have of the Jackson 5 show them posing in very carefully planned photo sessions, but we rarely get a look of the Five behind the scenes, making themselves beautiful for their close ups. Here are some rare shots of Michael, Marlon and Jermaine getting ready for photos shoots.

First up is Michael, getting his make up applied, followed by a captioned photo that makes it seems as if he is seeing make up for the first time in his life.





Next is Marlon, being helped into his snakeskin suit for the African-inspired suits the brothers posed in in 1970.



Here's Marlon having his make up applied. If you look behind him, you'll see a rack of shirts for the brothers to change into during the course of the photo session.





Marlon's ready to go but Papa Joe has to put a few finishing touches on his hair.



Jermaine puts on his own finishing touches...



...and admires himself in the mirror.

"To Yvonne..."

I never met the Jackson 5 in person, so all the autographed items I have added to my collection over the years have been signed for people who will be forever anonymous to me -- with one exception. The autographed 8 x 10 glossy you see here was signed by Jermaine for Yvonne Fair (you have to click on the photo to get an enlarged version in order to see "To Yvonne" written in Jermaine's afro). Fair was a singer who signed with Motown shortly after the Jackson 5 did, and who worked as their opening act in 1971, sandwiched between the Commodores and the Jackson 5.

By the time she signed with Motown, she had already had a long career as a professional, starting in the 1950s as a replacement singer for the Chantels, and then as a featured singer with James Brown from 1962 to 1965. After that she joined the Chuck Jackson Revue for a few years before she signed with Motown. She even had a small role as a raunchy club singer in the 1972 movie Lady Sings the Blues, where she shocked young Billie Holiday (Diana Ross) with her performance of "The Low-Down Shuffle Blues."

We can only imagine how difficult it must have been for her to have paid her dues for so many years, only to be put on the bill with a headlining group whose lead singer had not yet been born when she started in the business. In addition, she had to perform her mature set, night after night, in front of a group of over-excited pre-teens and teens who had already sat through an over-long act by the Commodores, and just wanted her to get off the stage so they could see their idols.

The May 1971 Rolling Stone cover story actually gave quite a bit of ink to Yvonne Fair's opening act in their description of the Jackson 5's January 30 concert in Columbus, Ohio. They recounted this hilarious conversation between Fair and a teenage J5 fan in the audience:

Yvonne: "This song is for like young ladies with men who have a habit of taking everything — we mean from clothes to money to... whatever." She goes into "Piece of My Heart." Then a break. She moves back and points to her stage-prop man, the Commodores' lean young bass player. This is her property, she tells her audience. "He's mine."

Teenage girl: You can have it!

Yvonne: He ain't much, but he's mine. [To bass man, heatedly:] You don't got to go show off!

Girl: He ain't got much to show!

Yvonne: Pose more, honey, pose more.

Girl: He's gonna have to pose a whole lot!

Yvonne: What you see is what you get!

Girl (and friends): Right on!

At Motown she worked with producer Norman Whitfield and she released a few singles, including a great version of "Funky Music Sho' 'Nuff Turns Me On," with backing vocals by Marvin Gaye. But she released just one LP with Motown, The Bitch Is Black, from 1975. Happily, it has recently been reissued on cd. Yvonne Fair was a great singer and deserves to be remembered.

She died in 1994 and took with her the secret of how this autographed photo of Jermaine came into her possession. Sure, she would have been seeing him on a regular basis in 1971, but this photo is a bit later than that. Did Jermaine just assume that, since she was female, she would want an autographed picture of him? Or did she ask him for it? She did, after all, seem to have a thing for "lean young bass players."

Double Delight

When Jackson 5's third single, "The Love You Save," was issued on May 16, 1970, Motown found that it had two hits -- and two J5 lead singers -- on its hands. There was the upbeat A-side of the single, and the slow tempo, more mellow B-side "I Found That Girl," with lead vocals by Jermaine, the group's bass player. At 16, Jermaine was the right age to be a teen heart-throb. It didn't hurt that his good looks, shy demeanor, and sexy singing voice drove all the girls wild.

In the early years, Michael was the obvious stand-out in the group, with his talent and stage presence. Michael was entertaining, but Jermaine was the one we all wanted to go home with. The Corporation-penned song "I Found That Girl," seemed to be custom-made for Jermaine and his female fans, who could all fantasize that he was singing about them. When the single came out, it was issued as a double A-side, and color vinyl promo copies of "I Found That Girl" were sent to radio stations, along with "The Love You Save."



It climbed the charts throughout the summer of 1970 and Jet magazine's Soul Brothers Top 20 during that time showed it neck to neck with "The Love You Save."


One of the coolest things about the new Jackson 5 Live at the Forum cd is that we get to hear two different versions of "I Found That Girl," the first recorded on June 20, 1970, soon after the song had come out, and the second recorded two years later on August 26, 1972 when Jermaine's sex symbol status had been well established. It's fascinating to hear how he works the crowd, in the earlier version as the soft-spoken boy next door who, on Jackie's prodding, shyly points out the girl he's found ("She's the one over there in the yellow dress."), and two years later as the smooth superfly who teases the audience ("My rap is too heavy for them. They can't dig it.") Both songs end with Jermaine singing an extra song-within-the song that starts "Won't you take me with you?" Girls regularly fainted at J5 concerts when Jermaine sang that line. In some cases they even stormed the stage, trying to get to him. Just a few weeks before the 1972 concert at the Forum, Jermaine had been mobbed by 6,000 fans at Chicago's Midway airport.


And by then he was already secretly dating Hazel Gordy, so he had indeed found his girl. Perhaps that's why he could make the song sound so convincing.

Guitar Heroes

I love these two early picture of the J5's own Warriors of Rock, Tito and Jermaine, who just happened to take their guitars to the beach.

When Jermaine Was the Baby of the Family

Once in a while, pieces of the Jackson brothers' schoolwork comes up for auction. I have no real interest in collecting Marlon's math papers or Randy's spelling tests, but I couldn't resist this autobiographical piece written by Jermaine at age 15, where he talks of his early life. He writes in an odd -- and rather inconsistent -- third person voice and he dwells so much on being the baby of the family that it's pretty clear he wouldn't have minded being the youngest of four. At the end of his essay, he talks about "this young man" (i.e. Jermaine) growing up to be the singer of the family. It must have been harder for him than we have realized to have had his little brother push him out of the spotlight.

It's also pretty clear from this essay that the Jackson brothers missed out on a lot of formal education, due to being on the road from the time they were small. The teachers at the Walton School must have had their work cut out for them dealing with show-business children in similar situations.