Dancing Machine

The Jackson brothers must have endured dozens of photo sessions in the early 1970s, both as a group and as individuals. Many of the photos that were taken ended up in teen magazines, including the Motown-produced all-J5 fan magazine TcB!. I have sometimes been lucky enough to find the original photos that were used, and once in a while, I have found the mother lode for photo collectors: contact sheets from an individual shoot.

About twenty years ago, I connected with a dealer who had some of the teen magazine archives, including the original photos from TcB!. I wish I had had the money to buy everything he had, but unfortunately, I didn't so I had to settle for selections. They included this wonderful contact sheet for Jackie's photoshoot for the Jackson 5 dancing pinups. Jackie was fond of fringed vests, and from the photos, it looks like he really got a kick out of the effect his twirling movements had on the fringe. There is an expression of pure delight on his face in these photos.



The contact sheet is dated September 29, 1970. The photo they ultimately selected for the pinup is circled with red grease pencil, and three others, circled in green, were cropped and used as spot photographs in TcB!

And here's the actual J5 Dancing Pinup that was printed in TcB! in the spring of 1971: