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.