Randy the Ham

In the early years of the Jackson 5, little brother Randy was often in the shadows. So on those rare occasions where he was included, he made sure people noticed him. Big arms was one technique he used...




Jumping over his brothers was another...


I've always wondered what this scene looked like once Randy landed.

J5 Fanfiction?

I always thought that fanfiction -- at least outside the Star Trek fandom -- was a relatively recent phenomenon. But back in their January 1974 issue, Right On! not only published a work of fan fiction, they encouraged it with introduction on a new column called "Creation Station."

In this bit of creative writing, a fan named Gerrie (coincidentally the name of the author), attends a Jackson 5 concert, and has a premonition that a "speaker or something" falls from the ceiling, landing on Randy's hands and damaging them forever. Gerrie, of course, is able to save Randy's livelihood -- and possibly his life -- by getting the attention of "Ronnie or Johnnie, whoever is on the drums" (Gerrie wasn't terribly precise), who is able to jump in and push Randy out of harm's way. Oh, you just have to read it for yourself.



Gerrie may be a prototype of Mary Sue. Or she may be a variant of another character with a similar-sounding name -- Stephen King's Carrie. After all, speakers don't usually just fall from the ceiling onto people's hands all on their own.

What Color Is Your Parachute?

I've always loved the sepia-toned photos on the cover of the Jackson 5's 1973 LP, Skywriter. The photos on the front and the back were made to look like old photos, and the clothes the boys wore also went with the vintage look of the bi-plane they are posing around.



So it came as a surprise to me the first time I saw this shot from the Skywriter photo session in living color. I had never imaged they were all wearing colorful scarves, or that the plane itself was red.


And it came as an even bigger surprise to me the first time I came across photos from this session that included Randy.


Okay, so here's what I wonder... were there plans to include Randy on the LP sleeve? This album would have been released shortly after Randy started making regular television appearances and touring with his brothers. And it's not as if Randy would have just wandered into a photo shoot, as it sometimes appeared at around this time. Here he is, for example, looking like he horned his way into the Lookin' through the Windows photo session.


But, no, the Skywriter photo session involved obvious costuming. It's not as if Randy would have been wandering around Southern California in a bomber jacket, aviator cap and goggles.


To add to the mystery, Randy was also included in a brief filmed Motown promo that showed all the brothers in their Skywriter gear, jumping into the screen with parachutes, each one saying his name as he jumped into view. At the end, Randy comes in with "Me, too, I'm Randy!"

So what gives? Do these photos -- and the promo -- provide evidence that Motown was on the fence about whether to give Randy his due as a full member of the Jackson 5? Were they holding him in reserve, in case Michael should decide to leave the group for his solo career, as was the pattern with other lead singers of Motown groups? Or were they just humoring a little kid who wanted to do what his big brothers were doing? I don't suppose we'll ever know for sure, but these photos sure are intriguing.

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: Wardrobe Malfunction

My all-time favorite television performance by the Jackson 5 was the one they did for a musical variety special called Hellzapoppin', which aired on March 1, 1972. They performed three songs. First up was a rousing version of "Sugar Daddy." Check out the jumps in the dancing at the end of the number:



Their second number was a medley that began with a full version of Michael's first solo single "Got to Be There." Michael's voice is wonderful here, and the backing vocals by his brothers are superb. It's great to hear it without the annoying double-tracking that was used on the vinyl release, which made Michael sound like he was singing in an echo chamber. Mid-way through the performance, they raise the tempo, kick up the dancing, and sing an original song, "Brand New Thing," something they performed in concert to introduce little brother, Randy. He was just ten at the time, and it was his first appearance on television. You would never know it from the polished performance he turns in, owning the stage from the moment he struts in, gives Jermaine some skin, and then dances over to his conga drums for a percussive solo. Seeing this, it's not so hard to imagine that just six years later he would co-write the Jacksons' hit "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" with his big brother, Michael.



And Randy is cute as can be, in his little orange sailor suit. Which brings us to our Fashion Friday. (You knew I'd get there, right?) Randy's sailor suit was actually part of a matched set of costumes, designed for the brothers to wear on the show. A photo spread in the April 1972 issue of Star! showed the brothers performing in these matching outfits, and included color pin ups of Michael and Jermaine wearing the orange suits.






But when the show aired, only Randy's orange costume remained. We can only guess that the photos used in Star! were taken at a dress rehearsal, and that, for some reason, they were switched out before final filming. If you look at the set behind them in these photos or on the Youtube clips, it's pretty clear that the costumes were designed to go with the set. And perhaps that was the issue -- they went with the set too well, so well, in fact, that the brothers were indistinguishable from it. Talk about blending in with the scenery!

16 magazine also featured a photo spread from Hellzapoppin', but their reporter apparently stayed past the run-through. Like Star!, they discussed the brothers' "dandy duds" with the usual purple prose, but they were, at least, describing the costumes the rest of us saw.

Backstage at the Forum 1972

I love these photos of Michael entertaining his little brother Randy while waiting to go onstage at the L.A. Forum in 1972. They may have been amazingly talented and accomplished performers but backstage, they were just kids.

Happy Birthday to Rebbie and La Toya

Even though Rebbie doesn't celebrate holidays, I wanted to acknowledge the birthday she and La Toya share. Here they are years ago in the pool with the two youngest members of the Jackson family, Randy and Janet.