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.

Michael Monday: Digging Mathis, Three Dog Night

The very first issue of Right On! (October 1971) carried a four page piece with Michael talking about his favorite actor and his favorite music artists.



Some of his choices were surprising at the time -- especially Johnny Mathis as his favorite singer, when most of us only knew him from records our Grandmas had. But Michael was so consistent with his responses for so many years that we all soon got used to his eclectic tastes.

He cited his favorite group as Three Dog Night, and said his favorite song from them was "Mama Told Me Not to Come." Rumor has it that the Jackson 5 recorded a cover version of this song, but I find it hard to believe, because it seems so wildly inappropriate for young teens to record. But here is the original, performed live by Three Dog Night, so you can judge for yourself. Can you picture 13-year-old Michael singing this?

Rappin' with Tito Jackson

One of the nicest things about Right On! magazine was that it included regular feature articles on all the Jackson brothers, not just Michael and Jermaine, as was the case with the white teen magazines. The first issue of Right On! from October 1971 carried this two-page article about Tito, in which he talks about the music business and his life on the road. Unlike most teen mag fodder, this interview transcript sounds like it may have been Tito's actual musings. And how groovy is the accompanying photo showing him blowing a bubble?