Michael Jackson's single white glove was his trademark,
an iconic image for a perfomer whose career constantly set, then redefined pop culture trends.
More than the black fedora, the white socks in the loafers,
or the red leather jacket.
The single glove, made famous in his music video of "Billie Jean",
Became a Jackson trademark.
He was dubbed "The Gloved One".
Welcome to the detail, and in this video we are investigating the relationship
the "King of Pop" had with his single glove,
Where did it come from, and why did he wear it.
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Nearly 40 years ago, John Kehe, a music head at Hollywood film production company,
claims to be the fortunate eyewitness to the
pivotal moment when Jackson met the glove.
The "true glove story".
Kehe was commissioned to design the music video
for Michael Jackson and his brothers in 1980.
The designated single for their new album was "Can you feel it".
After a brainstorming session and an acapella performance of the song by Michael
at the kickoff meeting, Kehe was asked to take Michael on a tour through
production facilities at the company.
There they encountered the Chief Film Editor, Rick Ross.
He was cutting and slicing a TV commercial.
Rick was wearing a short white cotton glove on his left hand,
as he ran the film through his fingers.
Michael, who hadn't shown any particular enthusiasm so far, seemed
seemed suddenly transfixed by the glove
and politely asked a number of questions about it,
concluding with "could you spare one?".
And the rest, they say, is history.
But what drew him to the glove in particular?
On a more somber note, some say that the main driver for Jackson to wear the glove
was an early effort to mask his skin condition that he would struggle with for the rest of his life.
Vitiligo.
Actress Cicely Tyson, a friend of Jackson's, said
that the two shared a fashion designer in the 1980s.
All of a sudden, he said "I'm doing this glove for Michael" she said.
Michael was starting to develop vitiligo and it started on his hand.
The glove was to cover the vitiligo, and that's how the glove came into being.
This may have been the case, as we can see even as a child,
Michael Jackson was developing patches on his fingertips,
and the artist did make other attempts to cover his hands,
and in particular his fingertips
while not wearing the glove.
But Jackson never wore the glove all the time, it was
obviously influenced by performance and the desire to be memorialized
with an iconic image
like so many of his idols in music and cinema before him.
So that does beg the question again. Why the glove?
Michael Jackson's performance style was heavily influenced by the
likes of Charlie Chaplin, and mime artists like Marcel Marceau.
Jackson shared how much in awe he was of the performer, and how he would define the laws of gravity.
The two developed a friendship over the last several decades.
Jackson said that his Moonwalk steps were inspired by Marcel
(Even though previously we did confirm that Michael Jackson did NOT invent the Moonwalk)
Mime is a form of entertainnment that uses gestures, mimics, and dance, not words,
to communicate and entertain.
In the past, the purpose of the gloves was to help the audience be able to see the performer
from far away or in poor lightning.
Today, it is a method to extend movement and amplify the artists' performance.
Similarly, another performer, Bob Fosse, wore gloves as part of this performance,
in which, is said, Michael Jackson was greatly inspired by,
and modeled his signature moves on. The contrast between the full-black silhouette
and the stark desert location added drama and slick contrasts
that appealed to the artist and reflects his own personal performance style
and iconic imagery.
The single white glove, later covered in silver sequins,
made it's TV debut on Michael Jackson's left hand during his stunning performance of "Billie Jean" at Motown's
25th Anniversary TV Special in 1983.
It became the "King of Pop"'s wardrobe icon for the rest of his career,
worn by Jackson and his multi-millions of adoring fans the world over.
Thank you for watching the detail.
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We'll see you next time.