Being bandmates with your siblings sounds like it could be the best thing
in the world. But in reality, it could be an absolute nightmare.
Today, the Jackson Five is finally remembered for their bubblegum pop tunes,
perfectly coordinated dance moves and characteristically 70s costumes.
The public's first introduction
to who would eventually be known worldwide as the King of Pop.
However, before Michael Jackson took the mic stand, the group had another lead
singer who had to step down as a result, his older brother Jermaine.
While the chemistry between Michael and Jermaine outwardly looked pleasant
during their time in the Jackson Five, these performing brothers soon developed
a sibling rivalry that became especially fierce years after the group's Motown
heyday. Jermaine Jackson
being the only other brother to enjoy any major success as a solo artist,
his music career was very much overshadowed by his younger brother.
This jealousy and competition over
the years resulted in the two beefing with each other during the 1980s
with their prolonged feud culminating in the release of a 1991 diss track.
However for Jermaine,
family always came before show business, and questioned his brother's loyalty
as he soared into new cataclysmic heights
of superstardom. Michael was undeniably the Jackson family's biggest star.
However, the bigger the star the harder the fall,
and as Michael faced allegations,
numerous attacks and career takedowns, Jermaine remained the sibling that most
often and most consistently came to Michael's public defense,
leading all the way up to his untimely death in 2009 and beyond.
Here's the story of the complicated
stardoms, musical rivalries and family dynamics of Michael and Jermaine Jackson.
Here's the detail.
Early days
Jermaine La Jaune Jackson was born on December 11th, 1954 in Gary, Indiana.
He was the fourth child of parents Joseph and Katherine Jackson.
While his father worked long hours as
a crane operator at the local steel mill, Jermaine and his brothers, Tito and Jackie,
secretly practiced songs using their father's prized guitar.
One night in 1964, after Tito accidentally broke a string on his father's instrument,
the trio were forced to own up to their late night practicing.
The enraged patriarch then, out of anger,
made his boys demonstrate their newfound musicianship.
This performance inspired Joe to manage
their new pursuit, naming them the Jackson Brothers.
By the end of 1965, Jermaine's younger brothers Marlon
and Michael also joined, creating what would become the Jackson Five.
After the group won a talent contest held at Jackie's High School,
the Jackson Five began taking their performances more seriously.
At that time, Jermaine was the original lead singer of the band. Until 1966,
when younger brother Michael began singing lead vocals
after his mother witnessed at home,
his extraordinary vocal ability blossoming.
Moving Jermaine from the band's lead singer to backup singer and bassist.
Each of the Jacksons have shared how tight
their brotherhood was during those early years.
They rehearsed together, played shows and shared private spaces,
sleeping in a three level bunk bed in their bedroom in Gary.
Jermaine Jackson calling it their first dressing room.
The brothers worked long hours
and performed in several low class nightclubs before securing a spot
at the famous amateur night competition at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.
The group won the contest impressing Motown CEO, Berry Gordy, who awarded
the group a record contract in 1968.
Going Hollywood
Once launched at a nationwide level, the group became wildly successful
with their first releases making history as the first recording act to score four
consecutive hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 'I
Want You Back', 'ABC', 'The Love You Save' and 'I'll Be There',
were all songs that wouldn't be the same
without the vocal contributions of both Michael and Jermaine.
What has often been referred to as a call in response duet.
The chemistry that Michael and Jermaine had in The Jackson Five early hits added
distinct personality and contributed to their own signature sound.
Even though Michael was the standout star of the Jackson Five, he knew how important
of a role his older brother played in the magic they possessed on stage.
Quote, growing up, it was Jermaine I focused on.
He'd walk me to school, I'd get his handmedown clothes.
It was his voice that I first imitated.
I loved his sound.
He showed me the way.
In more recent years, Jermaine has shared his and Michael's very close bond
in their early years of famous success.
They often shared a room together with their father Joseph next door.
Who wanted to keep an eye or an ear out for his two lead singers.
Quote, Michael and I seemed to spend all
our downtime together in those days and the bond between us was sealed tight.
I cannot remember an argument or a fight in our childhood.
Michael looked up to me, I looked out for him.
On stage, he was always to my right.
In hotels, he was always in the bed to the left.
If I couldn't see Michael and know he was okay, I didn't feel at ease.
So when did this so called rivalry between Michael and Jermaine come from?
Well, it most likely started
with the Motown press department and then was fed to industry media outlets as
a device to promote the band. The Jackson Five
and their latest record wasn't the only
thing marketed towards their young female devotees.
But fans were encouraged to get to know the brothers as individuals.
Who's the funny one? The sporty one? Or the more intellectual one?
It seems to always be the case that band members are compared against each other.
What special sauce does each member bring to the collective?
Of course, fans would have their
favorites, which would often incite heated debates on school playgrounds.
Only stirring up more interest and enthusiasm for the group and its members,
but for different reasons.
Some may have loved Michael for his cherubic smile and energetic performances,
when others may have been drawn to Jermaine for giving the band a more
mature edge in his status as a teen heartthrob.
The Jackson Five was a musical act, but they were more importantly, brothers.
And just like all families, rivalries and competition between siblings
can form seemingly out of nowhere. Without the encouragement of outside influences,
whether in the form of music executives,
fan magazines or opinion polls. The record label was just as much as
the public, crafting a rivalry between the brothers,
starting with their first solo albums. Michael and Jermaine's solo projects were
created to contribute to and strengthen the overall Jackson Five brand.
However, the press was quick to create a rivalry, asking each of them during
interviews how it felt to now compete on the music charts.
As early as 1972, news reporters were asking Michael when he
was planning to leave the group and start a fully realized solo career.
You just issued a single record on your own, not with the rest of the group.
Now, sometimes when that happens
in a group, everybody says he's going to leave and go off on his own.
Is that what you're going to do?
No.
Why did you issue that single on your own?
Well, they put out a single like one
record, then they'll put another one out. It's called 'Got To Be There'.
But what the media presented as a rivalry between artists was likely no more than
healthy competition between two naturally determined brothers.
As lead vocalists in the group, Michael and Jermaine were the only two
to launch their own solo careers while still members of the Jackson Five.
Like Michael, Jermaine even had a hit
with 1972's 'Daddy's Home', a cover of the Shep and the Limelites song.
The single became a gold disc,
selling over a million units and was accompanied by two album releases in 1972
and 1973, namely 'Jermaine' and 'Come into My Life' respectively.
Although his brother Michael is generally considered as the standout talent
in the Jackson Five, Jermaine's voice had its own special
quality and was viewed by many as the most soulful of the Jackson family.
Aside from music, Jermaine would go on to graduate
from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, Los Angeles in 1973.
Late that year, at the age of 19,
he married the daughter of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Hazel Gordy.
The wedding was a lavish occasion,
the ceremony itself taking place at the Beverly Hills hotel.
600 guests were then invited
to the Gordy's Los Angeles estate for an elaborate buffet dinner.
White tents were erected on the Gordy's
lawn and filled with pale blue and white flowers flecked with artificial snow
to echo the winter season. Cementing Jermaine's position within
the Motown family, just as his own were looking to part ways.
Leaving Motown
By 1975,
Joe Jackson refused to allow his sons to record any more music for Motown due
to their desire for more creative control and higher royalty rates
after learning that they were earning only
2.8% of royalties from Motown. In July 1975, the Jackson family announced their
departure from Motown at a New York press conference.
The family's patriarch had already secured
a lucrative contract to have the group sign with Epic Records,
a subsidiary of CBS, who agreed to give them more creative
control over their musical output and offered a royalty rate of 20% per record.
Absent from the press conference and the new deal was Jermaine Jackson,
who decided to stay with Motown following his marriage to Hazel Gordy.
As a result of his departure,
the Jackson family's youngest son, Randy, would replace him in the band.
Although the Jackson family expressed to news outlets they were still hopeful
that Jermaine would rejoin the group at a later date.
Quote, under his conditions, it'll take a while, Joe Jackson remarked.
As for their relationship with Barry Gordy and the Motown team who skyrocketed
the Jackson Five into international stardom, the patriarch smiled.
Quote you take it as it comes.
Even though the group announced their departure from the label,
they still remained under contract to Motown until March 1976.
Motown sued the Jackson family for breach
of contract but allowed the group to record for Epic as long as they changed
their name, because Motown owned the name Jackson Five.
Therefore, the brothers would be renamed
and performed there on out as the Jacksons.
In the end, Jermaine didn't leave Motown to rejoin his brothers.
He believed it was important to stay loyal
to those that helped get you to where you were in the first place.
And in interviews stated that his marriage
to Hazel had nothing to do with his decision.
As he saw it, it wasn't him who left
the group, but the group who left him by leaving Motown.
After the split,
Jermaine flew out to Long Island, New York, where the Jackson brothers were
performing as requested by Michael, who had secretly phoned Berry Gordy.
The conversation between Jermaine
and Michael that night was one that would end in tears for both brothers.
Quote Michael said he couldn't imagine continuing on stage without me.
I said I couldn't imagine being at Motown without my brothers.
We slowly arrived at acceptance,
not quite understanding how we'd reached this endgame.
Jermaine also talked about the guilt that he felt for his decision.
Even his trip there that night in which he
intended to show support had misled everyone.
That he'd changed his mind. After confronting his father,
feeling the disappointment from his brothers, and seeing the unbearable look
of sadness on Michael's face, Jermaine painted a clear picture of his
family all walking away from him in a bubble that no longer surrounded him.
Jermaine has since reflected
that the weeks of separation from his family after the Jackson Five s departure
from Motown were some of the most difficult in his life.
Quote the sense of detachment and loneliness was profound.
I didn't feel like I had lost my right arm.
I felt like I had lost every limb. I had
Hazel, of course, but the brotherhood was
intrinsic to who I was and everything I knew.
When it was ripped away, I felt something
tear. From facing pressure and accusations
of betrayal from Joseph, to dealing with backlash from Jackson Five fans
who blamed Jermaine for breaking up the group.
His wife Hazel recalled Jermaine's sadness
as a depression that no one could coax him out of.
Michael also talks about the first shows
they did without Jermaine in his autobiography Moonwalk. Quote, I clearly
remember the first show we did without him because it was so painful for me.
Since my earliest days on stage and even
in our rehearsals in our Gary living room, Jermaine stood at my left with his base.
I depended on being next to Jermaine.
From the beginning,
Michael and Jermaine always stood side by side.
If you enjoyed this, then check out other Jackson family
dynamics we have documented in previous videos.
Links are in the description box below.
Subscribe for part two.
As next we delve into Jermaine's battle in the charts with his brothers and their
eventual reunion for the most ambitious tour of the 1980s.
A tour so big it almost destroyed them.