Free Michael Jackson by J. Randy Taraborrelli Page A

only in movies where the occupants usually were royalty – white
     royalty. ‘Black people actually live like this?’ Joseph recalled asking himself as he wandered throughout the mansion, shaking
     his head. ‘I just can't believe that this kind of thing is possible.’ When Gordy happened to overhear the comment, he put
     his hand on Joseph's shoulder and whispered something in his ear that made Joseph smile. The two men shook hands in agreement
     and Gordy led Joseph into the living room.
    ‘So tell me, man, what do you think about this?’ Gordy asked, stopping before an enormous painting of Gordy dressed as Napoleon
     Bonaparte. It had been commissioned by his sister, Esther.
    ‘Jesus. What can I say?’ Joseph asked. ‘That's
you?
Man, it's too much to believe.’
    ‘Well, do you like it?’ Gordy pressed.
    ‘I, uh…You, uh…’ All Joseph could do was stammer. Just at that moment, his son Michael came running up to him. ‘Hey, who's
     that funny-lookin' guy in the picture?’ he asked.
    Joseph cringed and shot his son a look. Gordy smiled.
    ‘I'll never forget that night,’ Michael would say. ‘There were maids and butlers, and everyone was real polite. There were
     Motown stars everywhere. Smokey Robinson was there. That's when I met him for the first time. The Temptations were there,
     and we were singing some of their songs, so we were real nervous. And I looked out into the audience, and there was Diana
     Ross. That's when I almost lost it.’
    After the boys' performance, Berry introduced them to Diana for the first time. Diana looked regal in a white, draped silk
     gown and her hair pulled back in a chignon.
    ‘I just want to tell you how much I enjoyed you guys,’ she said as she shook their hands. ‘Mr Gordy tells me that we're going
     to be working together.’
    ‘We are?’ Michael asked.
    ‘Yes, we are,’ Diana said. Her smile was almost as overwhelming as the diamonds she wore at her ears and around her neck.
     ‘Whatever I can do to assist you,’ she said, ‘that's what I'm going to do.’
    ‘Well, Miss Ross, we really appreciate it,’ Joseph Jackson managed to say. Usually a smooth talker, Joseph was not having
     an easy time that night.
    Diana's smile was warm and sincere. She turned to Michael. ‘And you, you're just so cute.’ When she pinched his cheek, Michael
     blushed.
    Immediately after signing to the label, the Jacksons began to record at the Motown studios under the direction of producer
     Bobby Taylor, the man who had really discovered them in Chicago. For the next few months, they would spend their weeks in
     Gary attending school and their weekends – and many of their weeks as well – in Detroit, sleeping on the floor of Taylor's apartment.
     They recorded fifteen songs, most of which would surface later on their albums. Taylor would say later that he was not paid
     for those sessions. ‘Sure, I would have liked the recognition for having discovered The Jackson 5,’ he said. ‘But recognition
     don't pay the bills.’
    (One day, Berry Gordy and Bobby Taylor were talking about the boys, and Bobby was saying how thrilled he was to be in on the
     ground floor of something as exciting as The Jackson 5. ‘Taylor, let me tell you something,’ Gordy said, according to Bobby's
     memory. ‘As soon as they get rich, they're gonna forget who you are.’)
    The next eight months would prove to be difficult. Berry did not feel The Jackson 5 were ready to have a single release yet;
     he wasn't satisfied with any of the songs they had thus far recorded. Everyone in the family was becoming impatient, especially
     since conditions in Gary were getting worse with street gangs terrorizing the neighbourhood. Joseph was mugged and, later,
     a punk pulled a knife on Tito. Every day, the family would wait for that call from someone –
anyone
– at Motown, telling them what the next step in their lives would be.
    On 11 March 1969, the Motown contract was finally fully executed.