In the non-stop hoopla surrounding the death of Michael Jackson, Joe Jackson has become the person everyone loves to hate. TV commentators drop all pretense of objectivity by openly dismissing him as a kook.
In the non-stop hoopla surrounding the death of Michael Jackson, Joe Jackson has become the person everyone loves to hate. TV commentators drop all pretense of objectivity by openly dismissing him as a kook. They make fun of his admittedly incoherent answers. And though he was later proven correct, they laughed at his assertion that Michael Jackson may have been killed.
What made me take a second look at Joseph Jackson was a statement he made on “Larry King Live.” The elder Jackson said that he had recommended that his son be paid in euros rather than U.S. dollars for his upcoming concerts in London. That showed me that, as one of my elementary school teachers said, he was using his head for more than a hat rack.
And I began to think about what they said about the domineering fathers of Tiger Woods, Venus and Serena Williams and, in this case, the original Jackson Five. Yes, they were all pushy and ambitious fathers – so pushy that they pushed their children right to the top of their respective professions.
Of course, Joe Jackson’s greatest claim to fame was not that he molded one of the most successful groups in music from the rough streets of Gary, Ind., but that he beat his kids. There were many stories told about Jackson pounding his kids with his fist when they made a mistake, of his throwing them against walls and, in one instance, holding Michael upside down by one leg and pummeling him.
If true, no one can condone such acts. However, lost in all the storytelling is that the Jackson Five became the first American group to have their first four singles rocket to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. And Michael and Janet went on to stardom as solo artists. If you’re going to talk about Joe Jackson, talk about the good as well as the bad.
The most interesting perspective of Joseph Jackson came from Michael in a fascinating speech he gave at Oxford University on March 21, 2001.
“You probably weren’t surprised to hear that I did not have an idyllic childhood,” he said. “The strain and tension that exists in my relationship with my own father is well documented. My father is a tough man and he pushed my brothers and me hard, from the earliest age, to be the best performers we could be. He had great difficulty showing affection. He never really told me he loved me. And he never really complimented me either. If I did a great show, he would tell me it was a good show. And if I did an okay show, he told me it was a lousy show.
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