I am hoping to put this in the right place as it relates to Michael Jackson and
his life story. I grew up with Motown because of the love of this music by my parents.
Many Motown greats were very young when they signed on, but Michael & brothers
were the youngest. Basically, the babies at Motown.
After reading MANY articles and this one referenced, I can now understand more about
Michael and his life. I can see from the start, the separation from the main-stream, and
yes, the control of these stars once they signed on. The jealousy, competition within
this music business, the EARLY deaths, and the despair. We only heard the greatness.
If you have time, please read the following article. It references Diana Ross and Michael
Jackson and the Jackson 5. It references a young Kerry Gordy, Kennedy Gordy and several others.
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Login hop gallery/MotownEra.htm
In 1969, when the Jackson Five first arrived in Los Angeles to record for Motown. While Michael's father and brothers were shuffled from one hotel to another. Michael moved in with Diana Ross. "It was a calculated thing, I wanted him to be around her," Berry Gordy once said.
Michael, at age 11, was terribly lonely living in the Ross home for the month he stayed there; he missed his mother a great deal and talked to her on the telephone incessantly, running up Diana's phone bill. Berry Gordy allegedly told Diana, "Don't worry, I'll pay the bills and charge their royalty account when they finally have a hit."
According to author J. Randy Taraborrelli, Katherine was troubled by Michael's life in the Ross household. She was concerned about Diana's Hollywood lifestyle and how it might influence her son.
Allegedly, it also bothered Katherine that Diana seemed reluctant to talk to her directly. When Katherine would telephone to check in on her 11-year-old son, she would have to allegedly talk to one of the household staff if Michael wasn't available. Diana would usually not come to the phone to talk to Katherine. Of course, Diana did not yet have any children of her own, so she could not relate to a mother's concern.