Entertainment Weekly USA

The August issue of Entertainment Weekly contains an old black and white picture of The Jacksons and Diana Ross. They are in the studio. It’s titled ‘Day of The Jacksons’.

Thirty years ago, Diana Ross invited the music world to meet Motown’s newest group, the Jackson 5. The simply worded invitation went out to the press and several hundred music industry luminaries;

“Please join me in welcoming a brilliant musical group, the Jackson Five… at the Daisy, North Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills. (signed) Diana Ross.”

The Daisy was a hot L.A. disco, and Diana Ross, of course, was Motown Record’s reigning soulstress. And on August 11th 1969, she introduced five siblings from Gary, Indiana, who a few years earlier were playing talent shows.

The irony is that at the time she introduced them Diana barely knew who they were; yet at photo ops and ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’, the proto-diva took credit for discovering the soon-to-be superstars. In fact, it was another Motown star, Gladys Knight, she had brought them to Motown’s attention more than a year earlier.

But Berry Gordy, the ironfisted ruler of ‘Hitsville, USA’, decided to cast Diana as the group’s mentor – perhaps because he had been involved with the 25-year-old Supreme, or because he figured Diana needed the extra glow of finding the Next Hot Thing as she was about to embark on a solo career. Either way, that summer night at the Daisy gave the Jacksons their first taste of big-time showbiz, and a lesson that nothing’s ever as easy as ‘A-B-C’.

Written by Joe Neumaier.

Source: Entertainment Weekly & MJWN