Michael Jackson: It's 1977 — do you know where your child star is?

2024 note: "Who cares about Michel Jackson?" was the immediate response from my editor when I first broached this opportunity to spend time with Michael. This was understandable in 1977 when the Jacksons family brand had lost considerable luster and star shine since their meteoric success during much of the group's tenure at Motown. Significant hits were getting scarce and the Jacksons seemed to be a point where they were too old to be teen stars and too young and unproven as to a path forward.

Epic Records President Ron Alexenburg signed the Jacksons to a substantial advance. Inside CBS Records, the signing was privately mocked as "Ronnie's folly". To make matters worse, Motown had the copyright to the Jackson 5 name. As a group they now were just the Jacksons.

As I write this in 2024, Sony Music and the Michael Jackson estate have agreed to a deal that would give Sony fifty percent ownership of Jackson's recorded masters and vast publishing catalogue.

The deal has been valued at $1.2 billion.

At age 19, Michael isn't allowed to walk to the corner drugstore alone. "There's threats against my life," he says. "But sometimes this gets really terrible."