Before I get into my Thriller-era experiences, let me answer the question of when/where/how I became a Michael Jackson fan. I feel becoming a fan involves two acts…1) the initial discovery or taking notice of the artist (that moment where their artistry touches/captivates something within you), followed by 2) the first act of fandom. I will break my story down into those 2 parts.

The Discovery:

Although I came into the world at the very end of “little Michael Jackson” era, Jackson5 (J5) music was a staple in my family’s home. I did not grow up with “little Michael” as my siblings and the majority of my cousins had (I was the baby of the family) but I still grew up “with him around”. I came along during the transitional years when the J5 were becoming The Jacksons. However, “little Michael’s” presence was always there. The events I can recall very vividly include my first rumblings at schooling in the song “ABC” (easy as 1,2,3….“i” before “e” except after “c”…2+2 makes 4), family parties highlighted by J5 and Jacksons music, my first school play where the J5’s “Frosty the Snowman” was used in a number; and reruns of the J5 cartoon on Saturday or Sunday mornings. The name “Michael Jackson” and his voice was as familiar to me as a next door neighbor or family member. Visually, he was always the little boy on the cover of the J5’s Christmas album, along with his brothers; all of them with afros. It wasn’t until a Saturday episode of Soul Train, that I realized that little boy wasn’t so little anymore. He was much taller with a bigger afro, but other than singing lead and being a snazzy dancer who could do a mean robot, I didn’t distinguish him away from his brothers…same as I couldn’t distinguish any of The Sylvers or the 5 Stairsteps. They were simply groups of families that sang together as far as I could see.

The Jacksons, nevertheless, became more distinct from other family groups (in my eyes), when they got their own television show…a weekly event in my home. Up until the Jacksons, it had been The Osmonds and the Sonny & Cher shows. But the Jacksons “looked” like my family so it was somehow more special for us to see them on the tube. Yet, again, despite the good music and funny skits, it wasn’t Michael who caught my attention. Being a kid myself, it was only natural that the 2 smaller siblings in the show, Janet and Randy Jackson, would appeal to me more. Whenever they took the stage, that was the highlight. The Sonny & Cher imitations and Janet as Mae West parts were my faves. It was because of that show that my appreciation for the entire Jackson family was firmly established. They were extremely entertaining, successful and what appeared to be a happy African-American family. But still, I thought of them as a family unit, that is until 1979…when one special individual would emerge from the pack.

It was a Saturday afternoon in at my aunt’s apartment where I was being babysat when I discovered/noticed “Michael Jackson”. We were all gathered in one of my cousin’s bedrooms watching tv, while my aunt cleaned up the living room. On television was a show called Solid Gold where dancers danced to the top 10 hits and artists would perform in between. I was on my cousin’s bed doing my doll’s hair, not really paying attention to the tv but listening to the music coming from it. My aunt had just peeped in the doorway during a break in her cleaning to ask one of my cousins a question when a song we all recognized started playing on the television. There was a brief rumble of excitement about fetching my 17 year-old cousin, a huge Michael Jackson fan (from J5 days), but just as the suggestion was made, she was standing in the doorway screaming her head off. With that, I turned to see what she was screaming at and there he was, the skinny kid with the fro who sang with his brothers now sang alone on the television. The fro was replaced by a shorter and curlier “do” and though still quite lean, he was obviously a young adult…to the eye, at least. Back then, I thought the Rock with You video was an actual stage performance on Solid Gold. I didn’t know it was a music video until years later when music videos became more prominent. The song had been playing regularly on the radio and it was one that I liked. One of my cousins was so obsessed with it that he would burst out singing the chorus at odd and random times which I found hilarious. So I was aware of the song and I knew Michael Jackson sang it, but that was my first time seeing “adult Michael” working it…solo. To this day, I’m not sure if it was the laser show behind him, the sparkly suit and boots he wore, that mega-watt smile he flashed or the way he rocked that held my attention (possibly a combo of all those things), but I was definitely captivated.

The first act of fandom:

My first act of fandom came shortly after my moment of discovery. In my family, we mainly purchased 45s of the songs we liked. And then everyone would share the 45s throughout the family. Most of the 45’s in our family had someone’s name written on it in pen so everyone knew who it originally belonged to in order to return it. But during the late 70’s my brothers were teenagers and began spending their money to buy full albums. At the moment of my discovery, Off the Wall had not yet been purchased. I think we had a 45 with Don’t Stop ‘Til you Get Enough and maybe Rock with You, but not the whole album. This 45 of Off the Wall seems to be the only thing I was able to creep, err…SALVAGE from the family record collection before it was all lost.



The Destiny album was at home during my discovery period, but it just wasn’t the same seeing Michael flanked by his brothers as it had been seeing him solo. I knew if anyone had the OTW album, it would have been my Godfather. He was Mr. Hip with all the latest everything; that one fun adult that kids are drawn to and/or look up to besides their parents. He was always up for a game of kickball, jump rope, tag, or anything fun. He was a big kid at 25 and rarely parental. And even if he had a parental moment, somehow whatever he said sunk in much more than had a parental relative said the exact same thing.

I eagerly anticipated the day my Godfather was to come for a visit, which usually meant a trip to Burger King in his car. Burger King was the stuff back then because they gave out a little toy and a cardboard crown with their kiddie meals. Every kid could be a king, queen, prince or princess while enjoying their royal feast of a cheeseburger, fries and a milkshake. On this particular day though, I was more excited about the extensive 8-track collection my Godfather kept in his car than my beloved happy meal. As soon as I got in the car, I began nosing through his cartridge cases…hoping to find something, anything with the name Michael Jackson on it. And lo and behold, I found it….the 8-track Off the Wall album. I was surprised, at first, to see the picture gracing the cartridge because it showed Michael with the afro of his past but his smile and stature was immediately recognizable. Upon reading the tracklist, I found titles to 3 songs I knew (DSTYGE, OTW and RWY) and was anxious to hear the rest, but my Godfather had just put in another album and I was too polite to ask him to replace it. What to do? Well, I just kept the cartridge in my hand, studying it off and on during the ride, hoping it would magically duplicate itself so I could keep one and take it home. But it wasn’t long before my Godfather noticed my attachment to the item and asked if I wanted to hear it. The wide eyes and big cheesy grin that overtook my face must’ve told him nothing in the world would have made me happier. The rest, as they say, is history.


Next up…The Thriller Experience officially begins with Part 2: “When Michael Jackson shows up at my school (January 1983)”

Note: Future Blog entries will be much shorter than this.

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