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DETROIT, MI — As a child who grew up in Gary, Ind., Jermaine Jackson always wanted to tell people he was from Detroit.
Jackson found plenty of success touring outside of the Motor City with brothers Michael, Jackie, Marlon and Tito as the wildly popular Jackson Five.
But the city, home to Motown Records, captivated his heart and fueled a passion that still makes it feel like home as four of the five members prepare for their return this month.
“I’m telling you,” Jermaine Jackson said over the phone. “The spirit of the city is there and it has never gone anywhere. It is just too rich.”
MLive.com caught up with Jackson to preview the June 12 concert he’ll have with Tito, Jackie and Marlon at the Motor City Casino’s Sound Board.
Jackson also reflected on the June 25, 2009 death of Michael, better known as “The King of Pop,” and ways he’d like to help Detroit rebuild itself in the future.
The Motown Historical Museum’s future was also a topic of conversation as Jackson claims he “has some ideas” he’d like to implement with the city landmark’s powers that be.
What has it been like to reconnect with your brothers Jackie, Marlon and Tito for this tour and upcoming show June 12 in Detroit? Are you guys able to just pick up where you left off years ago?
It has been really easy to tell you the truth because we’ve been doing music since I was 10, and even (earlier than that) when I first started walking. It’s one of those things where you just go right into it. It’s been very, very smooth and it’s been very, very exciting. It’s exciting because we get to play the music and it’s also healing because of my brother (Michael’s death), too. It’s just been a great time on stage.
What’s your fondest memory of Detroit knowing you and your Jackson Five brothers spent so much time here?
We have a lot of memories about Detroit whether it was coming there auditioning for Berry Gordy or being around town and being in those studios where all the legendary acts came from. Detroit is like our second home to tell you the truth. I remember us living on Chene Street and a bread company was right there; we could smell the bread all the time. We would go to the studio, come back, learn the songs and go back in the next day. We were just getting ready (in Detroit), and people were grooming us just like they did with all the legendary acts that came out of Detroit. Most of the artists that have influenced the world have come from Detroit. They came from Detroit and produced the Detroit sound, that Motown sound. We wanted to be like all those legendary acts, so that’s why we ended up in Detroit.
What do you think of current popular figures in music like Eminem who still represent Detroit and can claim Detroit as the place that got their career off the ground?
Detroit will always be a very special place because any artist (that has helped establish a career here) from Eminem to anyone else has the talent. Every artist (with a Detroit tie) has just great talent, and you can go back to people like Jackie Wilson to all the way up to today. We were very fortunate (to spend time in Detroit), and we actually wanted to say we were from Detroit because there were so many legendary acts from that city. But music today (across the country), I think, has made a change because if you listen to what was coming out of Detroit (in years past) and what is coming out today (around the country), (many people in music) are not concerned about lyrical content or the structuring of songs. You don’t see musicians as concerned about the structuring of songs, which songs have dynamics and where they build. Everything is just computers, digital, and it just starts and ends on the same level. It just doesn’t go anywhere. (The old school approach) is trying to come back, and I think Pharrell Williams is doing a great job of letting you know that whether it’s the old sound or the way music used to be (that’s he’s trying to return to). Certain things are coming back. If people like what he’s doing, (they should know that was (similar) to yesterday and it’s working today. I’m really happy about that return (to the old school ways of music).
What do you think of this new “Motown: The Musical” on Broadway that’s coming to Detroit in a few months?
I want to see people enjoy it. I saw the Jackson Five (in Motown: The Musical) and I got a chance to meet them backstage in New York, and I must say they are really nice guys. I think with all the history of Motown, there’s so much to tell you can’t say it 90 minutes to two hours. But I think they did a great job with the music and everything. Let’s face it: If it wasn’t for Smokey Robinson, who is still my hero today, and Diana Ross and Gladys Knight, and all these people, we wouldn’t be (as The Jackson Five) who we are. And there’s a lot of acts who wouldn’t be who they are either. So much of the greatest music in the world came out of Detroit and Motown, and you absolutely can’t deny that.
Smokey Robinson still performs, and so does legends like Diana Ross. What keeps you and your brothers going after all these years?
Do you know Diana Ross taught me how to swim when I was 13? She was the one who actually got me in the water and showed me how to kick off. We used to go to her house and Marlon, Michael and her would be painting, having balloon fights and this and that. And we would also go swimming, and she taught me how to swim. We have so many memories of Detroit and just all those legendary acts (so it still motivates us). I’m going to tell you exactly what it is (that makes us want to still perform): When you know you achieved so much, you want to achieve even more. And when you know, you know you set a standard and a certain level of excellence, you want to go beyond that. And we know we can. At the same time, we lost an incredible human being in (Michael) and we know he would want us to keep it going and build the Jackson legacy.
When we go out there and sing these songs, it’s healing because we’re still mourning (Michael’s death). We miss him and we talk about him every day. So when we sing the songs, it just helps us through the day and get through those moments when we first heard that he had passed. It’s still very tough. Even rehearsing for this tour, I cried so much. Nobody noticed because I had my glasses on, but I cried and cried and cried because I remember Michael always being to the right of me (on stage). And I always felt (during rehearsals) that he would shoot out front, do a spin, this and that. There are still times I find myself moving away on stage a bit because I know that was his cue in certain songs to come out and do something, this and that. Your body (as a performer) is programed to do that.
If Michael was still alive, what do you think performing a Detroit show with brothers would mean to him?
READ MORE: http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/detroit/index.ssf/2014/06/qa_motowns_jermaine_jackson.html
Source: mlive /
MJ is the king. Every time i listen his songs i feel as he is still alive. Definitely one of the biggest pop music stars ever!