Maybe my father noticed Tito's zeal because he laid down rules for all my brothers: No one was to touch the guitar while he was out. Period.
Therefore, Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine were careful to see that Mom was in the kitchen when they "borrowed" the guitar.
They were also careful not to make any noise while removing it. They would then go back to our room and put on the radio or the little portable record player so they could play along. Tito would hoist the guitar onto his belly as he sat on the bed and prop it up. He took turns with Jackie and Jermaine, and they'd all try the scales they were learning in school as well as try to figure out how to get the "Green Onions" part they'd hear on the radio. By now I was old enough to sneak in and watch if I promised not to tell. One day Mom finally caught them, and we were all worried. She scolded the boys, but said she wouldn't tell Dad as long as we were careful. She knew that guitar was keeping them from running with a bad crowd and maybe getting beat up, so she wasn't about to take away anything that kept them within arm's reach. Of course, something had to give sooner or later, and one day a string broke. My brothers panicked. There wasn't time to get it repaired before Dad came home, and besides, none if us knew how to go about getting it fixed. My brothers never figured out what to do, so they put the guitar back in the closet and hoped fervently that my father would think it broke by itself. Of course, Dad didn't buy that, and he was furious. My sisters told me to stay out of it and keep a low profile. I heard Tito crying after Dad found out and I went to investigate, of course. Tito was on his bed crying when Dad came back and motioned for him to get up. Tito was scared, but my father just stood there, holding his favourite guitar. He gave Tito a hard, penetrating look and said, "Let me see what you can do." My brother pulled himself together and started to play a few runs he had taught himself. When my father saw how well Tito could play, he knew he'd obviously been practising and he realised that Tito and the rest of us didn't treat his favourite guitar as if it were a toy. It became clear to him that what had happened had been only an accident. At this point my mother stepped in and voiced her enthusiasm for our musical ability. She told him that we boys had talent and he should listen to us. She kept pushing for us, so one day he began to listen and he liked what he heard. Tito, Jackie, and Jermaine started rehearsing together in earnest. A couple of years later, when I was about five, Mom pointed out to my father that I was a good singer and could play the bongos. I became a member of the group. -from Moonwalk, Michael Jackson


Talent Contests

When Michael was 8, the group won a major talent contest with their rendition of the Temptations' "My Girl", by now, Joe had gone part time at the mill and was managing the band full time --already they were traveling hundreds of miles to perform. Joe booked them in for the first professional gigs at a local night club, Mr. Lucky's.


Steeltown

The owner of the only studio in Gary, Keith Gordon, had came to see the boys practice at home and agreed to give them a chance. He remembers the impact Michael, the tiny singer and dancer, made.
"The boy went right up to this guitar cord which was stretched between Tito's guitar and the amp. It was waist and chest high, and Michael just right jumped over it, no problem. I thought that was a superhuman feat", relates Gordon.
In winter of 1967, in a studio in Chicago, a simple R&B number called "Big Boy" was recorded and released on the Steeltown label. It was a small hit in the local Gary charts. - from Michael Jackson, Damien Noonan


The Discovery

In the summer of 1968, Bobby Taylor told me, "we were playing the Regal on the same bill as Jerry Buffer, The Chi-Lites and Little miss Soul. the Jackson 5 opened the show. They had won the amateur contest a number of times, which meant they were now playing for pay. Michael had James Brown down- the spin, the moves, the mike action, the whole bit. His brothers were stepping behind him, and the whole thing was dynamite. I saw enough. So I said to Joe, "I'm taking ya'll to Detroit. "Now?", he asked. "Right now!", I answered. - from The Glory Years, David Ritz


The Motown Hits

Over a ten month period, the quintet from Gary, Indiana, blasted off with four consecutive Number One hits- "I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There". The Jackson 5 was the last great act of Motown's famed production line; spit polished and choreographed, the group was a complete teenybop package - lunch pails and Saturday morning cartoon show included - but with music that's aged better than most of its Top 40 contemporaries. - from The Jackson 5, Gary Graff


Jacksonmania

Their first single, in 1970, "I Want You Back", was more than just a hit. It was an aural steamroller. It took off like a rocket and exploded with a nervous, frenetic pace that wouldn't let up. It not only shot to number one in America, registering sizable hits around the worl, but it ignited the fuse on the most explosive talents of the past 3 decades. The record sold two million copies. At the time, Jackie was 18, Tito was 16, Jermaine was 15, Marlon was 12, and Michael was 11. Jacksonmania had arrived.


The Dream Goes On

After 13 albums, and countless top ten hits, it was time to move on. Since they felt Motown wouldn't let them choose their songs, play their insturments on record, choose their producers or record songs that weren't from the Motown vaults, they signed a deal with Epic Records in 1976. There were two sacrifices. First, Motown owned the name Jackson 5 and they had to become The Jacksons. Second, Jermaine, who's married Hazel Gordy (daughter of Motown cheif, Berry) three years perviously, decided he'd stay with Motown. By now, Randy had been brought in on bongos, to bring them back up to a couplement of five. - from Michael Jackson, Stewart Regan