Michael Jackson (31 page)

The album that resulted from all of Michael's work with Quincy,
Off the Wall,
was released in August 1979. Almost as much attention had been lavished on the album jacket as on the record itself. The
cover photograph showed Michael smiling broadly and wearing a natty tuxedo – and glittering white socks. ‘The tuxedo was the
overall game plan for the
Off the Wall
album and package,’ said Michael's manager at the time, Ron Weisner. ‘Michael had an image before that as a young kid, and
all of a sudden, here was a hot album and somebody very clean-looking. The tuxedo was our idea as managers,’ Ron concluded.
‘The socks were Michael's.’

Fans and industry peers alike were left with their mouths agape when
Off the Wall
was issued to the public. Engineer Bruce Swedien had made sure Quincy Jones's tracks and Michael Jackson's voice showed to
their best advantage. Michael's fans proclaimed that they hadn't heard him sing with such joy and abandon since the early
Jackson 5 days. The album showcased an adult Michael Jackson, for the first time a real artist, not just someone's vocal stylist.

Michael Jackson had officially arrived. The performances revealed sides of him never before heard by record buyers. For instance,
no one knew Michael could be as smooth and sophisticated as he was on the album's outstanding track, Stevie Wonder's ‘I Can't
Help It’. The song was important to the project because its luscious chord changes were the closest Michael had ever come
to singing jazz on record.

Even more revealing was an emotional Michael crying real tears on the tail end of ‘She's Out of My Life’. (Jones would later
comment that Michael cried every time they cut the vocals. After several attempts with the same results, the decision was
made to leave the tears on the track.) The understated arrangement of this song, also a crowd-pleaser with its sparse keyboard
accompaniment, allowed Michael to soulfully plead his regret of lost love in a touching, sometimes searing, delivery.

When ‘Rock with You’ also made number one, and then ‘Off the Wall’ and ‘She's Out of My Life’ both went to number ten, Michael
became the first solo artist to have four Top Ten singles from one album in America. In Britain,
Off the Wall
also made recording history with five hits released from a single album. Although it would sell six million copies worldwide,
it never went beyond number three in the US and number five in the UK. Michael was excited but cautious. ‘It's a start,’ he
said.

Joseph was a bit concerned. ‘This thing with Michael, it's good,’ he said to one of the family's attorneys. ‘I'm proud of
the kid, but I'm worried.’

‘About what?’ asked the lawyer.

‘Too much independence,’ Joseph said. ‘It's not good.’

‘You know, throughout history, stars have left groups,’ said the attorney. ‘Sammy Davis left his family. Diana left The Supremes.
Smokey left The Miracles. It happens. You can't keep a good star down.’

Joseph shook his head. ‘Not in this family, it doesn't happen,’ he said. ‘Michael knows. He
knows,
’

When
Off the Wall
won only one Grammy (in an R'B category), Michael was crushed. ‘It bothered me,’ he said. ‘I cried a lot. My family thought
I was going crazy, because I was weeping so much about it.’

‘He was so disappointed,’ Janet concurred. ‘I felt bad for him. But he finally said, “You watch. The next album I do, you
just… I'll show them.”’

For his part, though, Joseph wasn't so disappointed. ‘I think it's good to keep things in perspective,’ he said, privately.
‘The boy doesn't need more success, he needs to get into the studio with his brothers.
That's
what he needs.’

On 29 August 1979, Michael Jackson turned twenty-one. Even though he, as a Jehovah's Witness, did not celebrate his birthdays,
we in the media did, especially the important ones. I had interviewed Michael for magazine articles to mark important age
milestones – ‘Michael Turns 16’, ‘Michael Turns 18’ and even ‘Michael Turns 20’ – so I was happy to meet with him once again for,
yes, ‘Michael Turns 21’. It was a turning point in his life, and he felt it in a keen way. He had come of age, was about to
take his life and career into his own hands. ‘I really feel that being a man is doing exactly what you want to do in this
life and to do it successfully and to conquer a goal,’ he told me. ‘Age is just a number, I know. I'm no more a man now than
I was yesterday. But, still, it means something to me to be twenty-one. I've seen a lot, done a lot. However, now I think
things will be different for me, better.

‘To me, Walt Disney is a real man,’ he observed. ‘Charlie Chaplin, a real man. Fred Astaire, a real man. Bill Robinson, a
real man. Not only did they achieve goals, but look at how much joy they gave other people. People looked up to them. I want
people to look up to me, too. They made paths. I want to make one, too. That's what being a man means to me.’

Just days after I interviewed Michael, he and Joseph had an argument, one more bitter than any in recent memory. Michael decided
that the time had come to make it clear to his father that he wanted more control over his career. Joseph didn't like being
criticized by Michael, but he asked for it. When he inquired as to the problems Michael had with the way things had gone in
the past, Michael gave him a list of grievances. In part, he didn't like the way the situation with Jermaine had been handled,
wasn't satisfied with the way the group had left Motown, and was also unhappy with the recent CBS product, with the exception
of
Off the Wall.
Wisely, Michael kept it all about business; he left out personal complaints and certainly didn't address the subject of Joseph's
blatant unfaithfulness to Katherine.

‘I let you make that movie, didn't I?’ Joseph shot back at him. ‘This is how you repay me?’

‘You didn't
let
me make that movie,’ Michael answered, his eyes blazing. ‘I'm a grown-up now, Joseph. I'm
Michael Jackson.
I make my own decisions.’

‘Why, you little…’ Joseph lifted his hand and was about to smack his son, just like old times. However, he changed his mind.
Michael gave him a defiant look and walked away.

Joseph was as hurt as he was angry. He thought Michael was being far too critical of him as a manager, and couldn't imagine
how he had ended up with a son who was such an ingrate. When Michael said he was going to meet with an attorney to investigate
his ‘options’, Joseph was crushed. Prior to this time, Michael and his siblings only used Joseph's attorneys and accountants.
Now that Michael wanted his own representation, Joseph felt as if his son didn't trust him.
Of course,
Michael didn't trust him. Michael had more than a million dollars in his own bank account now, as a result of
Off the Wall,
and he wanted to hang on to it. He realized that money was power, and if he wished to break away from the family it was his
bank account that would best support that effort – not Joseph, and not his brothers. All of this information was a rude awakening
for Joseph. ‘All right, fine. If that's what you want,’ he said, defeated. Wisely, he didn't want to further antagonize his
son. He hoped that Michael would not follow through with the idea, that this particular storm would blow over. He was wrong.

Michael's accountant, Michael Mesnick – who also represented the Beach Boys – arranged for Michael to meet with three entertainment
lawyers and choose the one he liked best. First on the list was John Branca, a thirty-one-year-old native New Yorker with
a background in corporate tax law and music industry negotiations for performers such as the Beach Boys, Neil Diamond and
Bob Dylan. Bright, young, aggressive and determined, John was eager to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry.

Because he was more a rock and roll fan, John was only vaguely familiar with Michael's music and career. However, when he
checked with his colleagues he was told that Michael was perceived by the music industry as someone with the potential to
be a superstar. John was intrigued. He thought that Michael might be an artist he could take to the next level. At the same
time, he felt that an association with Michael could establish his own career as an attorney.

John recalled that his meeting with Michael was a bit unusual. Michael took his sunglasses off only once, at the beginning
when he eyed John and asked if the two had previously met. When they established that they hadn't, Michael smiled and put
his sunglasses back on. Michael Mesnick asked John a list of questions, and Michael listened to the answers. At first, he
seemed shy and uncomfortable. Finally, when he began to relax, he told John that the reason he needed representation was that
he wanted independence from his family, ‘once and for all,’ and especially from his father. At that time, The Jacksons had
a group contract with Epic; Michael said he wanted one for himself as a solo artist, as well as a member of The Jacksons.
Also, he wanted all of his business affairs reviewed, including his publishing deal and his record sales.

John was enthusiastic, full of valuable information and eager to assist in any way possible. He was also, as far as Michael
was concerned, the right man for the job. After the meeting, Michael cancelled the other two interviews, and hired John Branca.
John was impressed with Michael's total belief in himself, he said, later. It was infectious; John could not wait to get started
working for him.

Early in their relationship Michael confided in John his two principal goals: first of all, he said, he wanted to be ‘the
biggest star in show business’. Secondly, he wanted to be ‘the wealthiest’. He told John that he was angry that
Off the Wall
had only garnered one Grammy nomination. ‘I sold five million in the US, six million foreign. That's a big record,’ he told
him. ‘It was totally unfair that it didn't get Record of the Year, and it can never happen again.’

Michael was frustrated by what he saw as a lack of respect from the entertainment industry. For instance, he felt he deserved
to be on the cover of
Rolling Stone
and asked his publicist, Norman Winter, to try to arrange it. ‘We would very much like to do a major piece on Michael Jackson
but feel it is not a cover story,’ was publisher Jann Wenner's response in a letter to Winter (dated 27 November 1979).

When Michael saw that letter, he became exasperated. ‘I've been told over and over again that black people on the covers of
magazines don't sell copies,’ he complained. ‘Just wait. Someday those magazines are going to be
begging
me for an interview. Maybe I'll give them one. And maybe I won't.’

For the next twenty-odd years, John Branca would, unarguably, be the single most important figure in Michael Jackson's career.
He would negotiate every business deal for him, become a trusted friend and adviser, and see to it that this talented kid
from Gary realized both of his goals.

John's first course of action was to renegotiate Michael's CBS contract with the company's president, Walter Yetnikoff. John
managed to secure for Michael the highest royalty rate in the business at that time: thirty-seven per cent of a hundred per
cent of wholesale, which was the same rate given to Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan. He also made a deal with Walter and with The
Jacksons' legal representation, John Mason, that Michael could leave The Jacksons at any time in the future. John Branca worked
it out that if Michael did leave the group, CBS would still be obligated to record The Jacksons without him. It was a nice
gesture and one that placated Joseph. He fully believed that without Michael the group could continue because, as he had been
putting it for years, ‘It's not all about Michael.’ Of course, Joseph must have known better, but his focus was always on
family.

From this point on, legally and thanks to John Branca, Michael Jackson would never have to record another song with his brothers,
unless he truly wanted to do it. Obviously, the Jackson brothers weren't happy with Michael's new independence, but the full
ramifications of the deal would not hit them for a while. They were accustomed to Michael doing solo albums, and still felt
secure that he would remain with the group. (Of course, in structuring Michael's freedom, he and John Branca had not considered
the ‘Katherine factor’, soon to come into play: if the brothers would want Michael to do something he didn't want to do, they
would learn to ask their mother to intervene.)

Michael's new deal was impressive, so much so that his brother, Randy, who suddenly had solo aspirations, decided that he
wanted to hire John Branca. During a lunch meeting with him, John asked Michael what he thought of the idea. ‘I think it stinks,’
Michael told him, according to the attorney's memory. ‘I can't believe it. I do this one thing for myself, hiring you, and
now they're all gonna try to weasel in on it. You wait, first Randy. Next, you'll be hearing from Jackie. Probably Tito wants
to do a record, too.’

‘Are you saying you don't want me to represent Randy?’ John asked with a smile. He couldn't help but be bemused by Michael's
adamant reaction (not to mention the notion of Tito Jackson making a record).