City, where the “liberal attitude better suited our touring requirements and we were treated as equal with everyone else,” according to Jermaine. The Walton School, built for Hollywood stars’ children, was liberal, all right. Teachers didn’t mind when, after family driver “Uncle Jack” Richardsondropped off the Jackson boys in the morning, Tito and Jermaine took off in a young female teacher’s powder-blueChevy Malibu for Hollywood to hang out at the wax museum and the drugstore instead of attending classes. “It was like we had a groupie for a teacher,” recalls Mike Merkow, who befriended classmates Tito and Jermaine at Walton. “We loved it—are you kidding? There was no such thing as homework.” Once, playing hooky as usual, the boys spent the day exploring Hollywood and managed to lose Michael. After looking everywhere, they finally worked up enough courage to call Joseph, who blew up and alerted all the Jackson friends’ parents. Michael was quickly located at Schwab’s Pharmacy on Sunset Boulevard, eating candy and reading comic books, but the damage had been done. Everybody was grounded.
“All Michael did every single day, for years, at school, at lunchtime, was just draw and draw and draw,” Merkow says.
Walton had a football rivalry with a high school in Beverly Hills. The team secretly sneaked nonstudent Jackie Jackson into uniform as the second-half quarterback, replacing Merkow. “Even our own principal knew!” Merkow says. Jackie was a ringer—the fastest player on the field by far—and Walton ended up winning the big game. Merkow recalls those days, especially for Michael and Marlon, as happy and fun-loving, but Jermaine was sort of the family’s angry enforcer. “If you did something Jermaine didn’t like, he’d just kick your ass,” Merkow says. “When we needed some muscle, he was the first one.”
The Jacksons eased into their rich celebrity life.Katherine Jackson bought furniture and a wardrobe. Joseph bought anew van. Jackie bought an orange Datsun 240Z (which he would total near Ventura Boulevard while fumbling for gum behind the wheel and slamming into a parked car). Tito moved out to live with his new girlfriend, Dee Dee, and bought his first car, a Trans Am. Friends of the Jacksons quickly found that if you were “in,” you had access to a benevolent kingdom of riches. At one point, Merkow and his wife went to Tito’s home to find he had just bought another car. Merkow wondered aloud what Titowould do with his old, Gucci-trimmed Mercedes.“I don’t know,” Tito said, “What do you think?” “Well, I’ll take it,” Merkow suggested. Tito tossed him the keys.
But, Merkow adds, “When you had a falling-out with the Jacksons, you’re done.”
“As they got bigger and bigger and more famous, this one had to have a big house and this one had to have a bigger house and this one had to have a big carand this one had to have a bigger car and this one had to have a Rolls-Royce and this one had to have a Rolls-Royce. And this one’s wife had to have a diamond and this one’s wife had to have a bigger diamond,” recalls Susan Jackson, who married drummer Johnny.
“And,” adds her twin sister, Sherry Danchik, who often socialized at Hayvenhurst, “this one had to have two kids and this one had to have three kids.”
At Hayvenhurst, Jackie, Michael, and Marlon convened in one room to work on their dance routines. Jermaine, Tito, Rancifer, and Johnny Jackson rehearsed in another room. The Motown songs, especially hits like “I Want You Back” and “The Love You Save,” were built on complicated studio arrangements, but the Jackson 5 managed to strip them down so Tito, Jermaine, and Johnny could provide the rhythm and Ronnie could“make it fat” with his organ sound.
As the singles took off, so did the boys. They appeared on the covers of teen-dream publications such as Right On! and the more journalistic Soul (subtitle: “America’s Most Soulful
“All Michael did every single day, for years, at school, at lunchtime, was just draw and draw and draw,” Merkow says.
Walton had a football rivalry with a high school in Beverly Hills. The team secretly sneaked nonstudent Jackie Jackson into uniform as the second-half quarterback, replacing Merkow. “Even our own principal knew!” Merkow says. Jackie was a ringer—the fastest player on the field by far—and Walton ended up winning the big game. Merkow recalls those days, especially for Michael and Marlon, as happy and fun-loving, but Jermaine was sort of the family’s angry enforcer. “If you did something Jermaine didn’t like, he’d just kick your ass,” Merkow says. “When we needed some muscle, he was the first one.”
The Jacksons eased into their rich celebrity life.Katherine Jackson bought furniture and a wardrobe. Joseph bought anew van. Jackie bought an orange Datsun 240Z (which he would total near Ventura Boulevard while fumbling for gum behind the wheel and slamming into a parked car). Tito moved out to live with his new girlfriend, Dee Dee, and bought his first car, a Trans Am. Friends of the Jacksons quickly found that if you were “in,” you had access to a benevolent kingdom of riches. At one point, Merkow and his wife went to Tito’s home to find he had just bought another car. Merkow wondered aloud what Titowould do with his old, Gucci-trimmed Mercedes.“I don’t know,” Tito said, “What do you think?” “Well, I’ll take it,” Merkow suggested. Tito tossed him the keys.
But, Merkow adds, “When you had a falling-out with the Jacksons, you’re done.”
“As they got bigger and bigger and more famous, this one had to have a big house and this one had to have a bigger house and this one had to have a big carand this one had to have a bigger car and this one had to have a Rolls-Royce and this one had to have a Rolls-Royce. And this one’s wife had to have a diamond and this one’s wife had to have a bigger diamond,” recalls Susan Jackson, who married drummer Johnny.
“And,” adds her twin sister, Sherry Danchik, who often socialized at Hayvenhurst, “this one had to have two kids and this one had to have three kids.”
At Hayvenhurst, Jackie, Michael, and Marlon convened in one room to work on their dance routines. Jermaine, Tito, Rancifer, and Johnny Jackson rehearsed in another room. The Motown songs, especially hits like “I Want You Back” and “The Love You Save,” were built on complicated studio arrangements, but the Jackson 5 managed to strip them down so Tito, Jermaine, and Johnny could provide the rhythm and Ronnie could“make it fat” with his organ sound.
As the singles took off, so did the boys. They appeared on the covers of teen-dream publications such as Right On! and the more journalistic Soul (subtitle: “America’s Most Soulful
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