The Michael Jackson Reel
Don Carter
Christina Chaffin
Sept. 19, 2017
Sept. 19, 2017
Don Carter
Motown promotional staff member; Worked with the Jackson 5
Motown promotional staff member; Worked with the Jackson 5
Don Carter discusses overall flashbacks of time spent with the Jackson 5.
Motown's Charm School
"At Motown, Berry Gordy had a charm school that everyone had to go to - not just artists, but the promotional staff as well. Motown's creative department really helped develop the charm school that taught the artists how to dance on stage, act on stage - everything."
"In Motown's charm school, we would pick out certain artists of the different groups to speak during interviews and for the Jackson 5, a lot of times it was Jermaine because Michael was so shy! Off stage, he was shy, but once he hit that stage and the lights came on, that guy was amazing. I would be backstage watching at the different Jackson 5 shows and I remember thinking, 'How does he do it? What is going on with this kid?' *Laughs*"
While on Tour
"The J5 would perform a lot of matinee concerts. They would perform early matinee shows and afternoon matinees, and both shows would end up being on the same day. A lot of times, us on Motown's Promotional Staff would take turns going out on the road with them. Myself, Skip Miller - all of the promotional staff. So when we would hit a city on a Saturday morning, we would take the Jackson 5 to different radio stations to do interviews. We used to buy time on the different radio stations to help boost ticket and record sales. The Jackson 5 would do an early matinee, go back to the hotel to rest and then go back to the concert hall to do the afternoon matinee. With being in school, they would perform a lot on different weekends where we would do two shows in one day on Saturdays in one city, and then the next day on Sundays. It was the same kind of travel schedule, but just in different locations."
"Back then, there was no internet. We had to depend on radio. We were at the mercy of radio. If you didn't get your music on radio, you wouldn't sell anything. So we would do whatever we could with radio promotion."
"The hotel was a whole other story. The Jackson 5 had to eat in their rooms so much because the fans were everywhere. They couldn't just go down to the lobby because the fans were always there! The guys were extremely protected with detailed security. They used to always call me 'Mr. DC'. So at different times, they would ask, 'Mr. DC, you gonna come eat with us?'"
"At Motown, Berry Gordy had a charm school that everyone had to go to - not just artists, but the promotional staff as well. Motown's creative department really helped develop the charm school that taught the artists how to dance on stage, act on stage - everything."
"In Motown's charm school, we would pick out certain artists of the different groups to speak during interviews and for the Jackson 5, a lot of times it was Jermaine because Michael was so shy! Off stage, he was shy, but once he hit that stage and the lights came on, that guy was amazing. I would be backstage watching at the different Jackson 5 shows and I remember thinking, 'How does he do it? What is going on with this kid?' *Laughs*"
While on Tour
"The J5 would perform a lot of matinee concerts. They would perform early matinee shows and afternoon matinees, and both shows would end up being on the same day. A lot of times, us on Motown's Promotional Staff would take turns going out on the road with them. Myself, Skip Miller - all of the promotional staff. So when we would hit a city on a Saturday morning, we would take the Jackson 5 to different radio stations to do interviews. We used to buy time on the different radio stations to help boost ticket and record sales. The Jackson 5 would do an early matinee, go back to the hotel to rest and then go back to the concert hall to do the afternoon matinee. With being in school, they would perform a lot on different weekends where we would do two shows in one day on Saturdays in one city, and then the next day on Sundays. It was the same kind of travel schedule, but just in different locations."
"Back then, there was no internet. We had to depend on radio. We were at the mercy of radio. If you didn't get your music on radio, you wouldn't sell anything. So we would do whatever we could with radio promotion."
"The hotel was a whole other story. The Jackson 5 had to eat in their rooms so much because the fans were everywhere. They couldn't just go down to the lobby because the fans were always there! The guys were extremely protected with detailed security. They used to always call me 'Mr. DC'. So at different times, they would ask, 'Mr. DC, you gonna come eat with us?'"
The Jackson 5 at Riverfront Stadium, Oct. 10, 1970.
1970 World Series: Cincinnati Reds vs Baltimore Orioles - Game 1
"We had to teach [the Jackson 5] how to sing 'The Star-Spangled Banner' for the 1970's World Series while on the plane ride there. The game was Saturday Oct. 10, 1970 and I this remember like it was yesterday - Michael didn't know the words. None of the Jackson 5 did! I remember Suzanne de Passe was walking up and down the aisle on the plane with pen and paper, asking people for the lyrics. 'Oh, say can you see...' Then she'd ask 'What comes next?' Suzanne wrote down the lyrics, and gave it to Michael and the guys to study, practice and learn so they could sing it live that same day. They had to learn [those lyrics] on the plane, in the air before they got to the stadium. I was on the plane with them and remember that so well."
"We had to teach [the Jackson 5] how to sing 'The Star-Spangled Banner' for the 1970's World Series while on the plane ride there. The game was Saturday Oct. 10, 1970 and I this remember like it was yesterday - Michael didn't know the words. None of the Jackson 5 did! I remember Suzanne de Passe was walking up and down the aisle on the plane with pen and paper, asking people for the lyrics. 'Oh, say can you see...' Then she'd ask 'What comes next?' Suzanne wrote down the lyrics, and gave it to Michael and the guys to study, practice and learn so they could sing it live that same day. They had to learn [those lyrics] on the plane, in the air before they got to the stadium. I was on the plane with them and remember that so well."
"When it came to musical stuff, the Jackson 5 were such professionals, that they had learned the song perfectly. But I remember it being very nerve-racking for everybody because they didn't know one lyric, but by the time they went out on the field to perform it, they were ready. That's why the Jackson 5 were so amazing. They weren't just great singers. They knew how to study music and really perform when it was their time. They were talented as hell."
Auditioning for Motown
"At the time, Motown wasn't interested in a kid group and the Jackson 5 were a kid group. I remember Suzanne de Passe saying, 'Berry, you can't pass on these kids.' So they brought them to Detroit and I remember Joe Jackson driving them to the studio in this older van. The J5 auditioned in the downstairs basement of Motown Records in Detroit. I remember the shocked feeling when they started their audition. You just looked around and everyone's jaws were on the floor. I was there for their audition and I remember saying, 'My God, these guys are amazing.' When Berry saw the audition, he told all of us in promotion, 'Pull out all the stops for these guys. Get the Promotion Department ready. I want to blow these guys up. We're gonna all do this together and we are gonna take these guys to the moon.'"
Dancing Talent
"By the time they came to Motown, they were already polished and ready to go in so many ways. *Laughs*... The Jackson 5 were some dancing fools. They were so electric when they danced. Chuck 'Cholly' Atkins was the choreographer for different Motown groups, but when he got a hold of the Jackson 5 to teach them some moves to certain songs, they ended up teaching him a thing or two!"
Auditioning for Motown
"At the time, Motown wasn't interested in a kid group and the Jackson 5 were a kid group. I remember Suzanne de Passe saying, 'Berry, you can't pass on these kids.' So they brought them to Detroit and I remember Joe Jackson driving them to the studio in this older van. The J5 auditioned in the downstairs basement of Motown Records in Detroit. I remember the shocked feeling when they started their audition. You just looked around and everyone's jaws were on the floor. I was there for their audition and I remember saying, 'My God, these guys are amazing.' When Berry saw the audition, he told all of us in promotion, 'Pull out all the stops for these guys. Get the Promotion Department ready. I want to blow these guys up. We're gonna all do this together and we are gonna take these guys to the moon.'"
Dancing Talent
"By the time they came to Motown, they were already polished and ready to go in so many ways. *Laughs*... The Jackson 5 were some dancing fools. They were so electric when they danced. Chuck 'Cholly' Atkins was the choreographer for different Motown groups, but when he got a hold of the Jackson 5 to teach them some moves to certain songs, they ended up teaching him a thing or two!"
J5 Promotions, including the Jackson 5 Cartoon
"I remember that Suzanne [de Passe] and BG (Berry Gordy) were approached to do a cartoon on the Jackson 5 because they were so popular with their younger fans. Kids loved them, and that cartoon was the biggest thing for the J5 kid-fans. It was the biggest thing since sliced bread. For kids to see the Jackson 5 every Saturday morning was so big. We also did Alphabet and other cereal commercials as well. When Jacksonmania hit, we started packaging them as the J5, and we specifically packaged them in different ways with that name."
"I loved all of the promotions we did because the marketing wasn't just random. It was all planned very strategically. So with the Jackson 5, I loved everything we did for them because we all knew what we were doing and when we were going to do it, and we were all doing it together. The promotions we did worked so well because of how we worked together. We would sit down and discuss the next planned promotion and what was best for all of the artists careers, and what to do next for them. We focused on what would be best to help sell records. I remember when the Jackson 5 cartoon came out, their record sales exploded. I mean we sold so many 45's back then of the J5 and It was incredible."
Michael's vocal talent.
"Everybody loved the Jackson 5. They weren't just some kid group. They had fans of all ages. Michael would take a song and if you closed your eyes, you would think he was 30 years old when he sung it. You know, yes, he was a kid. But when you heard his voice, he was so professional. You just wouldn't believe that was a kid singing with such power. Some of the songs that he sung became top records too, and when he sung them, his vocals were on point."
"I remember that Suzanne [de Passe] and BG (Berry Gordy) were approached to do a cartoon on the Jackson 5 because they were so popular with their younger fans. Kids loved them, and that cartoon was the biggest thing for the J5 kid-fans. It was the biggest thing since sliced bread. For kids to see the Jackson 5 every Saturday morning was so big. We also did Alphabet and other cereal commercials as well. When Jacksonmania hit, we started packaging them as the J5, and we specifically packaged them in different ways with that name."
"I loved all of the promotions we did because the marketing wasn't just random. It was all planned very strategically. So with the Jackson 5, I loved everything we did for them because we all knew what we were doing and when we were going to do it, and we were all doing it together. The promotions we did worked so well because of how we worked together. We would sit down and discuss the next planned promotion and what was best for all of the artists careers, and what to do next for them. We focused on what would be best to help sell records. I remember when the Jackson 5 cartoon came out, their record sales exploded. I mean we sold so many 45's back then of the J5 and It was incredible."
Michael's vocal talent.
"Everybody loved the Jackson 5. They weren't just some kid group. They had fans of all ages. Michael would take a song and if you closed your eyes, you would think he was 30 years old when he sung it. You know, yes, he was a kid. But when you heard his voice, he was so professional. You just wouldn't believe that was a kid singing with such power. Some of the songs that he sung became top records too, and when he sung them, his vocals were on point."