dissatisfaction with his appearance,
his nightmares and chronic sleep
problems, his tendency to remain
hyper-compliant, especially with his
father, and to remain childlike
throughout his adult life, are
consistent with the effects of the
maltreatment he endured as a young
child.
In an interview with Martin Bashir,
later included in the 2003 broadcast
of Living with Michael Jackson,
Jackson acknowledged that his father
hurt him when he was a child,
recalling that Joseph often sat in a
chair with a belt in his hand as he and
his siblings rehearsed, and that "if you
didn't do it the right way, he would
tear you up, really get you." Both of
Jackson's parents have disagreed with
the longstanding allegations of abuse,
with Katherine stating that while the
whippings are considered abuse
today, such action was a common way
to discipline children back
then. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and
Marlon have also said that their father
is not abusive, but rather
misunderstood.
Jackson (center) as a member of the
Jackson 5 in 1972.
In 1965, Michael and Marlon join ed
the Jackson Brothers—a band formed
by their father and which included
brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—
as backup musicians
playing congas and tambourine. In
1966, Jackson began sharing lead
vocals with his older brother
Jermaine, and the group's name was
changed to the Jackson 5. That
following year, the group won a major
local talent show with Jackson
performing the dance to Robert
Parker's 1965 hit "Barefootin'". From
1966 to 1968 the band toured
the Midwest, frequently performing at
a string of black clubs known as the
"chitlin' circuit" as the opening act for
artists such as Sam & Dave, the
O'Jays, Gladys Knight, and Etta
James. The Jackson 5 also performed
at clubs and cocktail lounges,
where striptease shows and other
adult acts were featured, and at local
auditoriums and high school
dances. In August 1967, while touring
the East coast, the group won a
weekly amateur night concert at
theApollo Theater in Harlem. The
Jackson 5 recorded several songs,
including "Big Boy" (1968), their first
single, for Steeltown Records, a Gary,
Indiana, record label, before signing
with Motown in 1969. The Jackson 5
left Gary in 1969 and relocated to the
Los Angeles area, where they
continued to record music for
Motown. The magazine Rolling
Stone later described the young
Michael as "a prodigy" with