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didn ’ t want us to fall into them , so he kept us busy . We worked all the time , whether it was on our music or just moving bricks in the backyard from one spot to another spot ; he did it to keep us occupied because he knew it was going to take us all day to move those bricks from over here to over there !
We always hear about your father ’ s role , but what about your mother , Katherine ? Actually , there wouldn ’ t have been a Jackson 5 without her , she was the one who from the very beginning realised we had talent . Our momma was an avid country and western fan so we would harmonise with her all the time . And she told my poppa : " Hey Joe , the boys can really sing '!
How do you define growing up Jackson 5 , it must have been hard in the spotlight , the whole world watching you grow up ? When we were growing up and doing our music , we really didn ’ t realise the effect our music had on the world . We didn ’ t think about that stuff , we just enjoyed the music . We didn ’ t think about being famous , it wasn ’ t until we got older and realised what gift had been bestowed on our family .
You were the force behind music of colour to households that were rejecting it based on skin colour ? It ’ s amazing because what people don ’ t understand is that music is a universal language , its about bringing people together in harmony and peace , unifying the world and unifying people through music . Our music reached all genres and nationalities because the message that is sent is about harmony . The Jackson 5 music is uplifting ; it broke barriers , it opened doors and done so much but at the time we didn ’ t realise that . It changed a whole American era .
Is it true that you learned your dance moves from your earlier days , before Motown , when fans would throw money on the stage , and you would ‘ shimmy ’ to pick it up ? Dodging the belt , that ’ s how we learned to move fast ! We got real slick , that ’ s how we learned to slide side to side ! Joking aside , before we signed with Motown we used to do shows in clubs and people would throw money on stage . We learned to do the splits to pick it up and whoever got the money from the stage whilst dancing didn ’ t share with the others !
Do you feel Michael is present with you on stage ? Yes , Michael is constantly in our minds while we ’ re on stage . We ’ re performing songs of The Jackson Five and we feel him with us . We do some of Michael ’ s music on stage and he ’ s certainly remembered . The first thing we think of is of him being our brother and the love we had for each other as brothers . That ’ s what we miss more than anything . We think of how brilliant he was as an entertainer , one of the greatest entertainers that ever held a microphone and hit a stage . No one can deny him of that just because he was our brother . Michael would have been a leader in anybody ’ s band , even if he was in The Beatles or The Rolling Stones . He was magical and different and very brilliant ; he was a genius , and we all miss him tremendously . The whole world misses Michael Jackson .
Do you think there will be a time when The Jacksons will stop playing music , or will you pass this down to the children / grandchildren . As long as Mick Jagger is up there playing so will we ! We have lots of children and grandchildren and they ’ re already playing their own music and performing so we ’ re sure they will keep The Jackson songs alive .
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