MJ (53 page)

Although Pepsi was MJ’s most famous sponsor, sources say the singer preferred to work with Quaker Oats—until Don King made the cola deal.
(Cache Agency)

Quincy Jones, Dionne Warwick, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Lionel Richie
(from left)
celebrate their Grammy Awards for “We Are the World” at LA’s Shrine Auditorium on February 25, 1986.
(Cache Agency)

Randy Waldman, who played synthesizer during the
Bad
sessions, summed up MJ’s creative method: “He would hum different melodies, and I’d plunk around on the piano and he’d go, ‘Yeah, that’s what I want to do.’ ”
(Courtesy of Randy Waldman)

Keyboardist Rory Kaplan calls the
Bad
tour “Michael’s absolute, complete, controlled vision—what he wanted, how he wanted it presented, everything from choreography to handpicking dancers to singers and all the band members.”
(Cache Agency)

MJ on the final date of the
Bad
tour, LA Sports Arena, January 27, 1989.
(Cache Agency)

Wearing a $250,000 necklace Michael rented for her for the occasion, Elizabeth Taylor appeared at the Jacksons’ Madison Square Garden reunion show in September 2001. Onstage, she called MJ “the most successful recording artist in the history of popular music and, most importantly, to me, my closest friend.”
(Cache Agency)

I
t isn’t easy for people close to Michael Jackson to publicly discuss their relationships with him—many signed nondisclosures, are writing their own books, have been burned in the press, or don’t have the energy to return to the thicket that was MJ’s life. But I’m grateful to the 450-some sources who shared memories and insight, and particularly wish to recognize those who have since died, including Deke Richards, David Braun, Bobby Martin, Louis Johnson (the bass player), George Duke, Ricky Lawson, Mike Merkow, and Clarence Burke.

More than twenty potential sources asked to be paid for interviews. I refused all such requests, although I bought Ronnie Rancifer a beer on Halloween 2012 at the American Legion in Hobart, Indiana. (Or maybe he bought me one—can’t remember. Crazy night.)

Thanks to my original Scribner editor, Brant Rumble, for his belief in this idea and faith in its implementation. John Glynn shepherded it to publication with equal skill and enthusiasm. (Thanks also to Nan Graham, Colin Harrison, and Brian Belfiglio of Scribner for important support.) My agent, David Dunton, is a great and kind man who understands music and authors. My previous agent, Dan Lazar, circulated an earlier MJ proposal and deserves credit and gratitude for turning me into an author in the first place.

Many insightful people were crucial to the analysis, including dance expert Mark Allan Davis, music-business guru Steve Greenberg (who made important corrections and did a lengthy interview), cultural critic Deena Weinstein, and MJ-fanatic-turned-artist-manager David Russell. Roslyn Raney translated Joe Jackson’s book from German to English for a fair price and did a wonderful job. Old friend Larry Mills didn’t hesitate to share his connections.
Rolling Stone
colleague David Browne was available any time, day or night, for insight and talking me off the ledge. Also providing advice, contacts, etc.: Rob McGibbon (“cheers!”), Ron Doyle, Jimmy Calinksi, Brian Hiatt, James Bailey, Joel Warner, Larry Solters, Eve Becker, Julie McDonald, Leland Rucker, David Gardner, Glenn Gamboa, Peg Schoon of Indiana University Northwest, and Patrice Cook of the Amite County, Mississippi, Courthouse. My brother Mark joined me on a crucial LA research trip (and funded it!), and Jonathan Boonin arranged an incredible last-minute Las Vegas trip to see Cirque du Soleil’s
ONE
show and didn’t complain when I rewrote for three days in our hotel room. Thanks to the magazine and newspaper editors who allowed me to continue making a living during this three-year project. And thanks to Mark and Doug for teaching me everything I know.

I aspired to the humor and storytelling of Leigh Montville’s
Evel: The High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil, and Legend
and the thoroughness and precision of Tim Riley’s
Lennon: The Man, the Myth, the Music—the Definitive Life
. It helped that both authors were available for counseling. Robert Hilburn, author of
Johnny Cash: The Life,
who covered MJ for years in the
LA
Times,
preached, too, via e-mail.

Finally, I’d like to recognize my father, Morton P. Knopper, who passed away before I could give him a copy of my first book, and my mother, Dorothy Knopper, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease before this one. I know exactly how they would react: “We don’t understand any of the material—we like Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand and
The Sound of Music
!—but we love how you write.” I miss them saying that.

ALSO BY STEVE KNOPPER

Appetite for Self-Destruction:

The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age

Unless otherwise noted, all descriptions of performances come from YouTube clips.

“Let’s get out of here” and Emerson High School strike details
: James B. Lane,
City of the Century: A History of Gary, Indiana
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1978), p. 142; author interview with James Lane.

“Strike!” and “We won’t go back”
: “May Settle School Strike Today,”
Gary Post-Tribune,
September 28, 1927, p. 15.

Strikers driving in circles and honking horns
: “600 ‘E’ Pupils Go on Strike and Parade,”
Gary Post-Tribune,
September 26, 1927, p. 1.