From the September 24, 1971 issue of LIFE
THE ROCK FAMILY AFFAIR
Photography by
JOHN OLSON
THE JACKSON FIVE
The Jackson Five, watched over by Joseph and Katherine Jackson, their parents,
are: Michael, the lead singer, 13, foreground; and, left to right, Jackie, 20;
Marlon, 14; Tito, 17; Jermaine, 16. They have made it very big in a way that an
old story in black America. "Show Business" is still one of the surest routes out
of the ghetto. The Jackson's' huge new house in Encrino, Calif. is testimony to
gold records and sold-out concert engagements: swimming pool and basketball
court, minibikes, super clothes, toys and other pleasures. Just three years ago
their father was a crane operator in Gary, Ind. "When the kids where little,"
Joseph Jackson says, "I played guitar with a group called the Falcons. We would
rehearse at the house, and they would be around lookin' up, you know. And from
their they tried to play themselves. It wasn't hard to hard to know they could go
on to be professionals. They won practically all the talent shows and I wasn't
surprised when they did make it. Because, you see, we were trying awful hard."
So the Jackson Five is now an institution with a host of spin-offsÑfan clubs, a
magazine, TV productions. Their father is their manager, and they have a lawyer
and an accountant. Because the Five are young, their lives are carefully watched
over. The elder Jackson's don't worry about drugs, or outlandish behavior. They
are concerned about the difficulties of being "professionals" at an early age.
"But there is still a part of a child's life that is still a child," Mr. Jackson
says. "They go to school, they do their chores, play ball. They have to maintain
their personal lives, because if an entertainer doesn't, that's when he can get
the big head. I have tried to teach them to associate with everybodyÑit doesn't
matter what class. Because all people are the same. The only difference is maybe
some got a lucky break."
Click on a name below and see these rock legends with their parents back in 1971
FRANK ZAPPA ELTON JOHN ERIC CLAPTON
THE JACKSON FIVE GINGER BAKER JOE COCKER
GRACE SLICK DAVID CROSBY RICHIE HAVENS
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