This comp encapsulates the first 4 episodes of the THRILLER EFFECT.

The Legend of Mj and the J5 has been done over and over. The story has become a part of the fiber of the MJ fan community and can be recited from memory. However, there are many parts of the historical record that have never been included in the official cannon.

The story basically has Joseph Jackson a frustrated crane operator/steel mill worker coming home to find Tito had broken his guitar. Tito, under threat of switch or belt smashed it and the J5 were born.

So much history to be fleshed out in the maze that is J5 and Mj history. It's the road from rehearsals at 2300 Jackson street to the multitude of talent shows throughout Gary, Indiana. The replacement at lead singer from the talented Jermaine to the gifted youngest-at-the-time, Mj. The decision was a Mom vs Pop debate that Mj's singular skillset took out of their hands.

The J5 took their act on the road and the chitlin circuit called the J5 even on school days. The boys were gigging after school till two or 3 am only to repeat the next school night. Papa Joe was as relentless as he had to be even though Mj would later lament the rigor of his daily regimen.

This is a history with all the highs and lows that you already know and many that you don't. Mj's trust matrix was configured in these earliest of days. Everyone who saw him saw the dollars that were to come. His future stardom seems to have never been in question even back in the days of amateur night and the J5 "residency" evenings at various night spots around Gary, Indiana.

Starting in 1965 through 1968, this is when the lawsuits began. Steeltown records via Atlantic Records imprint Atco vied with Motown for the rights to the J5. The characters have been telling their side.

The boys were still on the road constantly. Joseph was overdoing it as manager. He's gotten them gigs at "Guys & Gals" and at the possible strip club "Mr. Lucky's (unconfirmed). Joseph had also signed a 6 month contract with the local record company STEELTOWN. This period includes the recording and release of the first single on STEELTOWN called "Big Boy". I had heard the song before but I recall the releases being cheaply packaged and the sound was substandard and unmastered in the 90's. However, now I have taken the opportunity to listen to it and it's really a cool track. It is definitely of its time and shows off the power that Michael's voice always had. His phrasing is unique too. Point being, Big Boy was an excellent regional marketing tool for the Jackson 5 back in 1968. It allowed the family to sell the record at gigs and reportedly the record sold about 100,000 copies.

We all know that Michael Jackson was hounded by the press. We have seen how people used their proximity to the family to profit off of the Jackson family celebrity. Janet Jackson once said in a pre Control era interview that she, "never knows if someone is wants to be friends with her to get close to Michael or one of her brothers". Michael Jackson would use these interactions to great effect in songs like "Billie Jean", Dirty Diana", "Who is it?", "Dangerous", "Wanna be Starting Something", "Leave Me alone", "Smooth Criminal" etc, etc, etc...

Michael Jackson's paranoia was justified and the lawsuits started almost immediately. There was a legal battle between Motown and the distribution company that released the Jackson 5 regional hit "Big Boy". There were almost simultaneous releases of "vault tracks" to coincide with the Motown number 1's, "I want you back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll be there" by Steeltown Records. There was an album by a group called The Ripples and the Waves featuring Michael", that included and sound alike kid named Michael. The release was deliberately meant to capitalise on the Jackson 5 mania that had the nation in it's grip between late 1969 and 1973. The Ripples and waves featuring Johnny would result in one of the most confusing lawsuits I've ever seen. Michael would be sued for songs 30 years after the fact. Full film documentary exposition with Gordon Keith here @kennethjoseph1666

People from his old Gary, Indiana neighbourhood sued him. House staff sued them, even Motown would sue them for the name "Jackson 5" even though they had been using it for years prior to signing the initial Motown recording agreement. The more I see, I realise that Joe Jackson was holding it all together. Jackie, Rebbie, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Michael, Randy and Janet have all recognised that the Steelworker without a High School diploma had genius of a sort. Maybe it was just the old school grit of a determined man.

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