JOE JACKSON WRITES OPEN LETTERS TO HIS FAMILY

KATHERINE
“What I can say about Katherine, is she has the most gentle soul of any one I have ever met. And she loved her children. She was really a very good mother to the children. She knew where every single one of them was at all times while she was also working. She did keep them off the street. Many don’t know this but she helped me a lot rehearsing the kids. Although she does not celebrate birthdays she knows all their birthday’s by heart. We’ve been through a lot together”
Her unique character. When Katherine and I argue as couples sometimes do, I am not worried at all if she is loud, shouts or screams at me. But when she gets really quiet, ooh that is when I know to be very very careful around her. Still water runs deep. There is so much of Michael in her.
JANET
Janet, the youngest in the family is very very smart. She was more like a tough kid. She was real rough. I mean she was rough. What do they call them… yes … tomboy. She was a tomboy. She could whop all the girls. Really rough and really really smart. She is really easy nowadays. She has mellowed. She is now married and living a good life with her husband.
I always felt that she was a natural when it came to acting. She did that movie, with the late Tupac Shakur. I thought it was a very good movie, and I was very proud of her performance. As great and known as a singer as she is, I think the world has yet to recognize her extremely great talent as an actress that surpasses her singing. She wants to have a good part in a strong action movie. I can’t wait to see her in one.
She did surprise me once, picking me as her date to the premiere of the movie she did with Eddie Murphy. Now Eddie is a great friend and I consider him one of this generation’s greatest comedians, but right in the middle of watching the movie, as proud as I was of Janet, I never let her know that. She asked me what I thought and I remember telling her “You should be bigger than this. You should be the lead actor in the movie and carrying it”. I know the comment upset her, because she became quiet and I knew it. But i know her so well, that I knew she was going to channel that anger to prove that she could do better and was right. She came back even stronger with greater movies. And you have not seen the best of her yet. That’s my girl.
When I suffered 4 strokes last year, and was in the hospital recovering, only two people in my family traveled all the way to see in the hospital. My granddaughter Brandi (Jackie’s daughter and my baby girl Janet. She sat right next to me as I lay in bed, spent time with me, talking about a lot together. It meant a lot to me. I lay there listening to her as she talked about how she was going to get married. I am happy for her and wish her nothing but the best ! I never tell you this, but I am proud of you Janet.
MICHAEL
Michael: “Michael was like this. He was the type of kid who loved kids. I remember, .. a long time ago, when I used to give him his allowance after the shows. He would use it all up to buy a lot of candy. He would get the children in the neighbourhood to sit down with him in a circle, and he would keep feeding them candy, laughing and having the time of his life. I would look at him and it was beyond me, how in the world he got the most pleasure watching other kids eat candy.
Another thing, he was so fast. That boy was quick. Once we had a very mean dog in the yard, a black doberman. This dog was so mean and fierce, we called him by a dictator’s name (I can’t mention the name). Now every Sunday, Michael would practise his dancing for about 2 to 3 hours. He had just got done doing his routine and was out walking with Randy his little brother. They did not notice that the dog had got out of the yard and it came chasing after them. Michael was so fast, dashing out of the dog’s way in the split of a second and jumping on top of the car. The dog did however get Randy, biting Randy on his back leg. I rushed after the dog and was able to set Randy free. It was very dangerous because Randy might never have been able to walk again, had the dog continued its bite. Years have gone by and I can still see it all happening like a movie. How Michael was able to outrun the dog that fast, and still have the presence of mind to Jump is beyond me.
What else … Let me see, He was also a master at imitation. He could see something once, and would be able to imitate it. The songs he did, he did at home, so when he went into the studio, he knew exactly what he wanted. Somehow he knew how to think ahead.
He did save my life once. During the early days, there was this gang who would come to shows without paying and take our instruments which we had paid dearly for with the little money we had. My boys and I were getting ready to do a show, when this group showed up. I was not having it anymore this time and I stood up to fight them by myself. I was putting up a fight, when one of them knocked me in the back of my head with a microphone, knocking me out cold. As I lay unconscious, bleeding, little did I know, but Michael had run into the street to pay phone. He called out to people walking by if they could carry him, as he was unable to reach the phone because of his height. They did lift him up, and he called 9-1-1.
After the ambulance got to the show and worked on me, I was barely able to get up. I remember Michael and the boys looking at me with their youthful eyes, full of confusion as if asking “What do we do know?”. I looked straight at them and without any hesitation said “You go on stage and do the show, like nothing has happened. The show must always go on!” Michael internalized that lesson and over the years, even in pain, stress, sadness, he would never let the public see it. He was a professional till the end. In my eyes “The Greatest Entertainer that ever lived
RANDY
Randy can play almost anything on stage. Because he was too young at the time to join the group, and us keeping him in all the time (looking after him), he got to spend most of his time playing around in the studio with almost all the various instruments. As he grew older he became more the percussionist. He is an extremely good producer and song writer. He is the one who wrote that famous song on the Jackson’s album, you know .. the one. … .. Well you get this way as you get older. He put together a group “Randy and Gypsys”. I loved that album. I think it would have done much better if they had given it a little more promotion.
JERMAINE
Jermaine is the type of Kid who is very sensitive and extremely good at playing the base guitar. I have not met anyone who can play the base better than him. He loved to play the base. He taught some of his kids to play the guitar too! Actually one of his kids a few years ago was playing the lead guitar with him on stage. I have always felt that no one can sing a ballad song better than Jermaine. He has a God given talent to sing ballads better than anyone in this world. I am not saying this simply because he is my son. I have been around the block and know quality when I hear it. I only wish he sang them more often than he does.
JACKIE
About Jackie. He has a very strong will and does not like being told what to do. A story comes to mind during his growing up years. I bought Jackie a brand new saxophone because I wanted him to play some type of instrument besides just dancing and singing. He looked at the instrument, took it with him to school, came back home and told me as a matter of fact that he did not want it. One day, years later he came into my office and asked me “How come I am not playing any instruments. I replied, “You said you did not want it and you put it down”. He inquired why I never forced him as it would have been good for him. I never told him why not, but I knew his will was to strong back then to be forced into doing something he never wanted to do. That was why I never tried.
MARLON
Marlon I can say is a determined soul. He might not have been as quick at getting something right away as Michael did, but he would work at it until he got it. He could put his mind to something and stay focused. He did learn a lot from Michael as they were both very close in age. He is a great dancer, but was in Michael’s shadow so the public never go to discover how talented he as a solo artist could be. I recently watched him perform on stage with his brothers, and I could see the moves flow naturally out of him. I am happy to see him get the recognition he deserves.
TITO
What can I say about Tito. He would have been a good diplomatic political leader. He raised his boys the right way and taught them all the good stuff. I am very very proud of the way he raised his sons, the 3T’s. What made the 3T’s so good is they copied after their father. Tito had the patience to teach them. Some of them sleep with keyboards right by their bedside, so if they get up in the middle of the night with a tune in their head, they write it down, practise as not to forget it. They are excellent writers, good producers and good entertainers. He always had cool way about him and my hat goes off to him for the great job he has done with raising my incredible grandsons.
LATOYA
Latoya: Latoya is the type of young lady who loves to Entertain. I think she would have been a great interior and fashion designer. She is very particular and likes the finer things in life. She has her show going on now with the OWN Network and is engaged to someone I like, Jeffre. She has invited me on her show multiple times and makes certain to attend any of my events. I have grown very close to her over the years. She has surprised me in a very positive way. Never in my dreams did I imagine her showing me this much appreciation and love. She calls me all the time and is one of the few who went on TV and said “My father had a stroke”. I am proud to call her my daughter and wish nothing but the best for her.
REBBIE
What can I say about Rebbie. She is my eldest child and as most first borns do, she carried the weight of responsibility to look after her brothers and sisters. She is a good daughter. A 100% jehovah witness. She raised all her children as Jehovah witnesses. As Katherine had to work, the responsibility fell on her to cook and look after my other kids. She helped Katherine a lot in raising the kids, and I do have much to thank her for how she carried herself through the years