Corn Flakes With John Lennon by Robert Hilburn

Author:Robert Hilburn [Robert Hilburn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781605293356
Publisher: Rodale
Published: 2009-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Michael Jackson’s Thriller was well on its way to becoming the biggest-selling album in the world when attorney John Branca phoned me early in 1984. He said Michael was going to do a book for Doubleday and that Michael wanted me to help him with it. Of course, I was interested. Michael was the hottest recording artist in the world, and the book would be a great career opportunity. I was also intrigued by him and at having the chance to see what it was like at the center of so much attention. I had first met Michael in the early days of the Jackson 5, but about all I remember from the evening was that Michael was anxious to get through my questions so he could go back to his room and watch cartoons.

The next time we met was when Michael was on tour with four of his brothers in 1981. Michael and the brothers had left Motown in a dispute over creative control, and Michael launched a remarkable phase two of his career with the spectacular solo album Off the Wall. On the tour, I had found Michael to be one of the most fascinating artists I had met in music. There’s often a gap between a performer’s public and private sides, but rarely had I felt it was as pronounced.

For all his charisma and authority on stage, he had a Bambi-like shyness and fragility away from the spotlight. As he sat in the rear of the tour bus the day after the concert, he seemed anxious, frequently lowering his head when speaking.

When I asked why he didn’t get his own house like his brothers, he said he couldn’t imagine not living at home with his mother in Encino. “Oh no, I think I’d die on my own,” he said. “I’d be so lonely. Even at home, I’m lonely. I sit in my room sometimes and cry. It is so hard to make friends and there are some things you can’t talk to your parents or family about. I sometimes walk around the neighborhood at night, just hoping to find someone to talk to. But I just end up coming home.”

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