With Katherine Jackson ratcheting up the debate about her son Michael Jackson's relationship with children by saying he was no child molester, a well-placed government source tells RadarOnline she's right.

"The Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services absolutely agrees with Katherine that her son never molested any child in cases the department investigated," a source told RadarOnline.

Michael Jackson was investigated by DCFS on and off for at least 10 years. The department undertook a first extensive investigation of allegations made by an underage accuser in 1993.

"Michael was fully cooperative during all of his interactions with DCFS," the source said. "Michael was interviewed for hours without his lawyer. He held nothing back. He couldn't understand why these allegations were being made against him. DCFS cleared him on any wrongdoing in ALL investigations.

"Did Michael put himself in precarious situations that most normal people wouldn't? Absolutely . . . The questioning was very, very hard on Michael, he just couldn't fathom that anyone could accuse him of being a child molester."

Another accuser, in 2005, "had absolutely no credibility," the source said. "There were differing accounts of what happened from the accuser and his family members."

Los Angeles' DCFS also investigated claims of abuse last year involving Michael Jackson's three children. Michael's nephew, Jaafar, allegedly used a stun gun on Michael's son, Blanket. After an extensive investigation, DCFS again took no action in the 2010 stun gun incident.

"Katherine was questioned by officials from the department, and as always, she was cooperative but saddened," the source said. "Katherine feels that her family has been targeted by opportunists over the years, and she just hopes that was the last time she ever has to go through that."

Source: Radar Online

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Now Playing: The Jackson Find

In 1967, Larry Blasingaine played on the first studio recording by the Jackson Five. The tape was lost for 42 years. The song still hasn't been released. But now he can finally listen to it — and so can you.

December 23, 2010.



by Larry Blasingaine

Last year I broke Larry Blasingaine's heart. For more than 40 years he believed he'd played guitar on the Jackson Five's first single, "Big Boy," a local hit released in January 1968 on Steeltown Records out of Gary, Indiana. I was the one who had to tell him he hadn't. But my research into the group's early history also led to the discovery of a tape no one knew existed—the Jackson Five's earliest professional recording. It predated the sessions for that first single by four months, and Blasingaine's guitar was almost certainly on it. An engineer restored the track this September, and since then its owners have been considering how and when to release it.

I'd gotten in touch with Blasingaine (who also goes by Larry Abdul Hakeem) because I was working on a story about Apex, the Chicago studio where the Jacksons had recorded "Big Boy" for Steeltown. In July 2009 he gave an interview to Chicago soul historian Bob Abrahamian on WHPK, during which he talked about working with the Jackson Five to cut a version of "Big Boy" at a different studio, in the One-derful Records building at 1827 S. Michigan. At first I thought he was just misremembering, but soon I began to suspect that the group had recorded "Big Boy" twice in the summer and fall of 1967. The earlier recording was in all likelihood the one the 15-year-old Blasingaine, a child prodigy already working as a studio musician, had contributed to. But it had never been released, and the odds seemed overwhelming that it'd been taped over, lost, or destroyed in the decades since.

In late July, when I explained this to Blasingaine, he was stunned. His voice cracked, and he could barely find words to deny it: "Naaaw, unh-uhhh." He stopped returning my calls and scolded Abrahamian for putting me in touch with him. Later he would tell me he'd suspected I was trying to use him to "checkmate" Pervis Spann, the legendary DJ who'd helped develop the Jackson Five, because I'd told him that Spann knew nothing about a "Big Boy" session for One-derful.

Fortunately some better news soon came along. As I related in a September 2009 Reader cover story, in late August a thorough scouring of the One-derful archives turned up a spool of tape that appeared to hold the version of the Jackson Five's "Big Boy" that Blasingaine remembered recording. He was beside himself, and especially happy to learn that his memories of the session had prompted the search. But he still couldn't hear the music—the tape was too fragile, not to mention too potentially valuable, to play.

One-derful's assets had been inherited by Eric and Tony Leaner and their sister Phyllis Newkirk—all children of Ernie Leaner, who founded the label with his brother, George. They spent a full year searching for a capable, trustworthy studio to restore the tape and digitally transfer its contents. In September 2010, when that work was done, the tape became more than just potentially valuable: it's now confirmed to be the first known studio recording by Michael Jackson, lost for 42 years. Soon I was finally able to make proper amends for the distress I had caused Blasingaine. Earlier this month, I arranged for him to be one of the very first people to hear it.

Their paths would soon sharply diverge, but in 1967 and '68 Larry Blasingaine and the Jacksons were on parallel courses. The Jackson Five and Blasingaine's group the Young Folks (they'd later record as Larry & the Hippies) shared a manager, gigged at the same Chicago nightclubs, like the Green Bunny and the High Chaparral, and sometimes shared equipment and rehearsal space when they had to prepare for one of Spann's showcases. But Blasingaine's interests and aptitudes destined him for a career behind the scenes.

He'd dutifully studied music theory in grammar school and started his first band through a west-side youth-arts program called Teens With Talent, and his seriousness inspired adults to reach out and mentor him. Early on he picked up what he calls "tricks of the trade"—mostly tips about how to conduct oneself onstage—from members of the Red Saunders Orchestra. Saxophonist Eddie Silvers, the musical director at One-derful, taught him chord charts; One-derful producer Otis Hayes demystified engineering; and nightclub singer Hi-Fi White helped him understand Broadway-style arranging. Though Blasingaine's own singles were never hits, in 1968 he became the bandleader for popular sister act the Emotions. A year and half later—still in his teens—he started working as a sideman for R&B great Jackie Wilson. He quickly graduated to musical director, a role he held until Wilson's career-ending onstage heart attack in 1975.

His most intimate encounter with the Jacksons was on July 13, 1967, when he entered the One-derful studio—by then his home away from home—and saw the Jackson brothers preparing for a session. They were working on "Big Boy," a tune Silvers had written. "When I came in, I was shocked," Blasingaine says. "It never did become a competitional thing, but I was just amazed that they were there at my studio. 'What are you doing here on my turf?' That's when Eddie approached me. He said, 'Larry, go in there and show Jermaine how to stop his bass from sounding boomy.' I went in and showed him how to use the fleshy part of the palm to hold on the strings, 'cause he was playing with his thumbs. And then Eddie said, 'Grab your guitar, I want you to play this part.' And that was that."

And for more than four decades, that was that. For reasons they took to their graves, George and Ernie Leaner decided not to release their Jackson Five record. They sold whatever contract they'd signed with the group to Gordon Keith of Steeltown, who had the Jacksons recut "Big Boy" in November 1967—and that version would go on to sell 60,000 copies, by Keith's estimate. Meanwhile the One-derful recording was clipped from its reel, put on a hub, left on a shelf, and overlooked in every inventory of the label's stock—the most recent accounting, in July 2007, was conducted with Hayes, the engineer on the Jacksons' 1967 session.

After the One-derful tape turned up last year, the Leaner heirs took a great deal of care deciding on the best way to restore and digitally preserve it. After researching studios online and soliciting recommendations from engineers and reissue labels, including local favorites the Numero Group, they ultimately chose to entrust the tape to Steve Puntolillo, who runs the Sonicraft A2DX Lab in Freehold, New Jersey. Sonicraft uses a museum's worth of vintage recording equipment alongside up-to-the-minute digital gear, and its past projects have included the restoration of session recordings Jimi Hendrix did before he got famous and assistance with the recent box-set reissue of Springsteen'sDarkness on the Edge of Town—surely holy work for a Jersey studio.

Tony Leaner, who lives in Maryland, drove the tape to Sonicraft on September 16 and stayed for the session. Puntolillo was impressed with the tape's condition, given its history—he didn't have to do much but remove surface contaminants, and he finished the job within a day. "It wasn't well cared for, but it responded really well," he says. "There was no degradation, no mold—sonically it's fine."

Though Puntolillo was excited to hear the voice of the eight-year-old Michael Jackson, it was Leaner's reaction to the music that touched him most. "I was watching Tony," he says. "It was a really fun, kind of a joyous occasion, to see him discover that it really was there." The recording of "Big Boy," apparently the master from the session, was made on a four-track machine that used half-inch tape, though only three tracks had been filled. The music seems to have been cut live, with all the instrumentalists playing at once, but Michael's vocals—and what sound like two layers of background harmonies—were probably overdubbed. Puntolillo digitally archived the tracks, prepared a rough preliminary mix, and sent the tape and the mix home with Leaner.

The Leaners are still pondering their next move, but it's practically a given that the song will eventually be properly mixed and commercially released—so far they've contacted a few boutique labels and Universal, which owns the rights to the Jackson Five's back catalog, but they've made no decisions.



On Wednesday, December 1, I took Blasingaine and photographer Jim Newberry to meet Eric Leaner in a conference room on the 20th floor of Riverside Plaza, aka the old Chicago Daily News building on Madison. Leaner, who came of age after his family had left the record business, has had a job in this building for 23 years, working his way up from the mailroom, eventually becoming Sam Zell's personal driver and then a tax director for Zell's firm Equity Office (which was bought out by the Blackstone Group in 2007). Before we arrived he'd moved a box of pastries off the conference table, replacing it with a small iPod dock. As we waited, he scrolled through his iTunes library to find the long-lost track.

Though Blasingaine had been looking relaxed and sharp, his red-dyed goatee freshly trimmed for a high-profile gig with Syl Johnson the previous Saturday, in those last few moments he slumped forward and seemed to tense up. I'd already had a chance to listen to the song—Leaner had invited me to his office in October—but this was Blasingaine's first time. Given that he'd already had to abandon his cherished belief that he'd played on the Steeltown single, the stakes for him were high. What if, despite all the signs that pointed to yes, it turned out he wasn't on this one either?
Finally the music poured out of the tiny speakers to fill the reverberant conference room. Within seconds of the first note Blasingaine sat up, a smile on his lips. "OK, that's it," he whispered.

He grabbed an air guitar—the automatic gesture of a lifelong musician—and followed along with the rhythms of his part. "I played the chop," he explained. "At that time everyone wanted to play like Curtis Mayfield, and that was a popular thing, to reinforce the groove so they could dance."

Seconds later, he cut in again: "That's what was missing—the organ!" One of the most noticeable differences between the One-derful "Big Boy" and the Steeltown version is the absence of the Hammond B-3 on the latter. The Jacksons wouldn't add an organ to their band till after they signed with Motown a year later, but there was one in the One-derful studio. Though it's unclear who played it, the part is just simple chords—Silvers or studio drummer Jimmy Jones could've handled it easily.

"Remember I always said the quality [of the Steeltown record] was weak compared to how One-derful sounded?" Blasingaine reminded me. "What I notice about this session—I can't tell until I hear it on bigger speakers, but this seems more professional. The balance, the engineering, it sounds like it was produced . . . they took time to work with them, especially the voices . . . the backgrounds are stronger, Michael is clearer; it jells. It's what made them the Jackson Five—people were amazed by hearing them so young and being able to do that. And that's why I didn't understand when they said they had to go get some other musicians to play and sing."

That "they" is Steeltown's Gordon Keith. He and Blasingaine met when I recruited them both for a panel I was assembling as part of a Michael Jackson symposium at Columbia College's Center for Black Music Research this September. At the panel discussion, Keith pointed out that he was the only person who'd had enough faith in the fledgling Jackson Five to release a record. They'd been championed by powerful players like Spann, considered by Curtis Mayfield's new Curtom label, and masterfully recorded by One-derful—but until Keith, no one had believed in them enough to test the market. But he was also wary of letting young kids do all the playing and singing on a single he was paying for. "I had faith in them," Keith explained at the symposium, "but not that much faith."

Thus the only musician on both versions seems to be drummer Johnny Jackson, a gifted Gary teen Motown would later erroneously bill as a Jackson cousin. On the Steeltown "Big Boy," adult musicians from Gary replace Jermaine on bass and Tito on guitar. Michael also seems to be the only Jackson singing on the Steeltown side—a talented group of adults, Keith included, perform the background vocals. This is the most pronounced difference between the two versions, more significant than the organ, the varying levels of production polish, and the maturity (or lack thereof) in the musicianship. The unreleased One-derful track features the harmonies of Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon, recognizable from their Motown hits—and because of these lively, youthful, familiar voices, it simply sounds more like the Jackson Five.
"They underestimated them," Blasingaine muttered, shaking his head. "Listen to how strong that is. They could perform."

We listened to the track again. This time I noticed that Michael's faux-improvised vocal riffing at the end of the song, which as a stage-seasoned nine-year-old he would cut almost exactly the same way on the Steeltown single, goes on a few seconds longer in this version—providing an extra bit of insight into his pre-Motown style. While the music played, I asked Blasingaine if it was shaking loose any specific memories. "I just remember the studio being crowded," he said. "I remember the daddy, Joe, was there, and the [Jackson] kids were in the southeast corner, in the back, coming around the drums, sitting in chairs. They never let us stand up to play—that was too distracting. Everybody sat down."

Blasingaine requested yet another digital spin, and his recollections became more general. "It just brings back the memory of how it used to be," he said. "I remember the Hammond B-3 organ sitting in the back—we always wanted [Hayes] to bring up the volume on it so we could get a Jimmy Smith sound on it, but he never would do that for us. L.V. Johnson, Mighty Joe Young, Cash McCall, it was like an everyday thing to see these cats coming in. We was like a family. George [Leaner] treated us like he was our uncle or something. He let us take equipment out of the studio to use at shows. It was nice. Every now and then I have dreams about that situation. In fact, I just dreamed that One-derful Records had opened back up—Otis and everybody came back together, Jimmy had came back. . . . "

Then we listened to the Steeltown "Big Boy," hoping to figure out how Blasingaine could have taken someone else's playing as his own for so many years. "He's playing the same part I played," he explained. "Like I said, it was popular at the time, and at that time I had a Gibson—and listen, whoever played the guitar used a Gibson like I did."

He turned his attention to the other instruments. "You can tell that's not the same model bass that Jermaine used. And his playing is more precise—oh, that was a tight turnaround!" he said, laughing. "That was slick—they would have had Jermaine working in the studio if he could do that!"

In the past Blasingaine had been motivated to explain away such inconsistencies, of course, and the Steeltown version sounds similar enough to allow such self-deception because it was built on a recording he'd helped make just four months earlier. "We set the pace," he said. "The arrangement came from what we did at One-derful."

It's impossible to say which "Big Boy" is better, especially for anyone with nostalgic ears accustomed to the Steeltown single, which became a beloved regional hit—its commercial success is one big reason Keith bristles at any suggestion that Motown "discovered" the Jacksons. The One-derful version sounds more like the Jacksons, thanks to the brothers' inimitable background harmonies and their earnest, exuberant, not-quite-professional playing. But the Steeltown version has relatively mature and polished vocals from Michael—for an eight-year-old, a few months of experience in the nightclubs of Chicago and Gary might as well be a lifetime. Still, Jackson fans curious about his development may find the earlier attempt more interesting. And Jackson fans will want to hear it—Blasingaine's biases aside, Silvers did a fine production job. The song is more than a demo or a historical curiosity. The Jackson Five's first studio session yielded a great recording.

Leaner went back and played the One-derful version one last time, and Blasingaine listened with a slight smile on his face. It seemed he'd had enough time to feel the joy of hearing his younger self play and wax nostalgic about the old mentors whose handiwork shaped the song—now he was just drinking in young Michael's determined leads and his brothers' sweet harmonies.

"That's real," he softly sighed, a far-off look in his eyes. "Real, pure Jackson Five."  

Source: Chicago Reader

Here are parts 2 and 3 of the text.


Michael Jackson rehearsed for the One More Chance video for just one day. Photo Credit: Sawf News

Michael Jackson's Dream Takes Shape

In October 2003 Michael Jackson flew to Las Vegas to begin a series of in-person appearances that would mark the beginning of his elaborate comeback plans. In keeping with his new accessible image he also took part in several autograph signing sessions, the proceeds from which went to charity. On Saturday 25th October he was presented with the key to Las Vegas at the Desert Passage Mall and three days later he appeared at the Radio Music Awards to debut his new charity single, What More Can I Give.

One More Chance Music Video

But most excitingly for the star's fans, Jackson was in town to record a new music video. A new greatest hits compilation called Number Ones was due to be released on November 18th and, thinking that it would fulfill his contractual obligations to Sony, Jackson had contributed an unreleased track, One More Chance, and agreed to promote it as a single. Seeing the opportunity to fulfill another contractual obligation at the same time - he owed CBS a performance - Jackson decided to record an accompanying music video. The video would debut on November 26th at the end of a CBS special about the star and then go into rotation elsewhere.

After recording the video Jackson was set to embark on what Stuart Backerman describes as a 'triumphant publicity tour' across Europe, Africa and South America. "We were going for three months," says the publicist. "We were going to do all kinds of autograph sessions, record signings and fan events and we were going to do something at Harrods in London, too."

"He was going to give Muhammad Ali an award at the Bambi Awards in Germany," adds Dieter Wiesner. "We also had a plan to do something with Nelson Mandela."

Nick Brandt, a seasoned Jackson collaborator, was scheduled to direct the new video. Brandt had worked on numerous short films with the star in the past - most famously on the Earth Song video, which combined Jackson's strong environmental views with the director's acclaimed wildlife photography. Their most recent outing had been 2001's Cry, a video Jackson reportedly refused to appear in due to his conflict with Sony.

Turning his Back to Music in Pursuit of Film

The shoot would take place at the CMX Productions studio and the concept was simple. The song was a yearning ballad about lost love in which Jackson pleaded with an ex-girlfriend for 'one more chance at love'. The video would feature a unique role reversal in which an audience would stand onstage and watch Jackson as he performed the track in an empty, upscale nightclub, hopping banisters and jumping on tables. The set-up seemed to have little correlation with the song and appeared to be more of a comment on the press and public's perpetual invasion into Jackson's privacy - a common theme in the star's videos - essentially showing a crowd of bystanders watching over Jackson in an intimate, off-stage moment, transfixed by his heartbreak.

Jackson technically owed CBS a performance so the aim was to create a hybrid that would satisfy the broadcaster and also work as a music video. An idea was hatched to give the video a live feeling by following Jackson seamlessly through the club rather than cutting from scene to scene in the typical music video style.

"We had five cameras rolling on him at all times," says a senior crew member, who asked to remain anonymous after speaking without record label permission. "The idea was to try to capture Michael, as much as possible, doing one routine through the club, to give it kind of a live feeling. It would literally flow from one camera to the next. We also had kind of a limited time with Michael because he would set his own schedule, so we also decided to capture it that way to make sure we could get it all shot cohesively."


Michael Jackson rehearsed for the One More Chance video for just one day. Photo Credit: Sawf News

Running the production on a tight schedule and a tight budget, the crew got one rehearsal day with Jackson. "Michael came in that day to do dance rehearsals with Nick and to work out how he would move around the club," says the crew member. "That was where we determined which tables he would jump on so we could light them properly and so on. So that was probably about two to three hours of just Nick and other key crew members working with Michael - maybe four hours.

"Watching his process with Nick was quite inspiring. He really liked to create with Nick. He was involved in everything. He was obviously an experienced artist in music videos and knew what the process was all about, knew who the key people were to talk to. I mean, he and the crew had a definite conversation about composition and lighting and how to capture various dance moves with the camera and what angles to use. He was truly an artist. He didn't just show up and not care. He was definitely excited to be there and involved in the process and really wanted to create something special."

Jackson's manager Dieter Wiesner, however, says the singer wasn't quite as excited as he seemed; much of the video had been devised in the star's absence and he was annoyed by the modest budget. "Michael was not too happy about it," he says. "It was a relaxed situation but it was not what Michael really wanted to do. He looked still for the biggest thing and this was not something he would pick. It was not one of his high class things he did before."

Wiesner says Jackson was also unhappy with the set's resemblance to one of his best known videos from the 1980s. "When we arrived there, the set was already done. He was saying, 'This is like Smooth Criminal'. But he did his job. I think when he started to do something, he did it right. He was not so happy but he had to deliver something and that's what he did."

Michael Jackson dreamt of a triumphant return to showbiz after years of seclusion with the music video of One More Chance in 2003, only to have the dream turn into his worst nightmare.


Michael Jackson during One More Chance video shoot. Photo Credit: Sawf News

Filming of One More Chance

On Monday 17th November 2003 a crowd of extras waited in a holding area at the CMX studio. They knew they were there for a music video, but that was all they knew. "We auditioned on the Friday and knew we were going to shoot at the soundstage on Monday," says Ken Yesh, one of the extras chosen for the shoot. "We went the entire weekend wondering who the video was for. Then, when we got there, we signed some papers and on the back page it said 'Michael Jackson, One More Chance, Sony Productions'. We all just flipped."

"That right there was such a moment," says fellow extra Juliette Myers. "As we were going down the line we were cheering because wow, you know, what an iconic moment. We were going to be a part of something that's history."

But the excitement was short-lived. "When we went into the soundstage they told us that 'yes, this is a Michael Jackson video but he will not be here'," says Ken Yesh. "So we were all pretty disappointed. He had a body double that was doing all the camera sets and all the arrangements. We thought that that was all that was going to be there - just a lookalike."

The extras were put in bleachers on the stage in a choral arrangement while the crew tinkered with the lighting. A few extras were selected to look into the distance or look amazed and the crew panned the audience a lot, but the extras spent much of their time standing around. "If they weren't going to use us for a scene then they'd take us back out to the waiting area," says extra Stephen McClelland. "I remember us waiting outside while they were trying to set up some of the table things to get a rough idea."

"Being extras, we started early but we didn't really have to do much," agrees Juliette Myers. "They'd set us up, they'd do some lighting and cue the music and we'd stand and do our part, then we'd cut for a break. There was never really much work. There was a very free, fun and fancy type air about the day."

Michael Jackson's Surprise Appearance

Several hours into the shooting day, Michael Jackson, wearing dark jeans and a white t-shirt, slipped onto the set through a back door. "When he made his entrance it wasn't anything grand," says Ken Yesh. "It was kind of on the down low - really hush-hush. We were onstage at the time so there were a few whispers of, 'Oh my God, I think that's him!' The room was pretty dim. The whole ambience was the nightclub scene so there were some lamps on the tables and the stage lights were very dim, but he's pretty hard to miss."


Michael Jackson during One More Chance video shoot. Photo Credit: Sawf News

"It was like electricity through the air," adds Stephen McClelland. "Everybody was getting really excited."

"We weren't even prepared for him to come out," says Juliette Myers. "We were standing in the bleachers and I was talking to somebody and all of a sudden I heard cheering. I looked up and he was just there. It's weird how you don't even realize how powerful he is until he's there. It's like a presence. I couldn't stop screaming. I tried to be professional but that didn't work. We were all screaming our heads off. But he let us have our time. I'm sure he knew that he was going to have fans so he gave us time to just embrace him and then we got to work."

Michael Jackson's Dance Moves: Inimitable

The crew had spent much of the day preparing for Jackson's arrival in order to avoid keeping him waiting once he arrived. With everything in position and ready to go, Jackson launched into his first performance almost immediately, meandering around the nightclub and showcasing his famous dance moves.

"I think they told us he wasn't going to be there because they wanted to see our responses on film when he started dancing," says Ken Yesh, "because when he first came in, it wasn't five minutes and he jumped right into it. He started going into the sequences, walking through the tables at the nightclub, going up to the stage, singing, jumping onto the tables and onto the chairs - and I was looking at everyone else and their faces were like mine. It was just disbelief."

"It was amazing," recalls Juliette Myers. "Part of our reaction was supposed to be shock and awe, but it was real. We were just like 'Oh my gosh, he's here. This is him in real life. He's right in front of us'. It was so easy to be happy and to have the wondrous looks in our eyes. He did a move standing on a table right in front of us and it was like, 'Wow. There it is. This is what we grew up with'. It made that reaction and that moment real."


Michael Jackson during One More Chance video shoot. Photo Credit: Sawf News

"They had genuine surprise on everyone's face," says Ken Yesh. "Everyone had a permanent smile across their face. They couldn't believe it. I think we all understood what it meant. We were in the presence of one of the best entertainers ever on the face of the earth. I mean, who has the chance to do something like that?"

"It was like seeing Elvis perform live, or the Beatles," agrees Steve McClelland. "You've got a legend in front of you performing. It was magical. All those rumors about him being past it were, I believe after seeing him, completely unfounded. He was still perfectly capable. He was truly magic. Truly blessed."

Each time Jackson finished the routine, shooting would pause while the crew fixed the set for continuity; in each performance Jackson would kick lamps and wine glasses off of the nightclub tables. Between takes Jackson would interact occasionally with the extras, says Stephen McClelland.

MJ: Focused During Shoots, Caring and Concerned During Breaks

"We'd all been standing there for a long time. He'd say thing like, 'I hope you guys aren't too uncomfortable back there' because the lights would come up on us and we were standing really tight together and we couldn't move. Between takes we had to stay there. So he was just feeling for us a little bit. When he started to perform he was very focused but then he would go back to being just casual. He'd say things to us like, 'I hope you all liked that one'. He was being funny, witty."


Michael Jackson during One More Chance video shoot. Photo Credit: Sawf News

Mostly, though, Jackson kept to himself. "He was kind of separate," says Juliette Myers. "I think he was just really shy. I remember there was direction that he was very shy so they didn't want us to look directly in his face."

"I was extremely surprised at how humble he was," adds Ken Yesh. "But when the camera started rolling and the music was on, it was like electricity. The guy was completely amazing. He would do the same dance sequence five or six times, flawlessly."

"Michael was soft spoken and kept to himself," confirms a crew member. "But when the cameras started rolling he just became Michael Jackson instantaneously. The moves and the walking and everything, it was just Michael Jackson through and through. It was amazing. I remember him jumping up on a table and doing a spin at one point and his hands went up in the air and it was just 100% pure Michael Jackson. I'll never forget that memory."

After performing the routine five or six times across roughly three hours, Michael Jackson made his exit. "He was really sweet with all the extras," says a crew member. "When he was leaving he said a great big goodbye to them and thanked them for all their hard work. He was such a gentleman."

"He didn't just scurry out," says Juliette Myers. "He respectfully said thank you. I don't even know what he was thanking us for, though." She laughs. "He was the star. We were just backdrop."


Michael Jackson during One More Chance video shoot. Photo Credit: Sawf News

Jackson was scheduled to return the following day to film frontal shots and close-ups. "Our intention was to shoot from behind Michael towards the audience and then, to save money on all the audience members, the following day we would flip around and shoot Michael's close-ups," says a crew member. "So pretty much everything we got on the first day was head to toe and shot either in profile or from behind, with the audience in the background."

The day's rushes showed Jackson on good form, leaping energetically from table to table, running around the club and looking genuinely happy as he high-fived the crowd. He paid subtle homage to older videos; a shot in which he pulled his jacket down over his shoulders before the excited audience was reminiscent of the Dirty Diana music video while his kicking the table decorations as he danced called to mind his controversial short film for Black or White.


At the end of each take Jackson had nodded and bowed to the audience, turned his back on the stage - an enormous grin on his face - and walked out of frame. Photo Credit: Sawf News

At the end of each take Jackson had nodded and bowed to the audience, turned his back on the stage - an enormous grin on his face - and walked out of frame. This shot would serve as the end of the music video and the moment was loaded with connotations. Jackson turning his back on the stage, and on his audience, was symbolic of his intention to leave the music world behind and embark on a brand new career path. Perhaps smiling with as much relief as happiness, he was also turning his back on his final music video for Sony and, he thought, walking away from the contract that he so desperately wanted out of. In essence, he was turning his back on his old career and walking away from it, ready to follow the dream that had been snatched from him ten years previously. Michael Jackson was finally going to make movies.

Source: Sawf News

Hold My Hand - Excerpt

Michael: The REAL Story Behind The Album



Michael passed away as his vision was taking shape for his next album, working diligently
on songs he expressly wanted to share with his fans.

These songs could simply have become part of the rich legacy of unreleased work left behind by one of the world’s great artists. But as it soon became clear to both the Michael Jackson Estate and Sony Music, there was an obligation not only to Michael’s fans but to Michael himself not to let this amazing music gather dust in a vault. It was decided the album that was taking shape needed to be properly completed and released in a thoughtful, dignified way that would honor Michael’s legacy.

While Michael was not there to complete the tracks as only he could, he had left behind a unique roadmap mapping out his creative vision in the form of notes and detailed conversations with the people he was working with as well as those he was planning to work with.

This enabled everyone involved in “Michael” to follow his voice and the guiding hand they felt was present in helping them complete the album. For those who generously lent their creative talents to “Michael,” this was a labor of love honoring someone who had inspired all of them.

How “Michael” Came Together

“Michael” had been evolving as Michael Jackson albums would.

In 2004, Michael, with the help of his then-attorney, John Branca, ended his relationship with Sony Music and its then CEO, Tommy Mottola. In the intervening years, Michael had been working on music intended for a forthcoming release, drawing up its creative blueprints and recording tracks that would provide the foundation while, at the same time, the regime at Sony Music changed and Michael developed good relations with its current executives, working with them on the 25th Anniversary album commemorating “Thriller” in 2008. Michael was delighted to personally receive special multi-platinum discus for the project at a reception held by Sony Music in Los Angeles in February 2009.

As work for the new album resumed, he would slowly narrow down the tracks and refine them as his vision took shape. Much of the recording was taking place out of the public eye and in secret. Akon noted in an interview that after their song “Hold My Hand” was leaked to the Internet due to a security breach, both he and Michael became extremely cautious about the location of any work they might do to protect it from being exploited in that way again.

Akon: “Well, after that experience, we all became super protective. More so him, though. You know, he was like “Okay, we gotta figure this out. Now, we’re gonna work out of the house. I’m not working at the studio no more.”

Nonetheless, Michael still was aiming to write, record and release his artistry to his fans. Neff-U (Ron Feemster) in an interview told of being around Michael shortly before his passing, and witnessing a renewed passion in Michael for writing music and sharing it with the world. He said:

Neff-U: “But he was, like, "We've got to give the world a gift. We have to give them these songs…”

Interviewer: “And so, the process--Would he come with lyrics? Would he make them up as he went along? Did he say, "I want to write a song about this today?" “

Neff-U: “No. He was, like, "How you feel?" I was, like, "I feel good." I was, like, "How you feel?" He was, like, "I feel good." And he was, like, "Let's see what happens." And the fireplace would be on, even during the summertime. You know, it was just the whole atmosphere, it was really cool. Um, and I would start to play, and he would just start to hum. And then, the next thing you know, the lyrics would come. And--And the song would start developing itself.”

Several people, including Neff-U, Eddie Cascio and Frank Dileo, Michael’s manager at the time of his passing, knew of Michael’s plans to continue recording once he relocated to England for the start of what would have been the O2 performances, the rehearsals of which were featured in the hit film “Michael Jackson’s This is It.”

Eddie Cascio: “The plan was to continue the recording process over in London, and on the days off or the weeks off that he had, you know, we would be, you know, working at a studio that he was gonna have put in at his home in London…He had made it clear that, you know, that he wanted-- he wanted me to be out there and to-- to continue working on the music…You know, he had every intention to entertain his fans once again through his music.”

After an inventory was taken by the Estate of the songs Michael had been working on, the decision was made that to bring Michael’s artistry to completion and to do it proper justice, many of the very producers and talent he trusted his work to in life or those he had planned to work with would be asked to bring his vision to reality. Using the blueprints Michael provided with his notes, his voice and the creative ideas he had shared, they took the songs in various stages of production and completed the album.

For Akon, it was an opportunity to finally finish “Hold My Hand,” a song that had not been ready for the world to hear when it leaked out on the Internet after he and Michael recorded it.

Akon: “But its time has definitely come; now in its final state, it has become an incredible, beautiful, anthemic song. I’m so proud to have had the chance to work with Michael, one of my all time idols.”

In an interview, Akon added that he felt a responsibility that the song should be heard and released through the proper channels.

Akon: “You know, I wanted his children, more so than anything, to benefit off this record, 'cause that's what he would've wanted, you know, and his family to properly be able to sit back and say, "He left something behind that we can all benefit and cherish."

He continued:

“So far, I haven't heard any, you know, complaints from anyone involved, so I know that everything is going the way it's supposed. So, it feels good knowing that his property now is gonna have the showcase opportunity that it was supposed to, and that feels good. That feels great. Like, that feels better than anything, knowing that it's now gonna be properly presented to the world.”

Three of the tracks have relatively mundane origins. Michael had a longstanding friendship with the Cascios, a suburban family he got to know because patriarch Dominic was one of the managers at the Helmsley Palace Hotel, where Michael regularly stayed while visiting New York. He was welcomed into the home of Dominic and Connie for dinners as a respite from his hectic life as a superstar artist, and became a mentor to sons, Eddie and Frank, who growing up had musical aspirations.

In 2007, Michael and his family spent four months staying with the Cascio family at their Bergen County home, which had a simple home recording studio in which the tracks for “Breaking News,” “Monster,” and “Keep Your Head Up”’ were recorded. Frank Dileo, Michael’s former manager, has confirmed that he spoke to Michael by telephone at the Cascio's home studio several times while he was recording with them, and said Michael “was excited and enthused by the music and the experience.”

While these vocals may have been “guide vocals,” or in demo form, it does not detract in any way from their quality or their authenticity. In fact, since the announcement that “Monster” is to be one of the tracks included on “Michael,” 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) has confirmed that Michael contacted him personally about his desire to collaborate on this track. The day the track list for the album was announced publicly, 50 Cent sent a message to his fans on Twitter that “michael reached out to me to do this song before he passed it going to be the biggest thing ever. hes the one we got our idea from”.

In a subsequent interview in advance of the release of “Michael,” 50 Cent described how his DJ told him Michael was interested. He said:

50 Cent: “…he was interested in working with me, and he said he had something he wanted me to actually hear, a song that he created that he would be perfect for us to collaborate on…”

adding…

50 Cent: So, you know, it's, like, I was aware of the actual song, that there was something that he wanted to do, and I said I'd collaborate with him. I wanted to do the record.”

Likewise, Teddy Riley, who had worked with Michael since 1991 on Dangerous, HIStory, The Addams Family Values project and Invincible, knew Michael’s work intimately. He listened to the music before becoming involved in helping finish “Michael” and producing two of the three Cascio tracks, “Monster” and “Breaking News.” He knew it was his friend’s voice when he heard it and The Finisher, as Michael affectionately called him, did what he always did when coming in on a project with Michael. He said:

Teddy Riley: “Needless to say, we spent months and months in the studio together. The times I spent with Michael were very important, dear, special, and learning experiences. I studied Michael and everything about him from day one. I know Michael's voice in every range; I've explored Michael's vocal ability from baritone and tenor to alto and soprano. As the years went by, I've witnessed his tones changing, sometimes up or down. My feeling on the authenticity of his vocals on this album (another masterpiece) are that they were all done by Michael in different places and in different climates. The vocals sounded very polished, very on key and processed. I have no doubts that these are Michael's vocals. I stand for myself with no discrimination.”

While much of the album stems from new inspirations and work Michael was doing with contemporary artists he wanted to work with, as was often the case some songs fermented over time until they found the right album. Two songs on “Michael” - “Much Too Soon” and “Behind the Mask” -- fit the spirit of those songs that Michael would eventually find homes for. In fact, it was John McClain, one of the co-executors of the Estate and a producer for the song “This Is It” released last year on the companion album for the highly acclaimed documentary, “Michael Jackson’s This Is It”, who chose to work on both songs himself. “Much Too Soon” was written around the time of “Thriller” but Michael had never found the right album for it. “Behind the Mask” also had its origins in the 1980s when Michael heard the music performed by the Yellow Magic Orchestra, and contacted Ryiuchi Sakamoto asking for permission to write lyrics for it.

The “Authenticity” of Three Tracks

The debut of “Breaking News,” one of three tracks on the album Michael recorded in the New Jersey home of the Cascio family, led some to cast doubt on the “authenticity” of these songs. This triggered no shortage of bizarre theories by people seeking attention and those claiming to have knowledge of a vast conspiracy. One London tabloid printed a claim by a Michael impersonator from Italy armed with these “facts”: He thinks he may have recorded tracks in secret in a studio in Switzerland “after being approached by a man, whom he thinks was from Bahrain, to record the studio sessions, and paid 2000 Euros per track.”

Mindful of the importance of Michael’s legacy and how much he valued his fans, both the Michael Jackson Estate and Sony Music went to even greater lengths on their own to authenticate the tracks before it was even announced they would be included on the album. As Estate attorney Howard Weitzman detailed in a letter circulated among Michael’s fans:

- Six of Michael’s former producers and engineers who had worked with Michael over the past 30 years, Bruce Swedien, Matt Forger, Stewart Brawley, Michael Prince, Dr. Freeze and Teddy Riley were all invited to a listening session to hear the raw vocals of the Cascio tracks in question. All confirmed that the vocal was definitely Michael.

- Michael’s musical director and piano player on many of his records over a 20-year period, Greg Phillinganes, played on a Cascio track being produced for the album, and said the voice was definitely Michael’s.

- Dorian Holley, who was Michael’s vocal director for his solo tours for 20 plus years (including the O2 Concert Tour) and is seen in the film, “Michael Jackson’s This Is It”, listened to the Cascio tracks and said the lead vocal was Michael Jackson.

- Engineers, producers and musicians who worked on tours and/or in the studio with Michael when he was recording Bad, Thriller, Off The Wall, Dangerous, Invincible, HIStory and Blood On The Dance Floor, all listened to the music and they all reconfirmed their belief that the lead vocals were Michael’s voice on the Cascio tracks.

- Two of the nation’s preeminent forensic musicologists in the United States independently evaluated the tracks using audio analysis. Both reported that the lead vocals analyzed were those of Michael.

- Two prominent persons in the music industry who played crucial roles in Michael’s career, were also played the music and both believe that the lead vocals were Michael’s.

As a result, Sony Music concluded: “We have complete confidence in the results of our extensive research as well as the accounts of those who were in the studio with Michael that the vocals on the new album are his own.”

And the album was mastered and prepared for release using a mural created by artist, Kadir Nelson, as its cover. The mural is the visual story of Michael’s life and career and acknowledges those people and events that influenced him.

MICHAEL’S SONGS:

1. Hold My Hand (Duet with Akon)

Written by Aliaune Thiam, Giorgio Tuinfort, Claude Kelly

Produced by Akon, Giorgio Tuinfort & Michael Jackson

“Hold My Hand” debuted as the first single. Recorded with Akon in 2008 in Las Vegas, it leaked out and was never released. Akon completed the song, with a music video to premiere December 9. “Hold My Hand” was written by Akon, Giorgio Tuinfort, Claude Kelly and produced by Akon, Giorgio Tuinfort and Michael Jackson.

2. Hollywood Tonight

Written by Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer/Spoken Bridge Written by Teddy Riley

Produced by Teddy Riley, Michael Jackson/Co-Produced by Theron “Neff-U” Feemster

Written by Michael during the time of the Invincible album, Michael pulled the track out of the archives in 2007 to work on the song with producer Ron “Neff-U” Feemster, Hollywood Tonight was written by Michael Jackson; the spoken bridge was written by Teddy Riley and the track was produced by Teddy Riley, Michael Jackson with co-producer by Theron “Neff-U” Feemster.

3. Keep Your Head Up

Written by Michael Jackson, Eddie Cascio, James Porte

Produced by C “Tricky” Stewart, Angelikson, Michael Jackson

In 2007, Michael wrote that inspirational ode with Eddie Cascio and James Porte in New Jersey. Keep Your Head Up was produced by Tricky Stewart, Angelikson, and Michael Jackson.

4. (I Like) The Way You Love Me

Written by Michael Jackson

Produced by Theron “Neff-U” Feemster, Michael Jackson

This song was originally released in its early stages of development as a demo on Ultimate Collection in 2004; it was song that Michael loved and was finishing in Los Angeles. The Way You Love Me was written by Michael Jackson and produced by Theron “Neff-U” Feemster and Michael Jackson.

5. Monster (Featuring 50 Cent)

Written by Michael Jackson, Eddie Cascio, James Porte/Rap Lyrics Written by Curtis Jackson

Produced by Teddy Riley, Angelikson, Michael Jackson

Recorded in New Jersey in 2007 at the Cascio home, Michael actually recorded some of his background vocals through a PVC pipe for the song. The song also features the rap of 50 Cent, who Michael had contacted about the collaboration. Monster was written by Michael Jackson, Eddie Cascio and James Porte with Rap Lyrics Written by Curtis Jackson. It was produced by Teddy Riley, Angelikson and Michael Jackson.

6. Best Of Joy

Written by Michael Jackson

Produced by Theron “Neff-U” Feemster, Michael Jackson

Co-Produced by Brad Buxer

“Best of Joy” is one of the very last songs Michael was working on and had planned to continue to work on while in London for the O2 arena shows in Summer 2009. The song was written by Michael Jackson and produced by Theron “Neff-U” Feemster, Michael Jackson and co-producer by Brad Buxer.

7. Breaking News

Written by Michael Jackson, Eddie Cascio, James Porte

Produced by Teddy Riley, Angelikson, Michael Jackson

“Breaking News” recorded the song in 2007 in the New Jersey home of the Cascio family. Writers on the song are Michael Jackson as well as Eddie Cascio and James Porte. The song was produced by Teddy Riley, (Eddie Cascio & James Porte) Angelikson and Michael Jackson.

8. (I Can’t Make It) Another Day (Featuring Lenny Kravitz)

Written by Lenny Kravitz

Produced by Lenny Kravitz

Co-Produced by Michael Jackson

Recorded as a demo with Lenny Kravitz during the Invincible era, the song unexpectedly leaked in 2008 prompting Lenny to finish the song. Dave Grohl is the featured drummer on the track. Written by Lenny Kravitz and produced Lenny Kravitz and Michael Jackson.

9. Behind The Mask

Written by Michael Jackson, Chris Mosdell, Ryuichi Sakamoto

Produced by Michael Jackson, John McClain

After hearing "Behind The Mask" as performed by Yellow Magic Orchestra, Michael contacted Ryiuchi Sakamoto asking for permission to add his lyrics on the track. It was recently completed by John McClain. The song is written by Michael Jackson, Chris Mosdell and Ryuichi Sakamoto and produced by Michael Jackson and John McClain. “Behind The Mask” contains a sample of the recording "Behind The Mask" as performed by Yellow Magic Orchestra.

10. Much Too Soon

Written by Michael Jackson

Produced by Michael Jackson, John McClain

“Much Too Soon” was written at time of Thriller. But never found the right home on an album. The song was written by Michael Jackson and produced by Michael Jackson and John McClain. David Campbell is featured on the strings.

A special thank you to The Estate of Michael Jackson AND Sony Music
for their kind, honest and clear determine words. Michael's legacy is in great hands, it's time for us
to come together and give our FULL support to Sony and The Estate for all they are doing.

Source: MJNewsAlwerts

'One More Chance' - A Dream that Turned into a Nightmare



By Charles Thomson

November 30, 2010, (Sawf News) - Michael Jackson dreamt of a triumphant return to showbiz after years of seclusion with the music video of One More Chance in 2003, only to have the dream turn into his worst nightmare.

Charles Thomson speaks to the performer's colleagues, collaborators and co-stars about his little-known final music video.

This is Part 1 of a four part feature.

1. Engineering Michael Jackson's Comeback
2. Michael Jackson's Dream Takes Shape
3.Filming of One More Chance
4. Dream Return Turns into a Nightmare

Engineering Michael Jackson Comeback

In Summer 2003 Michael Jackson and his team were quietly plotting an extraordinary comeback. Amid the tranquil setting of his sprawling Neverland Ranch, Jackson was meeting with his business partners, advisors and publicist on a regular basis to devise plans for a multi-faceted comeback that would re-launch the star into the stratosphere. The comeback would be surprising, seeing Jackson branch into new areas and industries and rehabilitating his image at the same time.

Michael Jackson's Fallout with Sony



The past few years had not been kind to Jackson. His 2001 album Invincible had received a mixed critical reaction and had been mocked by the press as a commercial failure. In the Summer of 2002 Jackson had blamed low album sales on his record company, Sony, branding label boss Tommy Mottola 'racist' and 'devilish'. He claimed the label had sabotaged Invincible by failing to promote it and, in a series of speeches, announced his intention to leave the label. However, his public fall-out with Sony had led to further tabloid mockery and his campaign had ultimately fallen flat.

Negative Publicity from Martin Bashir's Documentary

Jackson's confidence had been rocked by two further incidents. The singer found himself at the center of a global scandal in November 2002 after pictures of him dangling his son over a hotel balcony in Germany were beamed around the world. He was dealt another blow in February 2003 when Martin Bashir's documentary Living with Michael Jackson caused uproar, showing Jackson holding hands with young cancer patient Gavin Arvizo and admitting to sharing his bed with other people's children. It was at this point that Jackson's camp decided enough was enough.

Damage Control

The concern amongst Jackson's advisors was that the singer's name had become little more than a punchline; an easy target for relentless mockery and abuse. His image was in desperate need of repair. The effort began with damage control. Jackson's camp released a rebuttal to Bashir's documentary, featuring footage of the presenter contradicting the views expressed in his own film and proving that he had omitted vital answers from the star. After exposing Bashir's duplicity Jackson's camp followed up with a second documentary, Michael Jackson's Private Home Movies, in which the star presented funny and interesting clips from his archives.

An appearance at the BET Awards in June 2003 to present his idol and mentor James Brown with a Lifetime Achievement Award contributed to the wave of good PR Jackson was receiving. The star's brief appearance on the show saw audience members burst into tears and it served Jackson well to be seen presenting an award rather than receiving one for once. Things were beginning to look up for the singer and now his elaborate comeback plans could really be put into effect.

Reinventing Michael Jackson

"Michael was regaining much of his self-esteem and self-confidence after dwelling in the shadows of public scandal and scorn," says publicist Stuart Backerman, hired by Jackson in 2002. "In the language of marketing, Michael was about to be re-branded.

"The comeback plan was called the MJ Universe project and it was all about 'the People's Michael', if you want to think of it in political terms. That's what was underpinning this whole scheme. It was about being accessible. After all the years of living as a partial recluse and a tabloid target he wanted to reach out and be seen in an objective way."

The first step towards making Michael Jackson more accessible would be to create a link between the star and his fans. In Vancouver a web design company called Blast Radius was secretly working on a brand new official Michael Jackson website (his old one was owned and controlled by Sony). The website would contain what Stuart Backerman describes as 'the most unbelievable interactive videos' and would serve as a medium for Jackson to stay in touch with his fans.

The next step was to open up Jackson's Neverland Ranch. After the Bashir documentary his sanctuary was seen as a sinister place. In order that people could experience Neverland themselves and enjoy a brief glimpse into Jackson's world, the star planned to launch the ranch as a resort for short breaks, generating income as well as improving his image.

Jackson's merchandising had 'dried up' in recent years, says Backerman, and loose plans were in place to launch several new products, beginning with a Michael Jackson clothing line. He was also in talks with a Japanese investor to design a theme park.

From Music to Movies

But the jewel in the crown of Jackson's comeback plans was a deal he and his camp had recently struck with a motion picture company in Montreal. For years it had been Jackson's desire to move away from the music business and into the movie industry. In 1993 he had a deal in place with Sony to begin making movies but the plans were scrapped after Santa Barbara DA Tom Sneddon raided Jackson's home and the star found himself accused of child molestation. In recent years Jackson had made baby steps towards launching himself as a player in the movie world, first making a cameo appearance in Men In Black II and then guest starring in low budget comedy Miss Castaway. Now he was ready to make the leap.

"He didn't want to really start again with the music," says Dieter Wiesner, Jackson's manager from 1997 until 2003. "After he was done with Sony, he had a whole other plan. His focus was just not that much on the music part anymore. His feeling was that he had really made the best in his life for the music part. He created everything. He made Thriller and things like that and he knew it could be very hard to top these things. For him it was very important to be successful as a director and an actor, directing movies, making short films, things like that. He was really into it.

"He knew he had to do something for the fans but it was very clear that he couldn't go back on tour because he was mentally not into it anymore. He wanted to do big concerts, say, at the pyramids in Egypt - big places - over two or three years. He agreed to do something like that because the fans really wanted to see him, but he felt his real future should be in the film business."

After months of negotiations, Jackson's camp had managed to secure financing so the star could purchase Cinegroupe, a Canadian animated features company, which Stuart Backerman says Jackson wanted to turn into 'a whole Pixar type thing'. In anticipation of the takeover, the company had invited Jackson to begin contributing ideas to an upcoming picture, Pinocchio 3000. A decade after his film-making dreams had been squashed, Jackson was finally about to begin making the transition from music to movies. But before that he had one burning priority, and that was to release himself from his Sony contract.

"He wasn't ever really right back on good terms with Sony," says Stuart Backerman. "The Beatles Catalogue is one thing but after the whole Tommy Mottola business, it was over. It was not gonna really be happening with Sony again."

According to Dieter Wiesner, Jackson had no plans to move to another label after he fulfilled his contract with Sony. The focus was squarely on movie-making and all signs pointed to the fact that Jackson was serious about achieving his goal. One morning at Neverland Ranch, during the comeback discussions, Jackson presented Stuart Backerman with a signed fedora as a thank you for all his hard work. Inside Jackson had written the inscription, "Dear Stuart, many thanks for your kind help and please don't make plans for the next decade."

Michael Jackson's Dream Takes Shape

In October 2003 Michael Jackson flew to Las Vegas to begin a series of in-person appearances that would mark the beginning of his elaborate comeback plans. In keeping with his new accessible image he also took part in several autograph signing sessions, the proceeds from which went to charity. On Saturday 25th October he was presented with the key to Las Vegas at the Desert Passage Mall and three days later he appeared at the Radio Music Awards to debut his new charity single, What More Can I Give.

One More Chance Music Video

But most excitingly for the star's fans, Jackson was in town to record a new music video. A new greatest hits compilation called Number Ones was due to be released on November 18th and, thinking that it would fulfill his contractual obligations to Sony, Jackson had contributed an unreleased track, One More Chance, and agreed to promote it as a single. Seeing the opportunity to fulfill another contractual obligation at the same time - he owed CBS a performance - Jackson decided to record an accompanying music video. The video would debut on November 26th at the end of a CBS special about the star and then go into rotation elsewhere.

After recording the video Jackson was set to embark on what Stuart Backerman describes as a 'triumphant publicity tour' across Europe, Africa and South America. "We were going for three months," says the publicist. "We were going to do all kinds of autograph sessions, record signings and fan events and we were going to do something at Harrods in London, too."

"He was going to give Muhammad Ali an award at the Bambi Awards in Germany," adds Dieter Wiesner. "We also had a plan to do something with Nelson Mandela."

Nick Brandt, a seasoned Jackson collaborator, was scheduled to direct the new video. Brandt had worked on numerous short films with the star in the past - most famously on the Earth Song video, which combined Jackson's strong environmental views with the director's acclaimed wildlife photography. Their most recent outing had been 2001's Cry, a video Jackson reportedly refused to appear in due to his conflict with Sony.

Turning his Back to Music in Pursuit of Film

The shoot would take place at the CMX Productions studio and the concept was simple. The song was a yearning ballad about lost love in which Jackson pleaded with an ex-girlfriend for 'one more chance at love'. The video would feature a unique role reversal in which an audience would stand onstage and watch Jackson as he performed the track in an empty, upscale nightclub, hopping banisters and jumping on tables. The set-up seemed to have little correlation with the song and appeared to be more of a comment on the press and public's perpetual invasion into Jackson's privacy - a common theme in the star's videos - essentially showing a crowd of bystanders watching over Jackson in an intimate, off-stage moment, transfixed by his heartbreak.

Jackson technically owed CBS a performance so the aim was to create a hybrid that would satisfy the broadcaster and also work as a music video. An idea was hatched to give the video a live feeling by following Jackson seamlessly through the club rather than cutting from scene to scene in the typical music video style.

"We had five cameras rolling on him at all times," says a senior crew member, who asked to remain anonymous after speaking without record label permission. "The idea was to try to capture Michael, as much as possible, doing one routine through the club, to give it kind of a live feeling. It would literally flow from one camera to the next. We also had kind of a limited time with Michael because he would set his own schedule, so we also decided to capture it that way to make sure we could get it all shot cohesively."

Filming of One More Chance

On Monday 17th November 2003 a crowd of extras waited in a holding area at the CMX studio. They knew they were there for a music video, but that was all they knew. "We auditioned on the Friday and knew we were going to shoot at the soundstage on Monday," says Ken Yesh, one of the extras chosen for the shoot. "We went the entire weekend wondering who the video was for. Then, when we got there, we signed some papers and on the back page it said 'Michael Jackson, One More Chance, Sony Productions'. We all just flipped."

"That right there was such a moment," says fellow extra Juliette Myers. "As we were going down the line we were cheering because wow, you know, what an iconic moment. We were going to be a part of something that's history."

But the excitement was short-lived. "When we went into the soundstage they told us that 'yes, this is a Michael Jackson video but he will not be here'," says Ken Yesh. "So we were all pretty disappointed. He had a body double that was doing all the camera sets and all the arrangements. We thought that that was all that was going to be there - just a lookalike."

The extras were put in bleachers on the stage in a choral arrangement while the crew tinkered with the lighting. A few extras were selected to look into the distance or look amazed and the crew panned the audience a lot, but the extras spent much of their time standing around. "If they weren't going to use us for a scene then they'd take us back out to the waiting area," says extra Stephen McClelland. "I remember us waiting outside while they were trying to set up some of the table things to get a rough idea."

"Being extras, we started early but we didn't really have to do much," agrees Juliette Myers. "They'd set us up, they'd do some lighting and cue the music and we'd stand and do our part, then we'd cut for a break. There was never really much work. There was a very free, fun and fancy type air about the day."
Michael Jackson's Surprise Appearance

Several hours into the shooting day, Michael Jackson, wearing dark jeans and a white t-shirt, slipped onto the set through a back door. "When he made his entrance it wasn't anything grand," says Ken Yesh. "It was kind of on the down low - really hush-hush. We were onstage at the time so there were a few whispers of, 'Oh my God, I think that's him!' The room was pretty dim. The whole ambience was the nightclub scene so there were some lamps on the tables and the stage lights were very dim, but he's pretty hard to miss."

"It was like electricity through the air," adds Stephen McClelland. "Everybody was getting really excited."

"We weren't even prepared for him to come out," says Juliette Myers. "We were standing in the bleachers and I was talking to somebody and all of a sudden I heard cheering. I looked up and he was just there. It's weird how you don't even realize how powerful he is until he's there. It's like a presence. I couldn't stop screaming. I tried to be professional but that didn't work. We were all screaming our heads off. But he let us have our time. I'm sure he knew that he was going to have fans so he gave us time to just embrace him and then we got to work."

Michael Jackson's Dance Moves: Inimitable

The crew had spent much of the day preparing for Jackson's arrival in order to avoid keeping him waiting once he arrived. With everything in position and ready to go, Jackson launched into his first performance almost immediately, meandering around the nightclub and showcasing his famous dance moves.

"I think they told us he wasn't going to be there because they wanted to see our responses on film when he started dancing," says Ken Yesh, "because when he first came in, it wasn't five minutes and he jumped right into it. He started going into the sequences, walking through the tables at the nightclub, going up to the stage, singing, jumping onto the tables and onto the chairs - and I was looking at everyone else and their faces were like mine. It was just disbelief."

"It was amazing," recalls Juliette Myers. "Part of our reaction was supposed to be shock and awe, but it was real. We were just like 'Oh my gosh, he's here. This is him in real life. He's right in front of us'. It was so easy to be happy and to have the wondrous looks in our eyes. He did a move standing on a table right in front of us and it was like, 'Wow. There it is. This is what we grew up with'. It made that reaction and that moment real."

"They had genuine surprise on everyone's face," says Ken Yesh. "Everyone had a permanent smile across their face. They couldn't believe it. I think we all understood what it meant. We were in the presence of one of the best entertainers ever on the face of the earth. I mean, who has the chance to do something like that?"

"It was like seeing Elvis perform live, or the Beatles," agrees Steve McClelland. "You've got a legend in front of you performing. It was magical. All those rumors about him being past it were, I believe after seeing him, completely unfounded. He was still perfectly capable. He was truly magic. Truly blessed."

Each time Jackson finished the routine, shooting would pause while the crew fixed the set for continuity; in each performance Jackson would kick lamps and wine glasses off of the nightclub tables. Between takes Jackson would interact occasionally with the extras, says Stephen McClelland.

MJ: Focused During Shoots, Caring and Concerned During Breaks

"We'd all been standing there for a long time. He'd say thing like, 'I hope you guys aren't too uncomfortable back there' because the lights would come up on us and we were standing really tight together and we couldn't move. Between takes we had to stay there. So he was just feeling for us a little bit. When he started to perform he was very focused but then he would go back to being just casual. He'd say things to us like, 'I hope you all liked that one'. He was being funny, witty."

Mostly, though, Jackson kept to himself. "He was kind of separate," says Juliette Myers. "I think he was just really shy. I remember there was direction that he was very shy so they didn't want us to look directly in his face."

"I was extremely surprised at how humble he was," adds Ken Yesh. "But when the camera started rolling and the music was on, it was like electricity. The guy was completely amazing. He would do the same dance sequence five or six times, flawlessly."

"Michael was soft spoken and kept to himself," confirms a crew member. "But when the cameras started rolling he just became Michael Jackson instantaneously. The moves and the walking and everything, it was just Michael Jackson through and through. It was amazing. I remember him jumping up on a table and doing a spin at one point and his hands went up in the air and it was just 100% pure Michael Jackson. I'll never forget that memory."

After performing the routine five or six times across roughly three hours, Michael Jackson made his exit. "He was really sweet with all the extras," says a crew member. "When he was leaving he said a great big goodbye to them and thanked them for all their hard work. He was such a gentleman."

"He didn't just scurry out," says Juliette Myers. "He respectfully said thank you. I don't even know what he was thanking us for, though." She laughs. "He was the star. We were just backdrop."

Jackson was scheduled to return the following day to film frontal shots and close-ups. "Our intention was to shoot from behind Michael towards the audience and then, to save money on all the audience members, the following day we would flip around and shoot Michael's close-ups," says a crew member. "So pretty much everything we got on the first day was head to toe and shot either in profile or from behind, with the audience in the background."

The day's rushes showed Jackson on good form, leaping energetically from table to table, running around the club and looking genuinely happy as he high-fived the crowd. He paid subtle homage to older videos; a shot in which he pulled his jacket down over his shoulders before the excited audience was reminiscent of the Dirty Diana music video while his kicking the table decorations as he danced called to mind his controversial short film for Black or White.

At the end of each take Jackson had nodded and bowed to the audience, turned his back on the stage - an enormous grin on his face - and walked out of frame. This shot would serve as the end of the music video and the moment was loaded with connotations. Jackson turning his back on the stage, and on his audience, was symbolic of his intention to leave the music world behind and embark on a brand new career path. Perhaps smiling with as much relief as happiness, he was also turning his back on his final music video for Sony and, he thought, walking away from the contract that he so desperately wanted out of. In essence, he was turning his back on his old career and walking away from it, ready to follow the dream that had been snatched from him ten years previously. Michael Jackson was finally going to make movies.

Dream Turns into a Nightmare

At roughly 8.30 next morning Stuart Backerman and Jackson cohort Marc Schaffel spoke on the telephone to discuss their departure for Europe the following day. Their conversation was interrupted by an incoming telephone call for Schaffel from Joe Marcus, a security coordinator at Neverland. "It was a weird hour for Joe to be calling," says Backerman, "so Schaffel said he would call me back."

A short while later Backerman's telephone rang. "You gotta turn on the television," said Schaffel. Backerman switched on his TV and saw the now famous helicopter images of police swarming Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. Led by District Attorney Tom Sneddon, 70 sheriffs from the Santa Barbara Police Department had been dispatched to raid Michael Jackson's home. "Honestly," Backerman recalls, "You would have thought it was an army battalion going into an Iraqi village. There were so many of them."

His heart sank. "At that moment I realized that the European trip and the whole MJ Universe project was finished because by that point Diane Dimond was on, revealing that it was all over a second charge of child molestation.

"Michael was just getting ready to leave the 1993 allegations behind and rebrand himself. We'd just finished dealing with the Martin Bashir scandal and here it was again." He sighs. "Here it was again."

In Las Vegas, it fell on manager Dieter Wiesner to break the news to Michael Jackson. "Michael was still in his room," Wiesner explains. "He was sitting next to the fireplace when I came in and he was very quiet. I had to tell him and it was not easy to tell Michael things like this because he was in such a good mood. He saw a future. When the Bashir situation arose he was very down. Now everything had changed and Michael was ready to do new things. Then, to go to his room and tell him such a bad situation… it was a disaster.

"I told him, 'Michael, there is bad news but on the other side you have to see it as also good news. The bad news is the police are on the ranch.' Michael was completely shocked. I was sitting next to him; I had my arm on his shoulder.

"He looked at me and he was really... You could see the blood going out of his face. He was deeply shocked. But I told him, 'Michael, now you have the chance finally to clear up everything. Once and forever you can clear up everything.'"

News spread quickly amongst the crew. "I saw it on TV that morning and by the time I got to the hotel lobby, everybody else had already found out," says a crew member. "So we went to work as normal and waited to see what was going to happen.

"Of course, when we got to the soundstage it was a complete zoo with paparazzi and fans. It had leaked where we were shooting. The day before, nobody knew we were shooting or anything.

"We waited that entire day for Michael to come and I think we went back a second day. Then he called finally and said, 'I'm just not going to be able to come'."

Jackson spent much of those two days crying, says Dieter Wiesner. "I was sitting with him day and night. He was sho cked; he was crying… he didn't know what to do. It was such a bad situation. We were supposed to go to Europe. He was ready to move on in his life and everything was prepared. It was just a beautiful situation and this news shocked him deeply. Really, it killed him."

Two days after the Neverland raid Jackson's depression turned to anger. When it emerged that the boy behind the accusation was none other than Gavin Arvizo, the boy whose hand Jackson had held in the Martin Bashir documentary, Jackson decided to fight.

"You know, when it was clear that this allegation was because of the Arvizos, then he started to really fight the situation," says Wiesner. "Michael told me, 'Dieter, you know what, they should bring this young boy into a big place, invite all the press and he should look me in the eyes and tell me that I did this.' So he was ready to fight."

That the allegation had come from the Arvizos made the ruination of the MJ Universe project even more galling for Stuart Backerman. "Sneddon didn't have anything except the word of Janet Arvizo, and she was totally crazy," says Backerman. "And I know that because I was there and I saw her. She had a track record as long as my right arm. Sneddon just wanted to get Jackson.

"It's very frustrating to this day. We had the world's greatest celebrity and he was more focused than he had been for a long time. But the whole thing got cut off by Sneddon."

Almost unbelievably, Sneddon had managed for the second time to steal Jackson's movie dream away from him just as he was on the cusp of achieving it. Prior to the 1993 allegations, moving into the movie industry had been Jackson's greatest preoccupation. His chances ruined by the scandal of the Jordy Chandler debacle, he'd wound up back on the road - the one place he'd least wanted to be - and grown ever more weary of the music business.

Movie success was the one type of success which had always managed to evade Jackson - the most decorated entertainer in history - and it had long been the one type of success he truly longed for. Believing that One More Chance would fulfill his contract with Sony, Jackson had felt he was finally free to pursue his vision.

"I really have to say, he was a very sharp guy. He knew exactly what he wanted," laments Dieter Wiesner. "I think if he would have had the time and if nobody had come in-between, he could have been very successful in the second part in this career, with the movies and the animated videos. In my opinion, he would still be here today."

With movie success set firmly in his sights, Jackson was merely jumping through the necessary hoops before he could pursue that goal with one hundred percent of his attention and energy. One More Chance, he had thought, was the final hoop. Michael Jackson had believed that the single and music video win him back his freedom. It is one of life's cruel ironies that the next time his fans saw him, he would be in handcuffs.

Source: Swaf News

Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour Cirque Du Soleil

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY JAMIE KING

TOUR BEGINS IN OCTOBER 2011

Exclusive Presale Window Starts Today for Cirque Club Members and MichaelJackson.com subscribers.

General Onsale Begins Saturday, November 6 in 30 Cities.

MONTREAL, Nov. 3, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Estate of Michael Jackson and Cirque du Soleil announced today the official international launch of Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour™ written and directed by Jamie King, the leading concert director in pop music today. This once-in-a-lifetime electrifying production will combine Michael Jackson music and choreography with Cirque du Soleil creativity to give fans worldwide a unique view into the spirit, passion and heart of the artistic genius who forever transformed global pop culture.






A riveting fusion of visuals, dance, music and fantasy that immerses audiences in Michael's creative world and literally turns his signature moves upside down, Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour unfolds Michael Jackson's artistry before the eyes of the audience. Aimed at lifelong fans as well as those experiencing Michael's creative genius for the first time, the show captures the essence, soul and inspiration of the King of Pop, celebrating a legacy that continues to transcend generations.

THE IMMORTAL World Tour takes place in a fantastical realm where we discover Michael's inspirational Giving Tree—the wellspring of his creativity. The secrets of Michael's inner world are unlocked—his love of music and dance, fairy tale and magic, and the fragile beauty of nature.

The underpinnings of THE IMMORTAL World Tour are Michael Jackson's powerful, inspirational music and lyrics—the driving force behind the show—brought to life with extraordinary power and breathless intensity. Through unforgettable performances Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour underscores  Michael's global messages of love, peace and unity.

In selecting Jamie King as Writer and Director for Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour, which will feature 60 international performers, The Estate of Michael Jackson and Cirque du Soleil chose a director Variety called one of the most influential "movers and shakers" in the music industry, and the "Jerry Bruckheimer of tent-pole concert tours". A multiple Emmy Award® and MTV Video Music Award® nominee, and greatly influenced by his early years working for both Prince and Michael Jackson, he has choreographed some of the most popular music videos and directed some of the highest grossing concert tours of all time. For the past 12 years, he has served as Madonna's creative director, having most recently directed her 2008 Sticky & Sweet world tour, as well as her 2006 record-breaking Confessions world tour and hit music video, Sorry. He most recently directed Rihanna's Last Girl On Earth world tour, Celine Dion's Taking Chances world tour, The Return of the Spice Girls reunion tour, Britney Spears' Circus tour and Avril Lavigne's Best Damn tour. He previously directed and choreographed world tours for Madonna (Re-Invention and Drowned World); Asian superstar Rain (Rain's Coming); Ricky Martin (Black & White and La Vida Loca); Pink (Try This); Christina Aguilera (Back to Basics and Stripped); and his first collaboration with Britney Spears (Oops! I Did It Again). He has worked with an array of superstars including Mariah Carey, Shakira, George Michael, Elton John, Diana Ross, Jennifer Lopez and even Ellen DeGeneres. This is Jamie's first show with Cirque du Soleil.

Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour will call on the diverse talents of the following creative minds: Guy Laliberte, Creative Guide; Jamie King, Writer and Director; Chantal Tremblay, Director of Creation; Mark Fisher, Set Designer; Zaldy Goco, Costume Designer; Kevin Antunes, Musical Designer; Martin Labrecque, Lighting Designer; Olivier Goulet, Projection Designer; Francois Desjardins, Sound Designer; Scott Osgood, Rigging and Acrobatic Equipment Designer; Germain Guillemot, Acrobatic Performance Designer; Michael Curry, Props Designer.

Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour will begin in Montreal in October 2011 and travel to select North American cities in the first leg, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver. Additional cities and dates will be announced.

For three days only, Cirque Club members and MichaelJackson.com subscribers will have exclusive access to purchase presale tickets online beginning Wednesday, November 3 at 10am Eastern Daylight Time.

Cirque Club membership is free and benefits include access to advance tickets, special offers and exclusive behind the scenes information. To join, go to www.cirqueclub.com. Starting Saturday, November 6 at 12pm local time, tickets will go on sale to the public for the cities and dates listed below.

For complete tour and ticket information, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com or Michael Jackson | The Official Michael Jackson Site The tour schedule is subject to change.


2011 TOUR SCHEDULE  

October 2-3   Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
  
October 7   Ottawa, ON - Scotiabank Place
  
October 12   Hamilton, ON - Copps Coliseum
  
October 15   Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena
  
October 18   London, ON - John Labatt Centre
  
October 21   Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
  
October 26   Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
  
October 29   Saskatoon, SK - Credit Union Centre
  
November 1   Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
  
November 4   Vancouver, BC - Rog  rs Arena
  
November 9   Seattle, WA - KeyArena
  
November 18   Portland, OR - Rose Garden
  
November 29   Salt Lake City, UT - EnergySolutions Arena
  
December 3-11   Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Events Center
  
  
2012 Tour Schedule  
January 6   Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
  
January 10   Sacramento, CA - ARCO Arena
  
January 13   San Jose, CA - HP Pavillion at San Jose
  
January 18   Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
  
January 21   San Diego, CA - Valley View Casino Center
  
January 24   Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
  
January 27   Los Angeles, CA - STAPLES Center
  
February 10   Houston, TX - Toyota Center
  
March 2   Miami, FL - AmericanAirlines Arena
  
March 24   Quebec City, QC - Colisee Pepsi
  
April 3   New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
  
April 10   Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center
  
June 29   Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
  
  
In April 2010, The Estate of Michael Jackson and Cirque du Soleil announced an unprecedented arrangement for the creation, development, production and promotion of Michael Jackson projects, featuring touring and permanent shows, based on the music and songs of Michael Jackson. The two entities will each own 50 percent of each Michael Jackson project, sharing equally in the cost of creating, developing, building and producing the projects and in the profits from each project. The Estate of Michael Jackson will also receive royalty payments on various aspects of its intellectual property used in the Michael Jackson projects.

1/6th scale Michael Jackson (Beat It version) Collectible Figure (Hot Toys 10th Anniversary Exclusive)

Product code: MIS10


~ M ICON Series ~

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Hot Toys, we are presenting the exclusive items to thank our fans for their continued support. The exclusive items will be available at the anniversary event in Tokyo in Christmas 2010.

Paying tribute to our King of Pop, Hot Toys is presenting the collectible figure of Michael Jackson portraying his image in his iconic song “Beat It” in 1982 as one of the three exclusive items. The highly detailed collectible figure highlights the authentic head sculpt, multi-layered stereoscopic hair sculpture and costume in the music video.

The 1/6th scale Michael Jackson (Beat It version) collectible specially features:
- Authentic and detailed fully realized likeness of Michael Jackson in the Beat It music video
- Newly developed head sculpt with make-up
- Multi-layered stereoscopic curly hair sculpture
- Slim version of TrueType body with 38 points of articulation  
- Approximately 30 cm tall
- Three (3) pairs of interchangeable palms including:
- One (1) pair of fists
- One (1) pair of relaxed palms
- One (1) pair of posing palms
- Each piece of head sculpt is specially hand-painted

Costume :
- One (1) orange-red jacket with zips and gold-color patches on shoulders as accessories
- One (1) blue-color patterned T-shirt
- One (1) pair of black pants
- One (1) orange-color belt
- One (1) metal chain on waist
- One (1) pair of black shoes and white socks

Accessory:
- Figure stand with Michael Jackson nameplate and Beat It title

Artists:
-  Head Sculpted by Yulli
-  Head Painted by JC. Hong
-  Head Art Directed by JC. Hong
-  Accessory Sculpted by Kouhei Okui

Release date:     Q4 2010

© 2010 Triumph International, Inc, under license to Bravado International Group, manufactured by Hot Toys Ltd.

Source: Hot Toys

Robin_Leach :

Full 20 minute world exclusive DanieL Lamarre interview with ALL Michael Jackson show details will be posted Wednesday. Truly incredible.
9 minutes ago via Echofon.

No look alike, no sound alike. We get the real MJ thanks to most advanced technology created specially for Vegas. Michael in full 3D around us.
14 minutes ago via Echofon.

MJ touring show will be largest arena road show ever staged & shipped around the world. This Is It London rehearsal videos will be shown.
17 minutes ago via Echofon.

The 2nd @michaelJackson show will open in Las Vegas in 2013. Casino theater will be decided after arena rock show.
20 minutes ago via Echofon.

Show will run 90+ mins Tickets go on sale in 25 US cities plus overseas capitals Nov 3. Launch will be made from Los Angeles.
23 minutes ago via Echofon.

It will also go on world tour Cirque chief Daniel LaMarre tells meshow is 100% completed. Feature "20+ MJ hits 70+musicians dancers acrobats.
27 minutes ago via Echofon.

@michaeljackson arena show will open @Mandalay Bay Dec 15 next year It will play twice nightly for 60 days & then start 2year NAmerican tour.
31 minutes ago via Echofon.

World exclusive. Tickets for Cirque du Soleil's 1st Michael Jackson show @Mandalay Bay go on sale in 2 weeks time. November 3.
about 1 hour ago via Echofon.

@MichaelJackson shows World Exclusive coming next on Twitter. Give me few moments to get notes in order.
about 1 hour ago via Echofon.

Double post.

I love the new pictures! Can't wait to see the rest!