Joe Jackson Appreciation Thread

I would like to take this time to give kudos to a great father, a genetic jackhammer, and the best manager ever, the multi-talented Joe Jackson, better known as Michael Jackson's pappy.

The man who created (in more ways than one) and managed The Jackson 5 to great heights. Not to mention doing the same for sexy superstar Janet Jackson (even in her chubby stages), LaToya, and underrated Rebbie.

Before we go to the business side, let’s think about this for a second, the man fathered nine kids. But not any nine kids, nine SUPERSTAR kids. No one has ever done that before or since and probably never will. A person would be lucky if they could procreate one star child, but this genetic jackhammer produce nine of these motherfuckers including the biggest one of all time. What genes! Without question the best genes in the world. Unlike his seventh child, he produced these children naturally too. Michael should've had Joe whip up a batch and been the father to his children, not some honky. One, it would've kept it in the family and two; the track record was there for guaranteed stardom. This is the man that should be a model for African American men and families. He had nine kids; he didn't leave them but raised them, and raised them to be superstars.

Let’s talk about the great man and where it all began. Joe Jackson was a former boxer who lived in Gary, Indiana (arguably the biggest shit hole in the country even back then) and worked as a crane operator at U.S. Steel. While he worked hard to keep food on the table for all those mouths, his wife stayed home and raised the kids (Tito's note: If we deport all the illegals, wages would raise and more people could support 9 kids on one income today). His boxing background and outstanding work ethic is what made him the great manager he became and that rubbed off on his children to become hard workers in their own right and eventually become superstars (under his management of course).

As you can tell by his background, Joe was a great family man (9 kids, hard worker, nuclear family, etc.) which was commonplace when this country was good and had morals (knowing the difference between right and wrong) in the 1950’s. He was like many great fathers during that bygone era: he was the leader of family, the breadwinner, and disciplinarian – one not afraid to give his kids a crack when they deserved it. Even to this day, he is still a good traditional family man speaking out against homosexuals as he stated in a 2003 interview, "We don't believe in gays. I can't stand them.”

Although Joe came from a blue collar background, he was a very smart business man as we would see when he formed and managed his sons and what would become the legendary, “Jackson 5.”

After seeing his sons monkey around and singing in his living room, Joe the great talent evaluator that he is, saw the talent instantly. Long story short, he got them signed to Motown. Under his outstanding management, the Jackson 5 would become one of Motown’s biggest acts. Joe would parlay their popularity into cartoons and a variety show as well.

When he became dissatisfied on how Motown was handling the band, Joe played hardball and took the band elsewhere, namely CBS records. With his great business acumen, he negotiated a 20% royalty rate per record, compared to Motown's standard 2.8%. The new contract would also allow the band to have their own creative freedom by allowing the Jackson brothers to write and produce their own records and play their own instruments. Basically, everything any artist would want. However during this time Jermaine Jackson, who had married Berry Gordy’s daughter, decided to stay with Motown due to loyalty – another solid trait Joe instilled in his boys.

During this time, Michael’s talents couldn’t be denied. Under Joe’s guidance, Michael became the biggest star in the history of the music business. He successfully transitioned Michael from a child star into an adult star, but not any adult star- the biggest star of them all. Needless to say this accomplishment was a hard task, something that has never been done before or since. But, Joe did it.

In 1984, the black (at the time) sheep of the family fired his loving father. While under Joe’s watchful and caring eye, Michael was normal and rose to become the biggest star of all time. After firing his dad, Michael regressed as an artist and as a person becoming an immature and strange person at minimum and possibly a lot worse. It became clear; Mike still needed Joe’s tough love.

Whether it was sleeping with young boys, hanging out with Bubbles, or lavish spending, Mike would’ve been better off if Joe was there to slap him across his face and tell him to knock it off.

Over the years, Joe’s image has been unfairly tarnished by false allegations. He was alleged to abuse his children, claims which he has denied repeatedly. He was never found guilty in a court of law and as a matter of fact has never had any criminal charges brought up against him or even had so much as a criminal investigation against him. The only one to ever accuse him was his ungrateful son/freak, Michael. Since Michael Jackson fans and supporters say, Michael was not a child molester because he was found not guilty in a court of law and it was just one persons story, the same must hold true for Joe Jackson – he is an innocent man. We must disregard the alleged charges and only look at the positives. In that case, we all must agree, Joe was a hell of a father and the best manager ever. Not to mention, he didn’t ever have to settle with anyone for $20 million to drop any “false” charges. He is truly a legend and should be teaching business classes at Harvard. Without question, an icon in the entertainment business.

Over the past two weeks, the world has mourned the loss of Michael Jackson. During that time, it has become clear Mike had a drug addiction, something Joe never had, and most likely died of a drug overdose. I think it has also become abundantly clear that if Joe was still managing Michael, Mike would still be around. Not only would he still be around, he wouldn’t have been a freak and may have even been a bad motherfucker. I think it’s safe to say, Michael still needed and deserved to get a crack across the head at age 50.

Hopefully, when his time is up, Joseph Jackson will get the adoration that Michael has received the past two weeks. It’s more than deserved. I hope the naysayers and critics also forgive and let go of the “false” allegations and look at only the positives this man brought to the world. He should get the same respect Michael has received. If it wasn’t for Joe there wouldn’t have been a Michael Jackson. If Michael would’ve been born in any other household in Gary, Indiana, he would be serving life behind bars like most of the town. I hope before Michael departed the world, he realized how much he father did for him.

This world needs more Joe Jacksons as fathers. Good disciplinarians. Joe, we appreciate you.