Smash hit

“Michael walked around in a baseball uniform, but he would not play,” he recalled. “They used to go in the back yard and the band would play. The mother would take up a collection from the baseball fans.”

The Jackson 5 were soon playing as the opening act at local venues like Club 007 and at school “sock-hops”.

“We had ‘sock-hops’. You would take off your shoes and dance in the gymnasium. The Jacksons used to play. Michael was very talented,” Sarah Ligon, 50, said. “They were young. It was exciting. You didn’t see a lot of really young children perform.

“Everybody around loved them,” she said. “It was a time when all of our parents worked at the steel mills and you could walk the streets and leave your door open.”

Leola Macon, now 78, said she and Mrs Kate Jackson used to sing at the Kingdom Hall church and shared an allotment where they grew string-beans and black-eyed peas for their kitchens.

“Kate and Joe were good parents. What I was hearing about Joe being a hard-driver, well, he just wanted them to be successful — and he succeeded," Mrs Macon said.

“They were a lovely couple. I never saw them fight or anything. The kids were all manner-able and at peace with one another. When it came time to practise their music, they wanted to stay outside and play but Joe made them come in and practise.

“Michael was a great little boy — very manner-able and somewhat shy. He would not talk that much, only when you talked to him. He always had a good voice, but I did not think too much of it. I did not ever think they would become famous. They started playing instruments, and I said, ‘Wait a minute. You all are getting down!’”

Mr Macon said he and his brother Stevie formed their own group like the Jackson 5, as did many of their friends.

“At that time, a lot of little groups were formed. Me and my brother had a group at the same time they did. We would go around to barber shops and beauty shops and perform for those people and they would give us nickels and quarters. We even were in a couple of talent shows.

“I remember when I was in the 4th grade and the Jackson 5 were performing at our school, it cost 25 cents to get in and see them. I even remember what they had on — black pants, white shirts and a red cummerbund around the waist, all of them.”

He said that Mrs Jackson kept the family home spotless, even though she struggled to feed her nine children.

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