I’m with Michael!
After landing an assignment shooting the Jackson 5, the author was told that Michael Jackson wanted him to be his personal photographer. The result: a trove of images, taken between 1974 and 1984, that reveal the future King of Pop’s quiet, soulful side. Related: Gray’s exclusive photos.
WEB EXCLUSIVE October 23, 2009
Excerpted from Michael Jackson: Before He Was King, by Todd Gray, to be published on November 6, 2009, by Chronicle Books; © 2009 by the author.
In January 1980, I received a call saying that Michael Jackson had specifically requested me to photograph him at Disneyland, where he was taping a television special celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Magic Kingdom. When Michael was not on the set performing, he took every opportunity to explore the park. The moment the director would release him from the set in order to prepare the next shot, Michael would grab my arm and say, “Come on, let’s hit some rides.” Off we went, the two of us accompanied by a Disney security person, who ushered us through secret passageways, making certain we never waited in line. Michael, who was 21 at the time, loved Disneyland, and while sitting next to him on the rides—the Matterhorn, the Pirates of the Caribbean—I joined right in with his screams and laughter. We really had fun.
View Todd Gray’s exclusive photos.
Not long after this job, I got another call from the Jacksons’ manager, Ron Weisner, asking me to shoot Michael at a charity event. He said that Michael had instructed him to hire only me when he needed a photographer. Then Ron asked me, “What’s up with you and Michael?” I answered, “We just get along, I guess.” (I had first met Michael in 1974 while photographing the Jackson 5 for Soul Newspaper.) I asked Ron if Michael had given him any indication as to why he wanted only me to photograph him. He said Michael told him, “I like Todd because he doesn’t talk much.” And that’s how it began. I was Michael’s photographer and friend for the next four years. It was the ride of my life.
From early on, I saw how dedicated Michael was to work. He worked nearly all the time and rarely seemed to relax. A great deal of time was spent in the recording studio—the Jacksons’ intense focus on creating a flawless product helped make them the success that they became, and Michael was clearly the most focused, hardest-working member of the group. While in the mixing booth, making technical adjustments and working the board with the engineers, he would whisper instructions to his brothers about a vocal arrangement, whispering not because the instructions were secret, but because he was shy and didn’t like to yell out his ideas.
In the spring of 1981, Michael and his brothers began rehearsals for the Triumph Tour, which would travel to 35 cities in North America. When Michael found time to relax, he loved to leaf through photographic books. He especially loved books about 1930s Hollywood glamour, richly illustrated children’s books, and coffee-table books on photography. Michael would usually hole up in the rear of the bus, while the others spent their time together in front. I also preferred the quiet at the back, and I would sit down with him while he was engrossed in reading.
My photographs of Michael, from 1974 to 1984, show him as the engaging, charming, youthful person he was before the insatiable demands of his extraordinary celebrity bore so heavily on him. As I reflect, I realize now that this was the time before he was King.
