Between February 1975 and January 1976, Cher hosted her own variety show on CBS after her divorce from Sonny Bono had led to the end of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, which had run on CBS from 1971 to 1974. Like the preceding show, Cher featured a number of talented guests singing with their host. One such memorable moment occurred on March 16, 1975, when The Jackson 5 appeared on her show.
In this segment, Cher joins The Jackson 5 on such songs as “I Want You Back,” “I’ll Be There,” and “Never Can Say Goodbye.” While nobody can keep up with Michael Jackson’s moves, Cher gives it a good shot. Check it out.
After Cher’s successful solo variety show and Sonny’s 1974 The Sonny Comedy Revue, she re-teamed with her ex-husband for The Sonny & Cher Show, which ran from 1976-1977. The Jacksons appeared on the various incarnations of the Sonny and Cher shows several times, also including September 1972 and March 1974 appearances on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. After the couple split up, the Jacksons did not take sides. In addition to the above appearance on Cher, the group appeared on The Sonny Comedy Review in September 1974.
What do you think of the Cher-Jackson 5 performance? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Berry Gordy, the founder of the Motown record label, recently appeared on CBS Sunday Morning to discuss his amazing career and a new Broadway musical about the early days of the label called, appropriately, Motown: The Musical. In the interview, Gordy told interviewer Anthony Mason how he started out writing songs for Jackie Wilson, his opening of Hitsville, USA, his affair with Diana Ross, and why he initially did not want to work with Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson.
[October 2013 Update: The CBS Sunday Morning video is no longer available for embedding, although you may watch the segment on YouTube. Below is another interview featuring Barry Gordy.]
What is your favorite Motown song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In case you were too busy getting ready for the holidays or trying to avoid a fiscal cliff the last few weeks, here are some of the pop culture stories you might have missed.
— Movies —
The Atlantic featured production storyboards from 15 beloved films.
What if there were an animated series called “Clockwork Orange Babies“? Here’s what the promo posters would look like.
The “Honest Trailer” for The Dark Knight Rises was released. Even though I liked the movie, the “Honest Trailer” is funny and captures a number of plot issues. (Thanks @PopcornJunkies.)
Kinky Friedman on Folk Music, Politics, Mass Murder, and His Bipolar Tour. (from No Depression)
Beck is trying to revive the days of singing ‘round the piano.
The A.V. Club wrote about how Townes Van Zandt’s song “Lungs” veers from platonic epistemology to magical realism. I can’t explain what that means. You’ll have to read the article.
A jury convicted Dr. Conrad Murray of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson, who died on June 25, 2009. The judge will set a sentence that may range from probation to four years in prison.
As in the case of Elvis Presley’s death, during recent weeks it has seemed that the way Michael Jackson died overshadowed his talent. But of course, Jackson’s own legal troubles and accusations against him had already put a stain on his life and career. Reading about how Jackson regularly took propofol intravenously to put him to sleep, one cannot help thinking about the troubled life starting with his difficult childhood where he was physically and emotionally abused. For today, though, it does not hurt to think about the music and the talent before it was tarnished by the sexual abuse allegations and the way he died.
“Ben” was the title track on Michael Jackson’s second solo album, released in 1972 while he was still with the Jackson 5. As far as I know, it is the only song from a killer rat movie to be nominated for a Golden Globe and Academy Award. There will be those who say that Dr. Murray is a killer rat, but it appears more that he was just another piece of an ongoing tragedy.
On September 29 in 1975, Jackie Wilson was performing as part of Dick Clark’s Good Ole Rock ‘N Roll Revue in New Jersey. While singing “My heart is crying” from his signature song “Lonely Teardrops,” Wilson had a heart attack and fell and hit his head. Medical personnel saved his life. But because of the time it took them to revive Wilson, he ended up in a coma.
Jackie Wilson’s Death
Although Wilson recovered slightly, his great voice never spoke again. He spent the rest of his life in a semi-comatose state, dying on January 21, 1984.
A few months after Wilson died, Marvin Gaye was killed on April 1, 1984 when he intervened in a fight between his parents and his father shot him. I remember hearing about Gaye’s death that year, but I do not recall hearing anything about Wilson.
There are a number of reasons why Gaye’s death may have received more attention than Wilson’s death in the news. There were was not many years between the 49-year-old Wilson and Gaye who was one day short of his 45th birthday. But Wilson seemed less relevant and from another era.
Gaye was in the middle of a comeback, having won a Grammy for “Sexual Healing” a year earlier. By contrast, Wilson was still performing his classic songs on an oldies tour before spending almost a decade a coma. Also, Gaye’s death was more surprising and violent then Wilson’s, which also may have contributed to the media attention.
Wilson’s Troubled Life
Wilson’s coma and death were not the only indignities and problems he faced in his troubled life. He fought drug addiction, and his womanizing led to an angry lover shooting him in 1961.
During the height of Wilson’s career, he had to play to segregated audiences in the South. At one point New Orleans police arrested and beat him after they disapproved of one performance.
Wilson faced other problems. In 1967, he was arrested on morals charges in South Carolina for being in a motel room with a white woman. In 1970, his 16-year-old son was killed by a neighbor during an argument.
Wilson faced financial difficulties too. Throughout his career, his manager did not handle money properly and Wilson was left with tax debts and no money.
In the early 1970s, though, Wilson started turning his life around. He gave up alcohol and drugs. And he got rid of the manager who caused his financial problems. But then he had the heart attack. When he died, he was penniless, so he was buried in an unmarked grave in Detroit, like a pauper.
I absolutely love his recording of “Lonely Teardrops.” I love Jackie Wilson’s voice, and I love to see his performances. You can see the precursor to some of Michael Jackson’s moves in Wilson’s dancing.
On the Million Dollar Quartettapes, you may hear Elvis Presley talking about seeing Jackie Wilson sing Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel,” and you can hear the admiration in Presley’s voice. Wilson’s talents inspired other artists, like Van Morrison who wrote and recorded “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile).”
Those artists heard the jubilance and rapture in Wilson’s performances, which explains why he was called “Mr. Excitement.” I like to think that when Jackie Wilson was on stage that last time in 1975, singing about his heart crying, that his final moments of real consciousness were of the type of joy conveyed in the performance below.
Bonus Performance: In this clip from 1974 around a year before Wilson’s final performance, Roy Orbison and Del Shannon introduce Jackie Wilson performing “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” along with “Lonely Teardrops.”
Why do you think Jackie Wilson is not given more attention? What are your favorite Jackie Wilson songs? Leave a comment.
