№ 21 · TRIVIA
The Motown Walkout
Jacksons leave for Epic Records, June 25, 1975 — exactly 34 years before Michael's death
MICHAEL JACKSON
The King of Pop
★ RARE
← MICHAEL JACKSON
CARD N° 21 · TRIVIA · ★ RARE
The Motown Walkout
Jacksons leave for Epic Records, June 25, 1975 — exactly 34 years before Michael's death
№ 21 TRIVIA
The Motown Walkout
On June 25, 1975, Joe Jackson held a press conference to announce the family was leaving Motown after seven years — for Epic, a $750,000 advance, and full creative control of their own songs. Jermaine, married to Berry Gordy's daughter Hazel, stayed behind. Exactly 34 years later, to the day, Michael died.
▶ THE MOMENT
The Jacksons — Enjoy Yourself (1976)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IRJ7-bw5l4
MICHAEL JACKSON · B·SIDE · VOL.I
HOVER TO FLIP
THE FACT
On June 25, 1975, Joe Jackson held a press conference to announce the family was leaving Motown after seven years — for Epic, a $750,000 advance, and full creative control of their own songs. Jermaine, married to Berry Gordy's daughter Hazel, stayed behind. Exactly 34 years later, to the day, Michael died.
WHAT MOST DON'T KNOW
The split was bitter. Berry Gordy sued for breach of contract, eventually winning a settlement and the rights to the name 'The Jackson 5' — which is why the brothers performed as 'The Jacksons' from 1976 onward. Jermaine's decision to stay loyal to his father-in-law Gordy fractured the family for years; he was replaced in the brothers' line-up by sixteen-year-old Randy Jackson. The Epic deal — negotiated by entertainment attorney John Branca, who would represent Michael for the rest of his life — gave the brothers something they had never had at Motown: writing credits, royalties on song publishing, and the right to produce their own records. Their first Epic single, Enjoy Yourself, hit the Top 10 the following year. The eerie coincidence of June 25 was not lost on the family; LaToya Jackson noted the date in her 2011 memoir.
▶
THE MOMENT
The Jacksons — Enjoy Yourself (1976) — Their first single after the Motown break — a Top 10 hit.