Saturday, July 4, 2009

First Reviews of the Jackson Five in L.A.

Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times was not overly impressed, although he admitted they "had some good (but too few) moments."

The venue was the Inglewood Forum, where Diana Ross introduced the Jackson Five as an act she had discovered on a recent tour (the official press story for years). She also brought out the Hawkins Singers ("Oh Happy Day") and Edwin Starr ("Agent Double-O Soul"). Starr would hit big with the song "War" in 1970, but this concert was reviewed on August 19, 1969.

Only eight days earlier, according to a Vibe article from last month, Ross had introduced the brothers to 350 media and music people at a disco-type club called The Daisy, on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. They sang and charmed everyone. Regina Jones, who wrote the article, had been in the club that night. She recalls Michael Jackson saying, "After singing for four years and not becoming a star, I thought I would never be discovered—that is, until Miss Ross came along to save my career."

He was ten. Actually, he was almost eleven, but the press was told that he was eight.

The Daisy was also the club where O.J. Simpson met Nicole Brown. She was a server there in 1977. If the address was 326 N. Rodeo, it's an Yves St. Laurent store now--but I'm not sure about the address. The Daisy Club was still open in 1985. Anyone know when it closed?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It closed in 1989. Jack died on his birthday in 1990.

Vickey Kall said...

Thank you!