{ 0 comments }
From the category archives:
Interviews ALL
I believe this is Stephen Davis Rock Author & MJ Ghostwriter
In 1987, Stephen Davis — the noted rock and roll biographer, and author of arguably the most notorious non-fiction rock tome of all time, the Led Zeppelin screamer Hammer of the Gods — was living with his family in Malibu and working on a book about Fleetwood Mac when his agent called and offered him a plum gig: ghostwriting Michael Jackson’s autobiography. That book, Moon Walk, became a #1 NY Times Bestseller, and broke the news of Michael’s accusations that he’d been abused by his father.
Earlier this evening, about 45 minutes after the networks confirmed Jackson’s death from a heart attack, we phoned Davis at his home in Milton, MA, as he watched his subject’s demise unfold on CNN. We talked about the odd circumstances surrounding the book, his memories of what Jackson was like at the time, and how Michael saved Davis’s seven year old daughter from the clutches of Bubbles the monkey.
How surprised were you at Michael’s death?
Oh, totally shocked. I was going to go to London and go to one of those shows. And I figured as his biographer — as his autobiographer — it would be a cool thing to do. I mean, I thought maybe I’d do my own book someday. I’ve just been trying to figure out if my confidentiality agreement with him from 1987 is still in force. I guess I’ll have to get legal advice.
{ 3 comments }
Fred Durst (LIMP BIZKIT): “On this tour (June 26, 2009) I have been paying tribute to [Michael Jackson] by wearing his ‘Beat It’ jacket and rhinestone glove [see photos below]. The irony and timing is shocking. I am very sad. He was truly brilliant and the reason why I love to dance.”
Apparently the picture was taken before MJ died…
Send US YOUR PICTURE Today
{ 1 comment }
Click Here: Read Part 1
Click Here: Read Part 2
Click Here: Watch a Video of the Photo Shoot
Q: How does it feel to know you have changed history? Do you think about that a lot?
A: Yeah, I do, I really do. I’m very proud that we opened doors, that it helped tear down a lot. Going around the world, doing tours, in stadiums, you see the influence of the music. When you just look out over the stage, as far as the naked eye could see, you see people. And it’s a wonderful feeling, but it came with a lot of pain, a lot of pain.
Q: How so?
A: When you’re on top of your game, when you’re a pioneer, people come at you. It’s there, who’s at the top, you want to get at them.
But I feel grateful, all those record-breaking things, to the biggest albums, to those No. Is, I still feel grateful. I’m a guy who used to sit in my living room and listen to my father play Ray Charles. My mother used to wake me up at 3 in the morning, ‘Michael, he’s on TV, he’s on TV!’ I’d run to the TV and James Brown would be on TV. I said, ‘That’s what I want to do.’
{ 2 comments }
Q: How did it all start?
A: Motown was preparing to do this movie called The Wiz … and Quincy Jones happened to be the man who was doing the music. Now, I had heard of Quincy before. When I was in Indiana as a child, my father used to buy jazz albums, so I knew him as a jazz musician.
So after we had made this movie–we had gotten pretty close on the film, too; he helped me understand certain words, he was really father-like–I called him after the movie, out of complete sincerity–’cause I’m a shy person, ESPECIALLY then, I used to not even look at people when they were talking to me, I’m not joking–and I said, ‘I’m ready to do an album. Do you think … could you recommend anybody who would be interested in producing it with me or working with me?’ He paused and said, ‘Why don’t you let ME do it?’ I said to myself, ‘I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.’ Probably because I was thinking that he was more my father, kind of jazzy. So after he said that, I said, ‘WOW, that would be great.’ What’s great about working with Quincy, he let’s you do your thing. He doesn’t get in the way.
{ 0 comments }
We found this article on nymag.com – Dated July 2008
Michael Jackson, who asked Ne-Yo to write songs for his comeback album. “Yeah, Michael’s putting together a new album, and I’m helping him out with it,” he confirmed. According to Ne-Yo, Jackson himself called to get him onboard. “I actually hung up on him because I thought someone was playin’,” he said. “‘Who’s this?’ [high voice] ‘This is Michael Jackson.’ Click. Then his representative called back. ‘This is Peter Lopez. I have Michael Jackson on the phone.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God. Are you serious?’ And then I apologized for the next ten minutes. Any comedian who has ever made fun of Michael Jackson was right on. Sad but true. He does have a very high, not very manly voice.”
{ 0 comments }
