1979年《JET》采訪

來源：mjjcn.com
Robert E. Johnson/酸草莓（譯）

邁克爾·傑克遜，近21歲了，但是還沒有任何關於結婚的打算；有和女孩約會，但不定期；他懼怕為了他害相思病的歌迷們；他還談論了關於種族主義和他自己的生活方式。
邁克爾·約瑟夫·傑克遜，這位有著天使般嗓音的“Jackson 5”主唱，他在舞臺上有著令人嘆為觀止的表演，在臺下卻有著一顆威嚴和柔弱的內心。

將近21年前，在加里市，在約瑟夫和凱瑟琳·傑克遜的很有天賦的孩子們中，老六邁克爾於8月29日降生了。他是處女座，特徵是無私，有一種魔力，使他在一生中會有很多仰慕者，會有很多愛他的人，而迷戀他的歌迷們會做很多奇怪的事情來表達他們的愛。

最近一次，當一個漂亮的十幾歲的黑人小女孩登上滿座的飛機，看見了邁克爾和哥哥坐一起時，她不敢相信自己的眼睛，隨之呼吸加快，變得極其興奮，然後只見她的褲子濕了，黃色液體順著她的大腿流了下來。

在機場出口處，一大幫女孩等著看“Jacksons”樂隊，有一個金黃頭發的十幾歲小女孩從人群中擠了出來，溜過了保安的防護，拉著邁克爾，試圖叫他吻她。

在剛結束了為慶祝他們踏入音樂業界10周年而舉行的世界巡演後，邁克爾--兄弟中唯一一個達到了法定準婚年齡還沒有結婚的人--接到了一屋子的求婚信。害羞的邁克爾都給了她們同樣的回復：“謝謝你們的來信，我感到很高興，我們會永遠的愛你。”落款：邁克爾·傑克遜和“The Jacksons”。

溫和的邁克爾聲明他一點都不喜歡寫這樣內容重復的信給那些求婚的女歌迷，雖然他不失身份地簡短回復了她們，但其實他是很懼怕這些人的。
坐在加州恩西諾（購自《亂世佳人》中那個萬人迷男主角Clark Gable的地產）家中的客廳裏，邁克爾這個年輕的單身漢，侃侃談起了關於婚姻、約會，還有其他很多與他密切相關的話題。

“我不喜歡讓別人傷心，”他嚴肅而略帶害羞地說，在沙發上挪了挪他5英尺10英寸的身體，“我都不認識那些人，天，真不可思議。”他繼續說：“我覺得，那也是演藝圈內很奇怪的一方面。你成名後，那些人就開始長久地關注你，他們買你的唱片。把你的海報掛滿了墻，他們醒來就看到你，他們醒來就想著你，你不時浮現在他們腦中。於是當他們真見到你的時候，他們就覺得已經認識你很久了，但是其實我根本不認識他們。你看，這就是演藝圈內很痛苦的一件事，你無意中就傷害了很多人。你知道這對他們意味著什麼嗎？哦，上帝，他們有些人竟要去自殺，因為他們太認真了！我真的不知道該怎麼處理。”

當那些崇尚泡泡糖舞曲的年輕女性群逐漸從不接受他到迷戀他後，他覺得更加的恐懼。對於那時的情況他評論到：“你要小心，因為愛有時會使人走向極端。他們覺得得不到你，就會計劃很多恐怖的事情來傷害你。這就是為什麼不僅得友善，而且必須要真誠的原因，這很重要。

他回憶了去年的醜聞，有人捏造說他做了變性手術。這謠言還在繼續，就在上面所說的在機場遇到瘋狂人群時，還有人問起。“那個漂亮的金發女孩用力的拉住我，讓我吻她，”邁克爾回憶道，“她說，‘你太性感了，吻我。’”當我對她表現出不感興趣的時候，她說‘怎麼了？你是同性戀？’”然後大步走開了。”他很痛苦，但是仍需要告訴人們：“我是一個男人，一個造物主創造的正常男人，不是女的。讓我最感到傷心，讓我想起來甚至想哭的就是連一點點大的孩子，大概七八歲的孩子都來問我這樣的問題。我說，‘不，請大家轉告其他小朋友這不是真的。’”

更加讓邁克爾苦惱的是郵件，那些女性發來的郵件。“你幾乎想像不出那是什麼樣的內容，有些實在是太庸俗太下流了！”對於他來說，收到這樣的郵件就像是看到一個牧師在電影院看色情片《The Devil And Mrs. Jones》或者《Deep Throat》。“有些郵件真是讓人看得心驚膽戰，她們一點禮貌都沒有，”他說：“她們告訴你她們想對你做些什麼，以及會怎麼來做。我只是一邊看一邊感嘆，‘噢，這些女孩啊……’所以對於我來說，“女孩”這個詞沒有任何的魅力了。在以前，都是男孩主動打電話去約女孩，而女孩永遠都是被動的，不會主動打電話找男孩，只是靜靜的坐那裏等待電話鈴聲響起。但看看現在，這些女孩簡直要把你逼瘋了。你可以看到一個11歲的小女孩塗口紅、畫眼線、刷睫毛。她們感覺自己已經是個女人了，其實不是。”

不要把這個說話溫和的歌手看作一個聖人或老古板。高大、帥氣、黑皮膚的邁克爾，看來非常清楚現今20歲的他可以去做那些早在他10歲時就在歌曲裏唱到的事。一個廣為人知的見證人就是潛力巨大的女影星Tatum O’Neal--演員Ryan O’Neal十幾歲的女兒。

幾年前《現代人》雜志的記者援引了O’Neal的話，說她迫不及待的想開始她的第一段戀情。如果她相信公眾傳言說的那樣，邁克爾將不是一個會接吻會傾訴的人；然而事實並非如此。他拒絕透露與Tatum親密約會的細節問題，但是卻急切的安排著他們的浪漫。首先，他承認他們的生活有著相似：兩人都各有著一個十分愛護自己的父親或母親：Tatum的爸爸，邁克爾的媽媽；兩人都很有魅力而且又有錢；她乘坐著司機駕駛的勞斯萊斯，而百萬富翁邁克爾則親自駕駛著自己的勞斯萊斯；兩人都很害羞；邁克爾將是未來歲月裏一顆最閃亮的星，而Tatum也是。

“我想讓《JET》雜志的讀者們知道，我們更多的是好朋友，”邁克爾肯定的說。在承認有媒體對他們的關系作出種種猜測的同時，邁克爾沉思了一下說：“人們總是把我們的關系想得很復雜，其實我們真的真的真的只是好朋友而已！這就是我要說的一切，他們問‘你們是多好的朋友呢？會發生些浪漫的故事嗎？’我說‘是的，有時會，但不是一直都會。’”

雖然約會是他生活中的一部分，但他更感興趣的還是在家庭（現時正在擴建中）周圍尋求一種新的生活方式。他再次強調了他不想和他的四個結了婚的兄(傑克、傑愛米、蒂托和麥龍)一樣搬出家裏自己住，對此邁克爾解釋道：“我們一直想為媽媽做到這點，她愛這個家以及家中的一切，讓我做事有很大的動力。我覺得還沒到我搬出去的時候。我還有很多事要做，我只想呆在這裏。如果我搬出去，一定會因寂寞而終的。很多人每天晚上都去跳迪斯可，他們每晚都開舞會，他們邀請朋友狂歡，而我從來都不做這些事情。我一定會寂寞死的。”
邁克爾的新建計劃包括新的網球場、游泳池、健身房、電影房、彩排用的錄音棚和一個圖書館。當在家裏和媽媽凱瑟琳，爸爸約瑟夫，弟弟雷迪以及姐妹珍妮和娜托雅住在一起的時候，這位年輕的藝人對宗教和社會問題也具有獨到的天份和看法。

他最在意的是宗教和種族問題。作為一個虔誠的基督徒，和他媽媽一樣，他說：“我相信《聖經》上所說的，我也努力按《聖經》上的指示去做。我知道我不是天使，但也不是惡魔。我只是試著盡量去做我自己認為是對的事情。就那麼簡單。我不會只在晚上才做禱告，我每天無時無刻不在禱告。無論何時我看到一些美麗的東西，我會說：“哦，上帝，那太漂亮了。”我整天都會不時地像這樣禱告著。”

對於表演方面的壓力，邁克爾說他求助於神性，而不是毒品。“這聽上去很俗，但自然的靈感是最高級的境界。”他繼續說：“星星，山脈，孩子，嬰兒的笑簡直是神奇的。”他露出了發自內心的微笑。

但是談到當今世界上普遍存在的種族問題時，邁克爾笑不起來了，尤其是在美國，旅遊者可以很容易的發現。想到當年Jacksons樂隊在南方城市受到了怎樣的對待時，他說那簡直讓人難以置信。“有人告訴我們只管去面對它（種族主義），因為南部就這樣。”他補充道，“那是無知的，也是被教唆的，跟遺傳沒有關系。”

“我真的不是一個有任何偏見的人。我覺得人們應該多想想上帝和他神奇的創造物，如果你去看看你身體內部的那些奇觀，”他指的是內臟器官的顏色，“你就會知道不同顏色的器官做著不同的工作。那麼我們人類為什麼不可以像它們一樣和諧共進呢？”

“種族問題是我最痛恨的，我真的很討厭。這也是為什麼我把這樣的問題帶到我的歌曲中，帶到我的舞蹈中，帶到我的藝術中。我就是要告訴這個世界該怎麼做。如果政治家解決不了，那詩人該用詩歌，作家該用小說來告誡人們。這就是我們要做的，也是拯救這個世界的一個很重要的途徑。”

邁克爾一邊旅遊一邊讀了很多書，他畢業於一個私人高中，曾經在公立學校被迫退學，因為那裏的女孩總是追著他，對他尖叫。他說：“我很愛讀書，我希望我可以建議更多的人都來閱讀。在書中，你可以找到一個全新的世界。如果你沒有錢旅遊，你可以在書中找到一段心靈之旅。在書中，你可以去到你任何想去的地方，你可以看到任何你想看的東西。”

閱讀和旅遊對他的宗教和種族觀點有很大的影響。對於他的旅行，他這樣解釋道：“無論到哪里，人造的東西就是人造的，但是你應該走出家門，去看上帝所創造的這個自然世界的美麗。”又提到了美國的種族歧視問題時，他說道：“我希望我可以從委內瑞拉或特立尼達島借一些真愛和一些不戴有色眼鏡的人，然後把他們帶到美國。當你再來旅遊的時候，你就會發現美國已經完全不同以往了。上帝，我不想這麼說，但是我們的人民就是聽不進去。”

在他所有的旅行中，他說他最帶激情和感動的旅程是在塞內加爾的達喀爾。“我要向上帝發誓，”他眉飛色舞地說，“我以前一直認為，黑人在藝術領域是最有天分的了。但當我到了非洲，我更加確信這一點了。他們在那裏做著很多讓人難以置信的事情。他們很有節奏感，而我也真正明白了鼓的起源。這讓你感到真的是所有的黑人都有著節奏，我想要讓黑人們永遠不要忘記這就是我們的根源，我們音樂的根源。如果我們忘記了，黑人的歷史也將不復存在。我要大家永遠銘記。”

(感謝Rose Mary進行的相關整理工作)

JET 1979
Country : USA   Published : February 1, 1979
Main article title : Special Report: The Jackson Five Ten Years Later

Michael Joseph (Smiley) Jackson, the angelic-voiced lead singer of the world famous vocal quintet of Jackson brothers, is a handsome young man whose onstage magnetism and magic are exceeded only by his offstage majesty and meek heartedness.

Born the fifth of six talented sons of Joseph and Katherine Jackson in Gary , Ind. , nearly 21 years ago (Aug. 29, 195 , he is a Virgo, whose trait is unselfishness, and is moved by magnetic forces which draw so many admirers into his life that love is his for the taking. And his love-struck fans often do strange things to show their affection for him.

When one beautiful Black teenager recently boarded a packed plane and spotted him seated with his brothers, she stared in disbelief, began breathing heavily and became so excited that she started wetting in her panties and froze in her tracks as urine trickled down her legs.

At the arrival gate where girls had gathered to meet the Jacksons , a blonde teenager squeezed through the crushing crowd, slipped past security guards, pulled Michael toward her and tried to make him kiss her.

Returning recently from a world tour celebrating their 10th anniversary in show business, Michael, the only Jackson son who has reached the age of consent and is still unmarried, waded through a room full of mail, sorting out those proposing marriage. Bashful Michael answered them the same: “Thank you for the beautiful letter. It’s very nice. And we will always love you. Love, Michael Jackson and the Jacksons .”

Mild-mannered Micahel makes it clear that he gets no satisfaction writing the same letter to all of those female fans who want him for a husband. But he responds in brief dignity because he actually fears love-sick fans.

Sitting in the living room of his family’s home located on a parcel of land in Encino , Calif. , purchased form the sprawling estate of the late lady-killer actor Clark Gable of Gone With The Wind fame, the young and eligible bachelor talked about marriage, dating and a wide range of topics which deeply concern him.

“I don’t like to break hearts,” he said solemnly and shyly, shifting his 5-foot, 9 ½ -inch body in a sofa chair. “I don’t really know these people and, gosh, it’s a weird thing.” He continued:

“That, I think, is the weird part about show business. You portray an image. And those people are into you so long, buying your records. You’re all over their walls. They wake up seeing you. They wake up thinking about you. You’re totally on their mind. And when they meet you in person, they feel they have been knowing you for a long time. But I don’t know them. You see, that’s the painful part of show business—the breaking of the hearts. Do you know what that does to them? God, some of them go to the point of committing suicide because they get real serious. That’s what I don’t know how to handle.”

For the young female bubblegum crowd whose voices are now turning from no to yes, he is especially fearful. About them he says, “You have to be careful because sometimes love can reverse on you. They feel they can’t get you and they’ll go to the point of plotting and planning terrible things on you or do terrible things to hurt you. That’s why it’s important to be nice, but sincerely nice.”

He recalled the nasty rumor that surfaced last year, falsely claiming that he had undergone a sex change. The rumor is not dead yet and he said his encounter with a love-crazed blonde at the aforementioned airport helps to revive it. “This beautiful girl with blonde hair was trying her hardest to pull me into her to kiss her,” Michael remembers. “She said, ‘You’re so sexy, kiss me.’ When I showed no kind of interest in her, she said, ‘What’s wrong, you fag?’ and walked off.”
He laments that he still has to tell people: “There’s a reason why I was created male. I’m not a girl. And what kills me the most and makes me want to break down in tears is when little kids, seven and eight, come to me asking me that. I say, no, and please tell all your other little friends it’s not true.”
What disturbs Michael more than the rumor is the kind of mail he receives from some of the bubble gum set. “You wouldn’t believe the mail I get. I mean some of it gets real vulgar,” he revealed. To him, such mail is as shocking as seeing a priest at a movie house watching The Devil And Mrs. Jones or Deep Throat. “Some of the mail gets real funky, not polite at all,” he says. “They tell you the stuff they want to do to you and everything, and how they’re going to do it. I just read and go, ‘Oh my God, these girls.’

There’s not much charm in girls anymore, like the guy used to always pick up the phone and call the girl. She would never call the guy. She would sit there all day until the phone would ring for her. But now the girls bother you to death….You see girls today 11 years old with bags and lipstick and eyeliner and lashes as well. They feel they’re women and they’re not.”

Don’t get the impression that the soft-spoken singer is a saint or square. Looking like the cliché description—tall, dark, and handsome—Michael is very much aware that he can now do at age 20 what he used to sing about when he was 10. One well-known witness is Oscar-winning actress Tatum O’Neal, teenaged daughter of actor Ryan O’Neal.

A reporter for Modern People two years ago quoted Miss O’Neal as once saying she couldn’t wait to have her first affair. If she followed up the widely publicized comment with action involving manly Michael, he is not the kind to kiss and tell. He declined to discuss intimate details of dating Tatum, but was anxious to set the record straight about their romance. First, he readily admits the parallels in their lives: Both have protective parents. Tatum is a daddy’s girl and Michael is a mama’s boy. Both are attractive and wealthy. She rides in a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce and millionaire Michael drives his own Rolls. Both are very shy. Michael is one of the brightest stars of the future and Tatum is, too.

“I want all those people who read JET to just know that we’re mainly good friends,” Michael assured. Admitting that there have been criticisms about their relations, Michael mused: “People take it to crazy means and crazy extents and I just tell them we’re really, really, really good friends. That’s all I say. They say, ‘Well how good friends are you? Is there any romance going on?’ I say, yes sometimes but not all the time.”

Although dating is part of his lifestyle, he is more interested in developing a new lifestyle around his family’s home which is now undergoing extensive renovations. Emphasizing that he is not ready to move out on his own like his four married brothers (Jackie, Jermaine, Tito and Marlon), Michael explains:

“I’ve always wanted to do this for my mother. She loves homes and everything and I do things by feeling and force. I don’t feel that it’s time for me to move away yet. There are so many things I want to do just staying here.

“If I move out now, I would die of loneliness. Most people who move out go to discos every night. They party every night. They invite friends over and I don’t do any of those things. I would really die of loneliness.”
Michael’s renovation plans will include the addiction of a tennis court, a remodeled swimming pool, a gym room, a movie room, a rehearsal studio and a library.

Living at home with his mother, Katherine, father Joseph, brother Randy, and sisters, Janet and LaToya, the young entertainer explores his many talents and grapples with social and religious concerns.

Uppermost among his concerns are religion and racism. A devout Jehovah’s Witness, like his mother, he says: “I believe in the Bible and I try to follow the Bible. I know that I’m not an angel and I’m not a devil either. I try to be as best as I can and I try to do what I think is right. It’s that simple….I don’t just pray at night. I pray at different times during the day. Whenever I see something beautiful, I say, ‘Oh, God, that’s beautiful.’ I say little prayers like that all through the day.”

To cope with the stresses of show business, Michael says he turns to his deity, not drugs. “As corny as it sounds, natural highs are the greatest highs in the world,” he attests. “The stars, the mountains, children, babies smiling are just magic,” he happily beamed.
The one thing that dims this glow is the pervasive racism that’s rampant in the world today, especially in America , the world traveler observes. Recalling how badly the singing Jacksons have been treated in southern cities, he said that it was difficult to believe.
“The people told us just deal with it (racism) because that’s how the South is,” he said and added: “That’s ignorance and it’s taught because it’s not genetic at all.

“I’m really not a prejudiced person at all. I believe that people should think about God more and creation because if you look at the many wonders inside the human bodies—the different colors of organs…and all these colors do different things in the human body—why can’t we do it as people?

“That (racism) is the only thing I hate. I really do. And that’s why I try to write, put it in songs, put it in dance, put it in my art—to teach the world. If politicians can’t do it, poets should put it in poetry and writers should put it in novels. That’s what we have to do and I think it’s so important to save the world.”
As widely read as he is traveled, Michael, a private high school graduate who once quit public school because girls were always screaming and pulling on him, said: “I love to read. I wish I could advise more people to read. There’s a whole new world in books. If you can’t afford to travel, you travel mentally through reading. You can see anything and go anyplace you want to in reading.”

Traveling and reading have greatly influenced his religious and racial views. About his travels, Michael explains: “Wherever you go, man-made things are man-made, but you’ve got to get out and see God’s beauty of the world.”
Reflecting upon America ’s racial problems, he said: “I wish I could borrow from other countries, say, like Venezuela or Trinidad, the real love and color-blind people and bring it to America . When you travel, you realize how different America is. God, I hate to say this but our people are brainwashed.”

Of all his travels, he says his most emotional and moving experiences came in travels in Dakar , Senegal . “I’m going to raise my hand (to God) on this one,” he lit up like a light. “I always thought that Blacks, as far as artistry, were the most talented race on earth. But when I went to Africa , I was even more convinced. They do incredible things over there….They got the beats and the rhythm. I really see where drums come from. It makes you think that all Blacks have rhythm….I don’t want the Blacks to ever forget that this is where we come from and where our music comes from. And if we forget, it (Black history) would really get lost. I want us to remember.”