Long before Michael Jackson became the performer millions of artists would study, he was the student watching someone else.
In a revealing 1977 interview, Michael looked back at his childhood touring with the Jackson 5 and explained how he would stand in the wings watching established stars perform.
He was not simply listening to their songs.
He was watching every movement and every reaction from the audience.
One performer fascinated him in particular: Jackie Wilson.
Michael remembered watching Wilson take the stage night after night, studying his walk, his movements and the way he commanded a room.
“I would watch every step Jackie Wilson made,” Michael recalled, explaining that he would run down specifically to watch him perform.
But Jackie Wilson was not alone.
James Brown became one of Michael’s greatest influences.
Michael admired the explosive energy Brown brought to the stage and believed he deserved far more recognition for what he had contributed to modern music. He also named performers including Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Little Richard and Chuck Berry among the artists he watched and admired.
Michael Jackson With the Jackson 5 on The Ed Sullivan Show
Another 1977 recollection revealed exactly what young Michael was trying to understand.
He said he would sit near the stage watching James Brown and Jackie Wilson, paying close attention not only to the performers but to the audience.
Michael wanted to understand why certain movements created screams, excitement and emotion.
He remembered feeling that same connection was what he wanted for himself.
The future King of Pop was essentially studying how to control a crowd before he was old enough to fully understand the business around him.
That habit apparently never disappeared.
People who worked around Michael later remembered him repeatedly watching footage of performers including Brown and Wilson. One former Jackson manager recalled Michael studying their performances over and over while traveling on tour.
Years later, Michael explained that James Brown and Jackie Wilson could create a level of emotion that almost overwhelmed him.
He remembered watching them from the wings at the Apollo Theater, studying “every step” and “every move.”
What impressed Michael most was their ability to hold an audience completely in their hands.
Then something remarkable happened.
The little boy watching from backstage eventually became the performer other artists would study the same way.
By the time Michael unveiled performances like “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and “Smooth Criminal,” his movements were being copied around the world.
But that style did not appear from nowhere.
Michael had spent years watching the masters who came before him, learning what made people scream, cry and refuse to look away.
Before Michael Jackson became one of the most studied performers in history, he was standing quietly in the wings studying every move himself.