Katherine Jackson knows music. She raised the Jackson 5, after all. But she also got a kind of private concert that almost no one else on earth ever got.
Her son Michael played her his new songs before the rest of us heard them.
She talked about it in May 2012, when she sat down with Piers Morgan on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight.” Katherine, who was born May 4, 1930, came on the show with artist Brett-Livingstone Strong, a longtime friend of Michael’s. The two of them brought something special along: Michael’s own drawings and paintings.
Piers asked whether Michael would try his music out on her first. Her answer was simple.
“Yes, he played most of the things he had. He played for me.”
That’s quite a seat to have. And from it, Katherine learned how her son thought about making records. She said he wanted every track on an album to be a hit, not just one or two. “Michael was a perfectionist. Whatever he did, he wanted to be the best.”
He even spelled out his rule for her. “I don’t believe in album songs. I believe every song should be a great song.”
If you’ve never seen Katherine sitting beside her son’s artwork, this part of the interview is worth a few minutes, because it shows a side of Michael that a lot of people never knew about.
Katherine and Brett-Livingstone Strong show Michael’s paintings on CNN
The same night, Katherine described the man behind all those hits. She said he “didn’t act like he was the most famous person in the world.” Then she put it in plain words: “he was just a down to Earth person. He’s very, very mild tempered.”
That’s the Michael his mother knew at home. For a little more of Katherine in her own words about her boy, this short clip has her talking about the promises and dreams Michael had early on.
Katherine talks about young Michael’s promises and dreams
Back on CNN, Piers asked the question every fan has an answer to. “What was your favorite of all his songs?”
Katherine answered with a title.
“‘Man In The Mirror.'”
He asked her why. “Well, it was a message of greatness. A lot of his songs had messages, but I think this was the best of them.”
“Man in the Mirror” was written by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard for Michael’s 1987 album “Bad.” It came out as a single on Jan 16, 1988, and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 26, 1988, where it stayed for two weeks. It was also nominated for Record of the Year at the 31st Grammy Awards.
But Katherine wasn’t finished. She had another one in mind. “That’s one of my favorites. And I like the ‘Earth Song.'”
So here’s the second song she named, in Michael’s official video, so you can hear what stayed with his mother.
Michael’s official “Earth Song” video
Her reason says a lot about Katherine. She didn’t go for the biggest dance number. She went for the songs she felt had something to say.
Now go back to the one she named first, and listen with her words in mind.
Michael’s official “Man in the Mirror” video
Michael played most of his music for his mother before it ever reached a radio. Out of everything she heard, this is the one she put at the top.