Michael Jackson could fill a stadium without trying. Going out to buy a few records was the hard part.
His older brother Marlon understood that better than most. Marlon sang next to Michael in the Jackson 5, and he saw up close how hard it was for Michael to go anywhere.
“If Michael just stepped outside, in a couple of seconds people would stop doing what they are doing,” Marlon once explained. “That’s why he started wearing disguises.”
So Michael got creative. And one day Marlon walked straight into one of those disguises.
He was in a record store when he noticed an older man buying a big stack of music. In Marlon’s words, the shopper was “an old gentleman, short afro, buck-crooked teeth and his clothes were rumpled.” Nothing about him said King of Pop.
Marlon wasn’t fooled. “I walked up behind him and said ‘Michael, what are you doing in this store?’ and he turned to me and said ‘Marlon, how did you know it was me?'”
He shared that memory in his 2009 tribute to his brother, after Michael passed away. Hear Marlon tell it in his own voice, right down to Michael’s surprised question.
Marlon’s 2009 tribute to his brother
So how did he know?
Marlon had a whole list of clues, starting with the fact that they were family. “You’re my brother, regardless of your make up. I know your walk, I know your body language, and the shoes did not help. Michael wore the same shoes wherever we went”
The shoes. Michael had changed almost everything about how he looked, but he couldn’t bring himself to swap out his footwear.
Marlon told the story again to The Guardian in 2021. In that version, he remembered sneaking up behind Michael and whispering in his ear while his brother was buying “all these excellent records.” And the giveaway hadn’t changed one bit. “Another thing gave you away, Michael, you wear the same shoes all the time!”
Then he added the best detail of all. “They were the same loafers he wore on stage.”
Think about that for a second. The most famous dancer in the world goes undercover in a record shop and keeps on his stage loafers.
Fans have caught Michael out in disguise on camera, too. This clip isn’t the record store, but the fan who posted it says it shows Michael shopping in disguise at a shopping center, so you can judge for yourself how well he blended in.
Michael out shopping in disguise, caught on a fan’s camera
The brothers still love sharing stories about Michael. Years later, at the premiere of the “Michael” movie, Marlon and his brother Jackie shared memories from the days when they were all kids together.
Marlon and Jackie share childhood stories about Michael
The record store wasn’t the only sweet moment Marlon remembered in his 2009 tribute. He said that every time he told Michael “I love you,” his brother had the same answer ready.
“I love you more.”