Wacko Hacko

Michael Jackson challenged the power structure of the American music industry and struck at the heart of blackface minstrelsy, America’s first form of mass entertainment. The response was a derisive caricature that over time Jackson subverted through his art. In this expanded, all-new edition, Michael Jackson and the Blackface Mask argues for the tangible relationship between Jackson and blackface minstrelsy. It reveals the dialogue at minstrelsy’s core and, in its broader sense, tracks a centuries-long pattern of racial oppression and its resistance and how that has been played out in popular theatre. Michael Jackson and the Blackface Mask explores Jackson’s early talent and fame and the birth and escalation of ‘Wacko Jacko’. In relation to all this, the book examines Jackson’s dynamic art as it evolved, from his live performances and short films to the very surface of his own body. Scholarly and interdisciplinary, this work is suitable for readers across a diverse spectrum of academic fields, including African American studies, popular music studies and cultural theory, media and communication, gender studies and performance and theatre studies. Academic but accessible, this book will also be an engaging read for anyone interested in Michael Jackson and especially in his role as an icon of difference, in America’s dynamics of race and his mass media image.

An affectionate look at some of the worst recordings ever made, The World’s Worst Records tells the extraordinary but true stories behind some of the most appalling audio crimes ever committed. Extensively researched, and featuring music by major stars, ‘outsider’ artists and almost forgotten singers and songwriters, read about how Elvis Presley came to record a rock ‘n’ roll version of the nursery rhyme Old Macdonald; discover the truth behind actor Peter Wyngarde’s one attempt at pop immortality; meet the beautifully bonkers Florence Foster Jenkins – possibly the most deluded singer in history; fi nd out which Paul McCartney record is most hated world over. Puzzle over why 60’s flower-power icon Donovan would record a song about the toilet habits of astronauts.

The Wacko Jacko family adventures continue in Super Wacky School Days. Frankie vomits live on camera and becomes a MEGASTAR! His super-wacky Grandma comes to visit... FOREVER! And he joins the school rugby team by mistake! Can it get any worse? You guessed it! It does

Show biz memoir at its name-dropping, bridge-burning, profane best: the music industry’s most outspoken, outrageous, and phenomenally successful executive delivers a rollicking memoir of pop music’s heyday. During the 1970s and '80s the music business was dominated by a few major labels and artists such as Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand and James Taylor. They were all under contract to CBS Records, making it the most successful label of the era. And, as the company’s president, Walter Yetnikoff was the ruling monarch. He was also the most flamboyant, volatile and controversial personality to emerge from an industry and era defined by sex, drugs and debauchery. Having risen from working-class Brooklyn and the legal department of CBS, Yetnikoff, who freely admitted to being tone deaf, was an unlikely label head. But he had an uncanny knack for fostering talent and intimidating rivals with his appalling behavior—usually fueled by an explosive combination of cocaine and alcohol. His tantrums, appetite for mind-altering substances and sexual exploits were legendary. In Japan to meet the Sony executives who acquired CBS during his tenure, Walter was assigned a minder who confined him to a hotel room. True to form, Walter raided the minibar, got blasted and, seeing no other means of escape, opened a hotel window and vented his rage by literally howling at the moon. In Howling at the Moon, Yetnikoff traces his journey as he climbed the corporate mountain, danced on its summit and crashed and burned. We see how Walter became the father-confessor to Michael Jackson as the King of Pop reconstructed his face and agonized over his image while constructing Thriller (and how, after it won seven Grammies, Jackson made the preposterous demand that Walter take producer Quincy Jones’s name off the album); we see Walter, in maniacal pursuit of a contract, chase the Rolling Stones around the world and nearly come to blows with Mick Jagger in the process; we get the tale of how Walter and Marvin Gaye—fresh from the success of “Sexual Healing”—share the same woman, and of how Walter bonds with Bob Dylan because of their mutual Jewishness. At the same time we witness Yetnikoff’s clashes with Barry Diller, David Geffen, Tommy Mottola, Allen Grubman and a host of others. Seemingly, the more Yetnikoff feeds his cravings for power, sex, liquor and cocaine, the more profitable CBS becomes—from $485 million to well over $2 billion—until he finally succumbs, ironically, not to substances, but to a corporate coup. Reflecting on the sinister cycle that left his career in tatters and CBS flush with cash, Yetnikoff emerges with a hunger for redemption and a new reverence for his working-class Brooklyn roots. Ruthlessly candid, uproariously hilarious and compulsively readable, Howling at the Moon is a blistering You’ll Never Eat Lunch in this Town Again of the music industry.

Frankie Jackson is totally dreading his birthday. For one he hates clowns... especially the evil zombie type! But another year older means another year taller. Super-freaky tall like the rest of The Jackos. He just wants to be normal! Children 7-12 years will love the illustrations depicting the challenges of growing up in a happy, wacky family.

A former public relations consultant for Michael Jackson describes the singer's life and music career.

"You people ... She was asking for it ... That's so gay ... Don't be a Jew ... My ex-girlfriend is crazy ... You'd be pretty if you lost weight ... You look good ... for your age ... These statements can be offensive to some people, but it is complicated to understand exactly why. It is often difficult to recognize the veiled racism, sexism, ableism, lookism, ageism, and other -isms that hide in our everyday language. From an early age, we learn and normalize many words and phrases that exclude groups of people and reinforce bias and social inequality. Our language expresses attitudes and beliefs that can reveal internalized discrimination, prejudice, and intolerance. Some words and phrases are considered to be offensive, even if we're not trying to be"--

AFRICAN AMERICANIZED is an actual safari of African immigrants, depicting the sort of struggles, challenges and experiences in which they are constantly hounded in, while in America, as a result of the historical dilemmas we are faced with in the pursuit of better livelihoods. In this book, an African man's life is portrayed in a modern clarification, indicating the central position they find themselves in as they evolve from the African way of life into Americanization painfully capitulating their own cultures. This has culminated into resultant bewilderment, dilemma and an egoistically regrettable life, leading to undesirable choices in their scramble to attain material, and sometimes academic wealth. My own safari to the United States of America sets a suitable example, portraying the newness, indecisiveness, and subsequent orientation to the American lifestyle. It never came easy because it was as good as reliving my life once again without the birth process and the essential stages of childhood, and physical, mental development. In this humorous American safari, I stand at the intersection of African values and heritage thus contrasting the African way of life with the American lifestyle. It is a sincere, painful experience considering the initial situation and dilemma in which African immigrants find themselves in upon arrival in America; the newness of the situation; a uniquely shocking way of life, and the subsequent orientation to Americanization.

A deep novel - with a personal dedication from Rev. June Juliet Gatlin, Michael Jackson's spiritual advisor. When Michael Jackson died, millions of people were affected and many felt that there was something strange around his death. In this book you will have intimate insights into Michael's personal world, for the first time in the form of a novel, and perhaps find a new answer. This is about the moving spectrum of feelings behind his dramas - taking into account his spiritual interests, but above all the question as to why ... why did he of all people have to experience disasters of this scale? The touching and poignant story of Michael Jackson as the emotional story of his life: nuances that are so often and readily omitted by the tabloids, his thoughts, feelings, fears, especially in the last two years before his death - are based on details, facts and background knowledge of people who knew Michael personally. Michael always said: Before you judge me, try hard to love me. This is an important piece of truth about Michael – share the thrill, read the book, gift it, review it, criticize it - give the truth around Michael Jackson a chance - let the true Michael live!