On December 13, I took a long drive to Des Plaines to pick up relatives of my friend Perry Kanlan, a showbiz-adjacent eccentric known as Dancin’ Man. The time on the road gave me the chance to reflect on the circumstances of my relationship with him. I formally met Perry in 2011, when my friend […]
Tag: Jackson Five
Posted inBlogs
How Jake Austen found the lost Jackson Five demo
A great piece of detective work uncovered a great piece of Chicago music history.
Posted inBlogs
Win a new test pressing of the Jackson Five’s lost studio debut from the Reader and Secret Stash
Win a piece of Chicago soul history by answering five ridiculously difficult trivia questions!
Posted inBlogs
Bleader exclusive: Jackie Jackson speaks about the Jackson Five in Chicago
Jackie Jackson of the Jackson Five talks about the acts early days in Chicago as he prepares for Friday night’s return home concert at the Star Plaza
Posted inMusic
Spoon’s last dance
For six decades, Fletcher Weatherspoon has been a pillar of Chicago’s African-American social-club scene. On Mother’s Day, he had his last dance.
Posted inBlogs
This week on the B Side
The life and times of Dancin’ Man, an interview with David Yow of Scratch Acid, and more.
Posted inMusic
Who is Dancin’ Man?
Meet Dancin’ Man, who’s shared stages with James Brown and the Jackson Five
Posted inBlogs
This Week in Reader Music
The big news in this week’s music coverage: the Reader has an exclusive clip of a long-lost Jackson Five track that also happens to be Michael’s first professional recording.
Posted inBlogs
“Big Boy”: Michael Jackson’s First Recording, Found After 42 Years
The Jackson Five’s Steeltown and One-derful versions of “Big Boy”: a showdown.
Posted inBlogs
Jackson Five story led to more than one discovery
In the process of shooting photos for the Reader’s Jackson Five cover story, he discovered something else.
Posted inBlogs
Earliest Known Jackson Five Studio Recording Found
Jake Austen set out to tell the story of the Jackson Five’s first single, cut in Chicago in 1967, and picked up a trail that led to the discovery of their earliest known studio recording.
Posted inMusic
The Jackson Find
This was supposed to be the story of the Jackson Five’s first single, cut in Chicago in 1967. But while he was writing it, Jake Austen picked up a trail leading to a tape nobody knew existed: the earliest known studio recording of Michael Jackson and his brothers.