1976
March 10 : The CBS contract with The Jacksons is effective. Jermaine refuses to sign it.
He leaves the group and stays at Motown.
June 15 : Motown releases The Jackson 5 Anthology.
June 16 : Michael tapes a TV interview at Hayvenhurst.
The Jacksons perform “One Day in Your Life” and “We’re Almost There” on The Dinah Shore Chevy Show in Burbank.
CBS airs the first episode of The Jacksons Variety Show. The show based on their Las Vegas set features The Jacksons + The Jackson Sisters (Rebbie, LaToya & Janet). Special guest star : Sonny Bono. Songs performed :”Forever Came Today”, “Love Will Keep Us Together”, “More Than You Know”/”Am I Blue?”/”For Once in My Life”/ “Try a Little Tenderness”, “Steppin’ Out with My Baby”, “Dancing Machine”.
June 21 : The Jacksons are guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson taped in Burbank where they perform “Without a Song”, “You’ve Got a Friend”, “Make It With You”, “Behind Closed Doors”, “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy”, “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”, “You and Me Against the World”, “Happy”.
June 23 : CBS airs the 2nd episode of The Jacksons Variety Show. Special guest star : Mackenzie Phillips. Songs performed : “(You Were Made) Especially For Me”,
“Do The Fonz”, “A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock and Roll”/”Deep Purple”Convoy”, “Junkfood Junkie”, “Ben”, “Goin’ Back to Indiana”.
June 24: The Jacksons are on the cover of Jet Magazine.
June 30 : CBS airs the 3rd episode of The Jacksons Variety Show. Special guest star : Ed McMahon. Songs performed :”Rockin’ Robin”, “Flat Foot Floogie”, “World of Sunshine”, “Save The Bones for Henry Jones”, “The Love You Save”.
July : The Jacksons record their first album for CBS Epic Records at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. The album is produced by Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff.
July 7 : CBS airs the 4th episode of The Jacksons Variety Show. Special guest star : Joey Bishop. Songs performed :”ABC” “Fever”, “I Got You Babe”,”Down by the Old Mill Stream”, “Never Can Say Goodbye”.
October 10 : The Jacksons perform “Enjoy Yourself” at CBS Television City in Los Angeles.
October 29 : The Jacksons’ first single for Epic “Enjoy Yourself” is released (it will peak at 6 on Hot 100 Billboard).
November 5 : The Jacksons’ first album for Epic titled “The Jacksons” is released. The album features for the first time two songs produced by The Jacksons : “Style Of Life” & “Blues Away” (written by Michael)
The Jacksons are on the cover of Rock & Soul Magazine.
November 12 : The Jacksons perform “Enjoy Yourself” on Dinah TV show (taped in Burbank). Michael talks to Fred Astaire on the show.
December: The Jacksons are on the cover of Jet & Soul Magazine.
The Jacksons perform “Good Times”, “Enjoy Yourself” & “Think Happy” on “Nochevieja” (Spain)
December 18 : Birth of Valencia Jackson, first child of Marlon & Valencia.
While on a promo tour in San Francisco, The Jacksons go to local music store “Jax Records” where fans swarm the place and break the windows causing chaos and injuries.
1977
Joe Jackson hires the management team of Freddy DeMann & Ron Weisner as partners in managing The Jacksons
January 6 : The single “Show You The Way To Go” is released by Epic and peaks at 28 on Hot 100 Billboard.
January 19 : CBS airs the 5th episode of The Jacksons Variety Show. Special guest star : Redd Foxx. Songs performed : “Enjoy Yourself”, “They Can’t Take That Away from Me”/”Puttin’ on the Ritz”, “Blues Away”, “Bei Mir Bist Du Schön (Means You’re Grand)”, “Keep on Dancing”.
January 26 : CBS airs the 6th episode of The Jacksons Variety Show. Special guest star : Carroll O’Connor. Songs performed : “Hum Along and Dance”,”Get Happy”/”I Got Rhythm”
“I Got You Babe”, “Coconut”,”I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart”/”Don’t Get Around Much Anymore”/”Caravan”/”Take the “A” Train”, “Show You the Way to Go”.
January 27 : Birth of Jermaine Jackson Jr (Jay) : First child of Jermaine & Hazel.
January 31 : The Jacksons perform “Good Times” at The American Music Awards held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica and Janet presents an award as Mae West.
February 2 : CBS airs the 7th episode of The Jacksons Variety Show. Special guest stars : Dom DeLuise/
George Miller/Muhammad Ali. Songs performed : “Moving Violation”,”On the Wall” “That’s the Way (I Like It)”, “Style of Life”, “Steppin’ Out”, “Hello, Dolly!”, “Life of the Party”.
February 8 : The Jacksons are guests on Mike Douglas show Mike Douglas Show (taped in Philadelphia) where they perform “Enjoy Yourself’, “Dreamer’ & “Show You The Way To Go”.
February 9 : CBS airs the 8th episode of The Jacksons Variety Show. Special guest star : Betty White. Songs performed : “Get It Together”, “On The Wall”, “Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy”, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree”, “Dreamer”, “Opus No. 1”, “Just a Little Bit of You”.
February 16 : CBS airs the 9th episode of The Jacksons Variety Show. Special guest stars : Georgia Engel/David Letterman. Songs performed : “Sugar Daddy”, “On The Wall”,”Cisco Kid”/”I Shot the Sheriff”,”One”, “Ben”, “I Am Love”.
February 19 : The Jacksons present an award to Nathalie Cole at the Grammy Awards.
February 23 : CBS airs the 10th episode of The Jacksons Variety Show. Special guest stars :John Byner/Nicholas Brothers. Songs performed : “What You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt You”
“On the Wall”,”Midnight at the Oasis”,”Get Ready”,”Good Times” “I Can’t Quit Your Love”.
February 26 : The Jacksons perform “One Day in Your Life”, “I’ll Be There”, “Body Language (Do the Love Dance)” on Súper Sábado Sensacional TV show taped in Caracas, Venezuela.
February 26 + 27 + 28 : The Jacksons give 3 concerts at the Poliedro de Caracas in Caracas, Venezuela.
February 28 : The Jacksons give a concert at the Salón Naiguatá del Hotel Tamanaco in Caracas, Venezuela.
March : Michael is on the cover of Rock & Soul Magazine.
March 2 : CBS airs the 11th episode of The Jacksons Variety Show. Special guest star : Lynda Carter. Songs performed “Think Happy”, “On The Wall”, “On the Good Ship Lollipop”, “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”,”Thank God I’m a Country Boy”, “Living Together”, “I’ll Be There”.
March 9 : CBS airs the 12th episode of The Jacksons Variety Show. Special guest stars : Tim Conway/David Letterman. Songs performed : “Dancing Machine”, “On the Wall”
“Behind Closed Doors”, “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby”, “I’m Going To Jackson”, “Flat Foot Floogie”,”World of Sunshine”,”Body Language.
March 10 : Michael and Janet attend the First Annual Rock and Roll Celebrity Sports Classic at the University of California in Irvine.
April 10 : The Jacksons perform a concert at Uniondale’s “Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum” during “The Jacksons’ Tour”. While no footage of the tour has ever surfaced, a press article published the day after mentionned that Stevie Wonder was on stage that night.
May 15 : The Jacksons arrive in London for a short European tour.
May 16 : The Jacksons perform at the Queen Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland.
May 17 : The Jacksons perform “Forever Came Today”, “Show You The Way To Go” and a Motown medley medley at Kings’s Theatre in Glasgow as part of the Royal Command Performance celebrating the Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee celebrations. The groups meets Queen Elizabeth for the second time.
May 19 : The Jacksons perform “Show You The Way To Go” on Top Of The Pops in London.
May 21 : The Jacksons perform “Enjoy Yourself”, “Show You the Way to Go”, “Dreamer”, “Keep on Dancing” on Musikladen, Bremen, Germany.
May 24 : The Jacksons perform a concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.
They do a photoshoot all around London with photographer Tom Sheehan.
Late May : The Jacksons perform “Think Happy” & “Show You The Way To Go” on TopPop taped at AVRO TV Studio, Hilversum, Netherlands (aired on July 19).
May 30 : The Jacksons perform “Keep On Dancing” on Numéro Un Joe Dassin taped at the Buttes-Chaumont Studios in Paris, France.
May 31 : Michael visits Studio 54 after the Beatlemania concert in New York City.
June : The Jackson go back to Sigma Sound Studios in Philidalphia to record their new album with Gamble & Huff.
June 20: Michael attends a Studio 54 party for the stage show Beatlesmania in New York City.
June 29 : Birth of Sigmund Esco Jackson Jr (Siggy) : First child of Jackie & Enid.
July 4 : During an outing to Coney Island while visiting Jermaine’s home, Michael suffers an attack of pneumothorax and is rushed to the hospital.
Mid July : Michael and LaToya move to a condo in Manhattan’s Sutton Place. Michael is in NYC to rehearse and film his first movie The Wiz, a black remake of The Wizard Of Oz. Michael got the part of the Scarecrow opposite good friend Diana Ross as Dorothy and Richard Pryor as The Wiz. The film is directed by Sydney Lumet.
July 16 : On the first day of rehearsal for The Wiz, Michael meets the musical director Quincy Jones (that he has already seen in 1972 at Sammy Davis Jr’s home).
August : Michael goes to the famous club Studio 54 in New York with LaToya & Janet. He meets a lot of people like Liza Minelli, Stephanie Mills, Tatum O’Neil or Andy Warhol.
August 16 : Michael is on the cover of Jet Magazine.
August 24 : Michael attends the Carter Burden party hosted by Woody Allen in NYC.
August 26 : Michael attends the RFK pro-celebrity tennis tournament party with Mohamed Ali.
September : Michael is on the cover of Soul Magazine.
September 28 : Universal Pictures holds a press conference at Astoria Studios in Queens to announce the making of The Wiz. Michael attends the event with Diana Ross, Nipsey Russel and Ted Ross.
October 3-December 29 : Filming of The Wiz at the Astoria Studios and on location in New York.
October 05 : Birth of Yashi Brown : Second child of Rebbie & Nathaniel.
October 8 : The album “Goin’ Places” is released by Epic
October 21 : The single “Goin’ Places” is released by Epic and peaks at 52 on Hot 100 Billboard.
October 24 : Michael and the Jacksons go to Studio 54 in NYC.
October 25 : The cast of The Wiz hold a party in Michael’s honour at the Studio 54.
November : Randy, Janet, Marlon, Tito, and Joe attend the Annual Television Parade of Stars in Los Angeles.
Michael is on the cover of Rock & Soul Magazine.
The Jacksons creates music videos to promote songs from their “Goin’ Places” album :
The “Even Though You’re Gone” music video features the band members sitting (Michael separated from the rest of the group) singing the song. The video features The Jacksons wearing blue tuxedos.
The “Goin’ Places” music video has the members of the band switching from a live performance to them traveling in many different ways.
November 4 : Michael attends Andre Mc Andrie ‘s birthday party in NYC.
November 14 : Michael & Steve Rubell attend the premire party for “The Turning Point” at Studio 54 in NYC.
November 17 : Michael & Janet go shopping at Barney’s clothing store in NYC.
December : Michael & Joe go to a meeting with Ron Alexenburg, President of Epic Records to ask for complete artistic freedom for the next Jacksons ’ album. Alexenburg agrees, appointing two executive producers, Bobby Colombus and Mike Atkinson.
December 29 : Last day of filming of The Wiz in NYC.
December 31: Michael spends New Year’ s eve at the Studio 54 with Liza Minelli among others.
1978
Michael becomes friend with Paul MacCartney & Gregory Peck.
Early January : Michael & LaToya leave NYC and go back to Hayvenhurst.
January 22-May 18: The Jacksons embark on a world tour in the US & Europe to promote the Goin Places album.
January 22 : first concert, place unknown.
February: The single “Find Me a Girl” is released by Epic.
February 19 : Concert at the Newcastle City Hall in Newcastle, England
February 24+25 : Concerts in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
February 26 : Concert in San Fernando, Trinida and Tobago.
March 3 : Concert in Oakland, California.
May 3 : Concert in Oakland.
May 13 : Concert at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
May 18 : Concert in Nashville.
Jackson Dynasty 