Original subtitles

(suspenseful tense music)

(slow music)

(car engine purring)

- We were all born in Gary.

I haven't really been here since I was eight years old.

(gentle slow music)

- It's just something that needs to be done.

It's never...

You've had someone write this unauthorised biography

or someone else do something.

Or they'll do a movie and it's candy cut.

Oh look, I've never seen this.

Turn the camera around, Ben.

There's a mural of my brothers.

Oh, I love that!

(tense music)

(slow gentle music)

(Janet weeps)

That's so sweet.

They're all looking upward.

Except for Mike.

He's looking straight out.

See?

Always so nosy. (giggles)

(crowd cheering)

- [Presenter 1] Michael, Marlon, Jermaine,

Tito and Jackie, the mighty, mighty Jackson 5.

(dramatic music)

- [Presenter 2] When the Jackson 5 came out

with their first hit single,

they had a baby sister at home.

- [Presenter 3] The youngest, in a talented family of nine.

- [Michael] Ladies and gentlemen,

I'd like to introduce Janet Jackson.

(suspenseful ceremonious music)

- [Janet] This is a story about control, my control,

control of what I say,

control of what I do and this time, I'm gonna do it my way.

(dramatic bang)

♪ And now I know what I've got to take ♪

- [Presenter 4] As one

of the world's most gifted superstars.

- [Presenter 5] She is a platinum selling singer.

- [Presenter 4] The queen of pop, soul, country, everything.

- [Presenter 5] The legendary queen of black girl magic,

Miss Janet Jackson.

(crowd cheering)

(audience clapping)

(dramatic music)

(audience clapping)

- We're the Jacksons.

I'm Michael Jackson.

- Hi, I am Jackie Jackson

and I'm the senior member of the family.

- Hi, I'm Marlon.

- Hi, I'm Rebbie.

- And I'm LaToya.

- And I'm Randy Jackson.

(audience cheers and whoops)

- This is our little sister, Janet Jackson.

(audience claps) (audience cheers)

- That's right!

I'm Janet Jackson and nothing goes until I say go.

(laughing) (audience applauds and cheers)

Okay, (finger snaps) go.

(audience cheers) (audience clapping)

- It's a girl, three boys, a girl, three boys, a girl.

That's the, that's, that's how it goes.

So, it's Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine,

Rebbie, Marlon, Michael, Randy and myself.

Toya, Marlon, Michael, Randy and myself.

That's the pattern, that's how I get it right.

(soulful music)

♪ 2300 Jackson Street ♪

- A lot of people think

that they named this street after us,

but it was always Jackson Street.

♪ 2300 Jackson Street ♪ - I used to play

on this street,

it brings back so many memories.

(audience clapping)

- I kind of think of you as the sap in our family tree.

(all laughing)

- We were probably as close

as any brother and sister could be.

We talk about everything.

- Are you saying that you don't think I'm very smart?

We fight.

She hits like a man.

(crowd laughing)

- Like cats and dogs, we'd fight.

'Cause he would always tease me, but we were close.

Randy, myself and Mike.

We were like "The Three Amigos", "The Three Stooges".

(bright music)

- [Randy] Put on that jacket, I'm freezing.

- I am.

- I didn't bring my jacket.

- Why would, why wouldn't you do that?

- It's inside.

- Oh.

- Come on.

Come on, let's go.

This is it.

- What a sweet house!

- All 670 square feet.

For nine kids...

- It's charming.

- And, and two parents.

When we were little this house seemed so big.

This is where we grew up, played, fought, made music.

This is where it started.

(slow music) (kids shouting)

(upbeat music)

- [Janet] Mother, are you cold?

- Uh-huh.

- [Janet] Just put it around you.

There.

(upbeat music)

Mother, what was it like living in that home,

with nine children?

- Life in the house in Indiana wasn't easy,

because it was only two bedrooms,

a living room and a kitchen.

And the kitchen was very, very tiny

and we had to all try to eat at the table. (laughs)

- [Janet] I really don't remember much

because I was two, three years old.

- She was the cutest baby.

To have a little sister, that was really special.

One thing I have to say about little Janet,

she's always been her own lady, even then, you know?

- Let's go inside, come on.

- [Janet] Yeah, yeah.

- [Randy] Yeah.

- [Janet] I can't get over how small this place is.

- It is small.

Do you remember where you used to sleep in this house?

- No.

- Okay, let me tell you.

There used to be a riviera sofa here.

And you, LaToya and Rebbie would sleep right here.

- In the living room?

- [Randy] Yeah.

- You're kidding. - Yeah, right here.

- I was 16 when Janet was born.

I was so happy when I found out my mom had a girl.

I love my brothers, but all those big-headed boys,

at least another girl came along. (giggles)

- This is where mom and Joseph slept.

This is their room.

- This was their room.

- This is where our parents slept, in this room.

This is the one bathroom that we all shared.

This little bathroom.

- So what would happen?

- Well, what would happen was-

- Because everybody had to go to school.

- Yeah, we'd take turns using the bathroom

and LaToya would always take too long

and she still does that, okay?

- You've got a lot of nerve, Randy.

(Randy laughs)

- This is your brothers' room.

This is our room, the brothers.

- Oh my gosh, six boys.

- [Randy] And this wall, there was a three tier-

- Bunk beds. - Bunk beds here.

Jackie slept on the bottom.

Marlon, myself and Michael slept in the middle.

And Jermaine and Tito slept at the top.

- The three of you slept in one bunk bed?

- Yeah, one bed and Marlon and Michael used to pee on me.

And, so, I was stuck in here. (laughs)

This is a side window, where

Michael had a little candy store and I was his helper.

And Marlon used to steal our candy.

Right here.

- People would come up to the window?

- Yeah, and we would sell candy out of the...

We were making money 'cause, we'd buy the candy

and try to sell it and Marlon would steal it. (laughs)

So, this window right here.

(Randy and Janet laugh)

There's nothing like memories,

nothing like memories.

- We knew we weren't rich, but we didn't think we were poor.

We'd seen poor people, that don't even have a bite to eat.

But we didn't know that we were only a few plates

from that as well.

(somber music)

- [Janet] My mother worked at Sears,

and my father worked in the steel mill.

He was a hard worker,

and he did whatever it took to feed his children.

He didn't want his kids on the street,

he didn't want his kids doing drugs.

He wanted a better life for us.

(gentle music)

- [Randy] Gary was a tough town.

For a long time, it had the highest murders per capita,

in any city in America.

- [Joe] You had a lot of gangs there, you know,

and I had to make sure

that they didn't get into any type of trouble.

- Underneath your father's bed, he had a guitar.

When your father would go to work,

Tito would sneak in and play his guitar.

- That's what I heard.

(audience cheering and whistling)

- I'm Tito.

That's spelled T-I-T-O.

The initial stands

for the Totally, Incredibly, Talented One.

(audience claps and cheers) (guitar thrumming)

- Come on, man! - Come on!

- One day he broke a string, popped a string.

When your father came home,

he asked Ma, he says, "Who broke my string?"

And she says, "Well before you get upset at Tito,

you should hear him play."

She said, "He's better than you."

- That's what she told him?

- Mm-hmm.

- So, I'm playing and crying,

and then that's when he looked at my mom

and says, "He's really trying to play this thing."

- She says, "And the other ones have been singing

and making harmonies."

She goes, "There is something going on here."

(gentle wistful music)

- [Janet] My mother saw the talent,

but it was my father that was smart enough to say,

they've got to show this to the world.

He saw that as our way out.

- I was always upset

because Joe didn't want to add onto the house

because he'd spent all the money

on instruments for the boys. (laughs)

- We would be rehearsing,

and the neighbours would be telling us to be quiet.

"Making all that noise over there,

you ain't going nowhere."

We'd say, "Just wait and see.

You'll see."

(sirens wailing) (crowd chanting)

- [Crowd] We are the people!

We are united!

We are a nation, that's how we win!

We want freedom!

- [Reverend Al Sharpton] In the late '60s,

America was dealing with racial strife.

(sirens wailing) (fighters grunting)

There was a lot of social confrontation

and blacks and whites lived different lives.

- But I want you to know tonight,

that we, as a people,

will get to the promised land.

♪ Oh dear lord, I heard it through the grapevine ♪

- And the whole world was changing.

The culture and the politics became intertwined.

♪ Heard through the grapevine ♪

♪ Honey, honey, yeah ♪

- We were dancing and listening

to the same music for the first time.

♪ My baby, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪

And in that setting of blacks beginning to get control,

Joe Jackson, who was this hard-nosed, stern guy,

he was pushing his boys.

- He saw the light.

One thing led to another.

- And we wound up in Motown. - ♪ You could have told ♪

♪ Me yourself ♪

- [Michael] Motown was interested

in seeing us audition for them

so we went to Berry Gordy's in Detroit.

(dramatic thundering)

- [Producer] All right, here we go.

(indistinct singing)

♪ I know ♪

♪ And bring it back you (indistinct) ♪

- We auditioned and they loved it.

- The first thing Berry said to us was,

"I'm gonna take your first three songs", he said,

"and I'll make them number one."

(crowd cheering)

- [Announcer] This is the hurricane season,

we have one moving in now.

- [Presenter 6] Five of the nine children

of a former plane operator in Gary, Indiana.

- [Presenter 7] It's the same nerve The Beatles touched,

only this time it's a group of black teenagers.

- [Presenter 8] The mighty, mighty.

- The Jackson 5. - The Jackson 5.

- [Presenter 9] The Jackson 5.

- [Presenter 10] The Jackson 5.

(applause thundering) (crowd cheers)

♪ Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba ♪

♪ Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba ♪

♪ You went to school to learn girl ♪

♪ Things you never, never knew before ♪

♪ Like "I" before "E" except after "C" ♪

♪ And why 2 plus 2 makes 4 ♪

♪ Now, now, now ♪

♪ I'm gonna teach you ♪

- [Janet] Mother, where did those costumes come from?

- Oh, I made those uniforms for them.

- [Janet] You stitched each and every one?

- Yes. (laughs)

It wasn't hard for me because the boys

was doing something with them that they enjoyed.

♪ A,B,C ♪

♪ It's easy as ♪

♪ 1,2,3 ♪

♪ As simple as ♪

♪ Do re mi ♪

♪ A,B,C ♪

♪ That's how easy love can be ♪

(audience clapping) (audience cheering)

(plane whooshing)

(crowd screaming)

- They literally had captured the heart of young America.

Black and white, and all the stops in between.

- [Anchor] Every single and every album

the Jackson 5 has put out

has sold more than a million copies,

and they're the only American group

to have four consecutive number one records.

- When they popped, it resonated with everybody

that I was growing up with in the hood.

We saw ourselves in them.

They were the American dream.

- There was no one like them, they were unicorns.

- My dad knew his boys were gonna do something great.

He took that chance, and he went for it.

- Do you mind if I ask you

how much money you've made?

- No, I don't wanna say right now.

- But you've sold a lot of records?

- A lot of records. - Yeah.

- It would never have happened if it wasn't for my father.

It would have never happened.

There's no way it would have happened.

(gentle music)

- My father was a good-hearted guy, he really protected us.

He went through a lot.

And especially back then,

the racism, the fighting,

people seeing your children as money making machines.

That's me.

Oh, I was young.

- You don't look like that anymore. (laughs)

I'm just joking.

- Brothers.

If that didn't happen,

we wouldn't have had the success

as a family that we've had.

My brothers and sisters would always tell me

why my father was so strict.

He was very tough.

He told us what he wanted us to do, and you did it.

- I decided to deal with the boys as much as I possibly can,

as far as rehearsing them and getting them prepared

to be in show business.

- Do they resent it?

- Yes.

- [Presenter 11] They do?

- Yes.

(dramatic bang)

(dogs barking)

- Your father was really, really tough.

We couldn't understand why somebody could be so mean

and so strict, it was crazy.

We didn't understand his vision,

to keep us out of the gangs,

out of trouble and to get us out of here.

(gentle music)

All of my friends growing up,

they're either dead or in jail, a lot of them.

And he didn't want that for us.

'Cause it didn't have to be this way,

it could've been different, you know.

- Growing up, I feel like I didn't really experience

my father the way I wanted to.

The way I saw other kids experiencing their father.

(crowd cheers)

- [Crowd] We love you.

Love you.

- Hi sweetheart.

- She's loving you.

- Here, hi five!

- You're looking good girl, looking good.

- [Woman] We all love you.

- [Janet] Love you, too.

(gentle music)

I remember stories about my mother allowing

my brothers and sisters to play outside.

And then they'd see my father's car coming down the street

and then run into the house and pick up the instruments

and start playing like they were rehearsing all along.

"Joseph's coming, Joseph's coming!" (laughs)

- [Interviewer] Mr. Jackson, I understand you maintain

a certain discipline

within the group and all its activities.

I wonder if you would describe for us

what rules they are to follow?

- We have a few.

We have to have a few because that's the only time

you can hone a group together.

Via rules and they must be followed to the fullest extent.

Keep them under control,

there's no way you can go wrong.

(gentle music)

- It was because of my father

that I've had the career that I've had.

It was tough at times,

there was nothing easy about it, period.

But when you see where we came from

and see where we are now,

we owe so much to my father.

- Mr. Joseph Jackson.

(crowd cheering)

Did you ever have any visions

that your kids would be this successful?

- I had a vision it would happen,

but you know, it took a lot of rehearsals

and a lot of pushing forward for them to get this far.

And it really was a big push,

a hard struggle, but it paid off.

("ABC")

- I would like to find out the difference

between Gary, Indiana and living in Los Angeles.

You've moved here now?

- Yes, well it's pretty sunny out here.

- First time seeing palm trees, summer in the wintertime.

I couldn't believe Christmas had no snow.

- They left the two-bedroom house we lived in

and they moved to a whole different lifestyle

and they could afford and do things

that they weren't doing before.

- [Janet] We lived in Encino.

We had about three acres,

an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a badminton court.

♪ I want you back ♪

(upbeat music)

- 4, 3, 2, 1.

- We used to have parties all the time.

All the entertainers would be there,

Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr.

You would see Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross,

you know, a lot of the Motown people.

Then you'd see other entertainers and film stars.

And I remember one of the parties that we had,

Bowie came, and I guess to get away from everyone,

he was looking for a little room.

- Michael and I are sitting in one of the other rooms,

away from the party, so Bowie walks in

and he offered us some of what he was doing to get high.

We just looked at each other, we're like, "No."

We didn't know what it was,

we were just like, "No, no thank you."

(laughs)

- [Crew] A speeding.

Interview take one.

- I'm Wende Watt and I grew up in Encino,

next door to the Jackson family.

Encino is a suburb of L.A.,

a lot of people moved out there to not be in the city.

It was kind of an affluent, definitely white neighbourhood.

I remember the day they moved in,

they popped over the fence

and we just remember the big Afros.

I think the Jacksons were the first black family to move in,

so it was a little controversial at that time.

(gentle music)

- A lot of the people didn't want us,

so they had this petition going around,

so that we wouldn't be in the neighbourhood.

I remember walking down the street

and being called the N word,

someone driving by, yelling it out.

Being told to go back home to your country,

and feeling it at school, with some of the teachers

and some of the kids.

Touching your hair,

'cause your hair was different from theirs.

Or your skin, rubbing it.

(swishing)

It's like, "Does that come off?"

"No, does yours?"

(laughs)

I didn't have a lot of friends.

I had a couple,

but my closest were my brothers and sisters.

- We'll do "Stand", "My Cherie Amour",

"I Want You Back" then "Yesterday".

Okay, let's go, from the top.

(upbeat music)

♪ La, la, la, la, na, na, na, na, na ♪

- [Janet] We had a studio at home,

and I would go in there

and just watch my brothers rehearse all the time.

♪ Sing, sing, sing it again ♪

- [Janet] Everything I could,

I tried to be in the middle of it with my brothers and,

they always had fun and I loved being around them.

♪ Just, just one more time ♪

- [Janet] So, when they had to work and travel,

I missed them.

- I just felt...yeah.

Where do, where do I fit in?

(gentle music)

(plane whooshing)

- Hey, how are you doing, Marlon?

- [Tito] There was always something to do

once we had made it.

Whether there was a recording session,

or picture sessions or rehearsals, or on tour.

- [Boy] Okay.

- [Tito] My father kept us busy.

If we got a weekend to play, that was a big thing.

- You just do it.

You know, you do what you're told.

You know, you do it.

(audience clapping)

- [Presenter 12] I wanted to ask you,

do you have to ever take any of them over your knee?

Or use any other methods of disciplining

this lively group you've got here?

- I have a way you know like when Randy don't do right,

we make him take out all the garbage or something.

(laughing)

- No that's fair.

Yeah, but what about Michael, if...

Michael always does right?

Is he always...

- No, not all the time.

You know Michael,

he likes sleep and you know he's the lead singer.

The way we discipline Michael is sort of like,

we cut down on his allowance a little bit. - Yeah.

- Yeah, we don't give him as much money to spend.

(laughing)

(dramatic gonging)

("When I Think Of You") (upbeat music)

- Wow!

So different.

It brings back memories.

Mike, Randy and myself, we'd go to Circus Circus.

That was it.

They'd have a trapeze artist in the middle of the floor

or we'd walk in there and go to our favourite games.

But I loved it.

This is where I started when I was seven.

My first time on any stage was here.

We would perform two, three weeks at a time

doing double shows, two shows a night,

one at eight and one at, I think, 10:30.

And there were nights where I had to take a nap,

which I hated.

That's a lot for a seven-year-old.

- It's a long way from Gary, Indiana to the big time.

During those early days,

they were earning maybe on a good week $300 a week.

Today, are you ready for this?

They're earning as much as $100,000 a week.

- That's my father again.

He saw an opportunity to get his other kids

through the door you know, and he took advantage of it.

If he hadn't done that, we might not have Janet Jackson.

(audience clapping)

- Right now, I'd like to introduce my youngest sister,

she's been in the act ever since

we started our Las Vegas performance.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce Janet Jackson.

- Yeah! - Come on out, Janet.

- I don't ever remember being asked.

I just remember being put into it.

(audience clapping)

- Did you know you were gonna be in the act?

- They said that they were doing a show, a nightclub act.

- And they picked you because you were around the house?

- Yeah.

- Maybe you're gonna get your own group someday huh?

Cut these guys out?

- Yeah.

(audience laughs)

- Are you ready to sing your big number with Randy?

- Yes.

- Oh, I can't wait.

Here's Janet and Randy.

Or Randy and Janet! (audience clapping)

(upbeat music)

- [Janet] Thank you.

♪ And the beat goes on ♪

♪ And the beat goes on ♪

♪ And the beat goes on ♪

♪ And the beat goes on ♪

♪ Just keep finding the rhythm through the rain ♪

- I remember my first night, oh my God, I was nervous.

I remember Randy telling me,

"After the first show you'll be fine."

- Take it away, Janet!

♪ Charleston was once the rage, da, da, da ♪

♪ History has turned the page, da, da, aah ♪

- [Janet] I grew up on musicals.

That was it for me.

Watching musicals where literally dance

and music came together on the screen.

♪ And the beat goes on ♪

♪ And the beat goes on ♪

♪ And the beat goes on ♪

♪ And the beat goes on ♪

♪ And the beat goes on ♪

♪ And the beat goes on ♪

♪ And the beat goes on ♪

Hey!

(audience claps)

(upbeat music)

(singers vocalising)

- I've been thinking.

- Wow, a TV first!

(audience laughs)

After the first show I was fine,

I was never nervous again.

Hey Tito, there's two girls backstage

who wanna talk to you.

- [Tito] Hey!

What did I tell ya'll?

- Yeah, they want you

to introduce them to, Michael.

(audience laughs)

None of us had a normal childhood.

My friends, they went to gymnastics class

or were part of the Girl Scouts or Brownies

and I wanted to do those things.

- Hi there, big fella.

My name is Mae West.

But, yet, we had to go to work.

(dramatic music)

♪ Hey ♪

(audience claps)

- We always got a standing ovation.

At one point I thought oh, we must be good!

It never went to my head I thought oh we must be good.

Then I started thinking, it dawned upon me oh we're babies.

That's why they're doing this for us,

they're really being supportive, because remember,

we were the only kids performing here, in Vegas.

There weren't other kids performing here,

and it wasn't really family-oriented.

In between our show Mike, Randy and myself,

we'd be looking for trouble.

(gentle music)

We'd go where the lighting guys and the lighting rig was.

And we'd watch the women in the huge feathers

and all the rhinestone glittery outfits,

and they were completely topless.

But that was my life.

Not long after that,

I remember being told that there was a television show,

which I was familiar with, "Good Times",

and there was a role for a little girl.

My father wanted me to audition.

- Tell me about Janet Jackson and "Good Times".

- Oh, my character's Penny.

I'm gonna be on "Good Times" soon.

- [Host] I know.

Are you excited about it?

- Yes, it's a lot of fun.

♪ Good times ♪

♪ Any time you need a payment ♪

♪ Good time ♪

- Hi.

- Is he here? (audience applauds)

- Is who here?

- I don't know his name but he's tall, skinny and beautiful.

- Hold on now, tall and skinny we got, but beautiful...

(audience laughs)

- I auditioned Janet for a role in "Good Times".

To meet her is to know instantly,

that there's a presence in the room.

The talent was abundant and clear.

- You disobeyed me, didn't you?

- Yes, mama.

(somber music)

- Janet played Penny, who was an abused kid.

- Please mama, I promise,

I won't be a bad girl anymore, please.

I won't be a bad girl anymore.

- That required a serious performer.

- Oh no!

My God Penny what...

- [Audience] Aw!

- Penny I know that you like to pretend,

but I want you to tell me the truth, okay? Who burned you?

Honey, who beat you up?

Who did those terrible things to you?

- She could play that troubled young woman.

(somber music)

Who did this?

- My parents disciplined all of us.

And that's how we as a people we raised our kids,

but you turn around and you give them love to show this is,

I love you I'm here for you.

Discipline without love is tyranny

and tyrants they were not.

They just loved us and wanted us to be the best

that we could possibly be.

Obviously, it worked.

We had a studio at home.

Any time of day or night, you'd run in the studio

and you'd lay an idea down.

And that's what I did one day for this song

that I had in my head.

(humming)

It went like that, something like that.

Like an idiot, I left the reel on the machine.

And I came home from school, and sure enough,

my father, Randy and Mike were there.

And they were listening to it

and that's when my father said to me, "I want you to sing."

And I said, "No, no, no, no."

I wanted to go to college and study business law.

He said that's not gonna happen, basically, in a nutshell.

What parent doesn't want you to go to college? (laughs)

But he said, "No, you're gonna sing."

(suspenseful music)

Not long after that,

I had a meeting at A&M and signed my recording contract.

(somber music)

I would have liked to have experienced staying at a dorm,

being around other kids.

But I was very, very naive.

Very, very shy.

Not worldly at all.

- I used to work for Mr. Jackson, at his production office,

when he managed the brothers, as well as Janet.

The brothers had fired Mr. Jackson,

so I think he figured, okay,

I can make Janet the bigger star.

Mr. Jackson was able to then turn all his energy into Janet.

He would always say,

"Janet's gonna be the biggest superstar.

You only have to show Janet once,

she's gonna be big as Michael

or even bigger than Michael."

- My father was in charge of my life,

my career and he was my manager.

(upbeat music)

- [Janet] It was really about their albums,

the kind of music that they wanted me to make.

♪ You don't stand another chance ♪

- I didn't write any of the material,

it was just a matter of going to the studio,

doing what they wanted you to do and then you leave.

I didn't want my last name to be on the album.

I just wanted to go by my first name.

I wanted them to accept me for me,

to be interested in this for me,

not because I was the brother or sister of...

But that's everything that this industry takes advantage of,

and they wanna play on that, and I didn't want that.

♪ Dream Street ♪

♪ Dream street ♪

♪ Will it all come true ♪

♪ Will it all just fade away ♪

♪ Dream street ♪

♪ Dream street ♪

♪ Well, it's hard to find ♪ (audience claps and cheers)

- Did you have any idea, when you were a little girl

that you would turn out to be as pretty as you are?

(audience claps) (cheering)

How old are you?

- 18.

- Now that you're getting on in years,

are you going to continue your education?

- Yes, I wanna go to college, I wanna go to Pepperdine.

- [Presenter 13] Really?

- Yeah.

- This mind boggles me, you're not gonna do this

the rest of your life?

- I'd have to try to do both at the same time.

- Really?

- Mm-hmm.

At the time, I didn't understand

the vision my father had for me.

To be a musician.

- I think we still have a little bit of work to do,

it's a little bit too orange in here.

- Yeah.

Even the cover of the album, he chose,

and I didn't want that as the cover of the album.

So, it was a lot of that.

(somber music)

They weren't the success

that I think everyone wanted them to be,

this massive success.

They didn't sell millions of copies.

- Are you disappointed?

- Am I disappointed?

I guess you could say in a way,

but I'm very pleased with what it has been done.

I think I have to start doing things

on my own moving up, and being independent.

- [Interviewer] It seems like

you're on the verge of considering a lot of new things.

- Yeah, I am on the verge of considering

a lot of new things.

I wanted to be able to stand on my own feet.

And at that time, I felt that there was no other way

I would be able to kind of get my own life,

unless I got married.

(suspenseful music)

- Okay now, let's talk about the type of lady that you like.

- I like a lady that has a soft heart

and is willing to understand anything no matter what

and stay with me always.

- Are you gonna put a lot of pressure on her

to be understanding?

- No, it has to be inside of her or else she has to go,

because that's the way I am.

(upbeat disco music)

♪ When it feels like ♪

♪ The world is on your shoulders ♪

- James DeBarge and I, we were friends at a very young age.

He was from a musical family like mine.

♪ Step out into the street ♪

♪ Where all of the action ♪

- When I first met Janet, it was at Soul Train.

♪ To the beat of the rhythm of the night ♪

♪ Dance until the morning light ♪

- It was our debut,

and she was there with her brother, Jermaine

and her sister, LaToya.

Of course, I thought she was cute.

She gave me a look that was a shy, innocent look

and even I was just as shy as she was.

It probably didn't help the relationship move any faster.

(laughing)

- We used to talk on the phone as kids.

Way before.

Because his brother was very much so attracted

to my sister Toya,

so that's how I wound up getting to know James.

- With her, I think once she feels safe with someone,

which was me at the time, she would share some things.

But that took us getting to know each other

and her being able to trust me. (laughs)

I don't know why anyone would trust me. (laughs)

No.

♪ Without a song, the day would never end ♪

♪ Without a song, a man ♪

(crowd chattering)

- [Janet] I'd started dating him when I was 16.

He was a sweet guy, he was a nice guy.

- It wasn't easy for us to see each other being

that she was very well protected, you know, by her mom and dad.

You know, and who is this guy? What is he into?

You know, does he have good intentions?

Does he really love you?

We would sneak and see each other,

I just had to be with her all the time.

I think we were just so both in love with each other,

that we began to block everyone else out.

(soft romantic music)

- James and I decided to get married.

My sister Toya said, "If that's what you want to do,

then you should do it."

So, I did.

In secret.

- When I met James,

I think Janet and James were married, nobody knew.

Did Janet tell you about that part?

- [Producer] What was the reaction like

from your mum and dad?

What was their reaction?

- They was shocked.

I vaguely remember, "What?! Did you know Janet got married?!"

Yes.

- I know what young love feels like, you know?

And that whole thing,

so it didn't bother me at all

until you know, I started learning things that wasn't cool.

(gentle music)

- I remember going to Michigan, to Grand Rapids.

And his uncle, he was a pastor and he married us.

I even remember putting a ring on my finger

and putting it on the wrong finger.

When we got married and we came back to the hotel, he said,

"Okay, I'll be right back."

And I'm sitting in the hotel room,

in Grand Rapids, Michigan by myself, just 18.

And for three hours, he never came back.

I don't know, maybe it's this person in me

that wants to help people?

Subconsciously, when it comes to relationships,

somehow, I'm attracted to people that use drugs.

(upbeat music)

♪ Fame ♪

♪ I'm gonna live forever ♪

♪ I'm gonna learn how to fly ♪

♪ High ♪

- My father wanted me to join "Fame".

Why does everyone in this school treat me

like I'm invisible?

I mean what does it take around here to get noticed?

I didn't wanna be on "Fame", I didn't want to do the show.

The kids were great, but I just didn't,

I didn't wanna do that.

I did it for my father.

- Okay people.

- Janet was, when I first met her,

she was very young, and she was so sassy.

- Did I get the part or anything?

- Ah sweetheart, that was lovely.

- Yeah. - Thank you very much.

- Fine, thank you.

- Would you like to hear something else?

I've got a couple of other songs I could..

- Miss Hewitt, do we have to get the hook?

- All you had to do was say so.

- She came into "Fame" and it was evident

that she had something that was very special,

but Janet was very quiet.

She was not blossoming as she could.

- Honey, you can't let

what one person says about you get you down.

- Miss Grant, I don't know if I can.

(bell rings)

There were a lot of times I was late for work.

I didn't care, 'cause what was more important

than my work was James.

- Are you okay, Cleo?

- Yeah, I mean why shouldn't I be okay?

School is out, summer's in, everything is fine, right?

I would wait for James sometimes to pick me up,

and I mean wait.

Two and a half hours late.

I eventually learned that he was into drugs.

- [Reporter] The story of the DeBarge family has developed

into an American tragedy.

Three of the DeBarge brothers

have been convicted on drug charges.

But no one in the family proved as tragic as James.

(somber music)

- There were a lot of nights

that I would go searching the streets, looking for him.

Three o'clock in the morning, four o'clock in the morning.

I remember times when we would...

I would find the pills and I would take them

and try to flush them down the toilet,

and we would be rolling around on the floor,

fighting for them.

I mean, it's not a life for anyone.

(dramatic music)

(somber music)

You know I'd sit, and I'd say, "Were you stupid?

Were you dumb?"

But it wasn't that.

I cared so much for him.

And I saw the good in him as well

and I just wanted that to take precedence,

as opposed to this ugliness

'cause I knew that he needed help.

But I wasn't the help that he needed.

I remember eventually deciding to get a divorce,

or an annulment I should say, because it only lasted a year.

And one day, he wanted me to drive him

to his brother's house, and that's when I told him.

And he was so mad and so frustrated,

and when he got out of the car, I locked the doors.

And I remember driving back home

to my parents' house.

I was just done.

I was... (exhales)

(somber music)

I was just incredibly innocent.

That's the thing, it's that innocence.

And it's just to me hurtful for someone to see that

and just try to take advantage of it

and knowing that you don't know any better and lie to you, and...

(tense music)

- The stunning report

about one of America's hottest pop stars.

Does Janet Jackson have a secret daughter?

- [Female Reporter] The father, her first husband,

singer James DeBarge.

- [Male Reporter] Janet's alleged daughter

was raised by her older sister, Rebbie Jackson.

She was supposedly placed in foster care.

- Janet has never said a word about whether

or not she had a secret baby.

[Producer] So, the rumours about you having James' baby,

are they true?

(suspenseful music)

(Janet scoffs)

(dramatic music)