“WOULD YOU rather somebody White got the Beatles catalog?” he asked, accusingly.
I told him it wasn’t a matter of race, and that I felt that if anyone should have that catalog, it should be one of the Beatles.
The conversation ended less than amicably.
However, not long after that, David Ruffin died and, having squandered his money on drugs, had left no money to cover the cost of a decent funeral. Michael Jackson, admirably, stepped up to foot the bill. (The service took place at New Bethel Baptist Church in June 1991.)
Much to my surprise, the next day I received a phone call from Bob Jones, and you would never know that the previous altercation had taken place. He was calling to get all the details on the David Ruffin funeral since his client, Michael, had paid for it.
“You’re the only one in Detroit we know who would’ve been there,” he said. (He used the word “we” even though I didn’t know Michael Jackson.) He passed the information on to Michael.
IT IS INTERESTING to note that a number of years later, Jones and Jackson had a falling out and Jones was let go. Shocked and offended, he then wrote a book that did not show his former boss in a positive light.
Remember when Janet Jackson, who by then had become a superstar, received the key to the City of Detroit? City government had not planned on such a presentation, but from reliable sources, we learned that Janet called and asked to receive the key to the city.
Coleman Young, who was mayor at the t
ime, said he was happy to oblige.
We are going to end this story with something that is…uh…interesting.
At one point, Randy Jackson was going with a woman named Alejandra Oaziaza, with whom he had two children, a girl and a boy. A year after they broke up, Alejandra married Jermaine Jackson and they had two sons, one of whom is Jermajesty.
So those kids are cousins and at the same time half-sister and half-brother.
That’s too deep for me.
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