kk: WHERE DID THE TOUR START, AND
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE THERE ON OPENING NIGHT?
MB: In July of 1984, Josh and I flew
from New York City to Kansas City, in time for the first press conference, and
the first show. From there we went on to
Dallas and Jacksonville. One of my
favorite souvenirs from the tour is a tee shirt I still have that has a
caricature or Michael with the words, “I Got Michael-ized in
Jacksonville.” It seemed like everything
that year was Michael Jackson oriented.
Mark Bego's ticket stubs for some of the shows on The Jacksons' history-making Victory Tour (photo courtesy of Mark Bego)
From Jacksonville we went on to
New Jersey, New York City, and Knoxville, Detroit, Buffalo, Philadelphia,
Denver, and Montreal, and Washington D.C.
This was an amazing series of events for me. Since I was being heralded as the world’s
expert on everything Michael Jackson, I also personally went to The Grammy
Awards that year specifically to see Michael and Quincy Jones take home a sea
of trophies for what has become the biggest-selling album of all times: Thriller.
kk: WAS THIS YOUR FIRST MICHAEL JACKSON / JACKSON FIVE CONCERT EXPERIENCE? WHAT WAS IT LIKE ON OPENING NIGHT?
MB: As far as an actual concert
performance, opening night on The Victory Tour was my first time of seeing
Michael and his brothers perform. I had seen Michael live at The Natural
History Museum party with a team of dancers, and I had seen him at The Shrine
Auditorium in Los Angeles at The Grammy Awards, but opening night in Kansas
City was my first time witnessing him live on a concert stage.
Mark Bego at a party in his honor in 1984, for his nine
million seller, Michael! (Photo: Roger Glazer) /
Mary Wilson and Mark Bego celebrating his first
issue of Modern Screen Magazine in 1983 at Panache in New York City (photo by
Roger Glazer)
MB: What I remember the most about
the opening night in Kansas City, was the electricity that seemed to be running
through the crowd. There was so much
hype and anticipation as to what we would be witnessing. When the lights went up and the band began
playing the music to the hit “Wanna Be Starting Something,” the crowd went
wild. It was such a rush to be in the
audience that night, knowing we were witnessing show business history being
made.
The whole show was one Jackson
oriented hit after another, from The Jackson Five catalog, Michael’s solo
career, Jermaine’s solos, and the finely choreographed numbers featuring all
six of the brothers. When it came time
for Michael to present his mega-hit, “Billie Jean,” the crowd went insane. Then, when Michael began doing his “moonwalk”
backward dance, they went absolutely nuts.
I have never felt so much electricity at a concert before, or
after. In was an unforgettable
experience.
Michael Jackson and The Victory Tour was the most
exciting live show of 1984. (From the pages of On The Road With Michael!
Original photo: Ebet Roberts)
kk: WERE THE JACKSON BROTHERS UNDER STRICT
INSTRUCTIONS TO BE ON THEIR BEST BEHAVIOR?
MB: There was no question that their manager,
Joseph Jackson, was not only the father to the five boys on tour, he was also
fully in charge. Apparently, he ruled
his sons with an iron fist, so there was no room for any hint of a scandal or
gossip. Furthermore, the shows and the
tour were being underwritten by one of the most “family friendly” companies on
the planet: Pepsi-Cola. Clearly, there was not to be one possible
incident involving drugs, liquor, or any sort of controversy, or it could have
derailed the entire tour.
At this point, it was public
knowledge that Michael Jackson was not only the biggest musical star on planet
Earth, but that he was also a practicing member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses
religion. When it came to possible drug
or liquor mishaps on the tour, it certainly would not have been on the part of
Michael. Millions of children were
begging their parents to get tickets for them to attend any of The Victory Tour shows, so there could
not be even the slightest possibility of anything inappropriate occurring on
the road.
kk: WHAT WERE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF WHAT HAD TO BE THE
DEMANDING ROLE OF “BEING” MICHAEL JACKSON?
MB: Since I was present at all of the press
conferences and official events while I was on the tour, I was able to observe
Michael a lot that summer. I had an
interesting impression of him on that tour.
Although he was a huge superstar, he often seemed to behave like a shy
little boy who was reticent to show the kind of “rock star” excitement that one
would have expected.
He was very soft spoken, and in
my eyes he seemed to be a bit lost in the weighty magnitude of this gargantuan
tour, and all of the excitement it had caused.
Yes, he exuded lots of power and excitement on stage, but it seemed like
when he was not choreographed and on stage, he was a bit awed by all of the
excitement of it as well.
Throughout all of this, it was
clear that it was Michael who was the star attraction, and the driving force
behind The Jacksons, and the whole tour.
Yes, the other brothers were gregarious and entertaining throughout the
summer, but there was little doubt that everything pivoted around Michael.
Michael Jackson on stage during The Victory Tour,
complete with his iconic sequined glove and amazing
choreography.
(From the pages of On The Road With Michael!
Original photo: Ebet Roberts)
kk: DID YOU EVER GET THE FEELING THAT MICHAEL WAS
A LITTLE BIT RESENTFUL ABOUT HAVING TO TOUR WITH HIS BROTHERS, WHO WERE NOW
CUTTING INTO HIS OWN SPOTLIGHT?
MB: From the very beginning of the success of The
Jackson Five, and later The Jacksons, 80 per cent of the fascination with the
group was the fact that it was fronted by someone who — at the start of their
string of hits — had yet to reach his tenth birthday.
When they were still at Motown
Records as The Jackson Five, the company was wise enough to pull out young
Michael to have his own solo albums, and Jermaine Jackson had his own solo
recording career as well, right alongside the Jackson Five record releases. Michael was marketed as a child phenomenon,
and Jermaine was marketed as a “teen idol.”
Once Michael’s solo albums Off The
Wall and Thriller had taken him
from ’70s soul and pop star, to being an ’80s rock star, it was clear that he
was being pulled in several different directions. It was like everything was
riding on his young shoulders.
If there was any resentment on
Michael’s part, to be supportive of his brothers, it was not evident at the
time. He was generous with his time on
stage, and each of his male siblings got a chance to shine in the act as well.
kk: HOW MUCH ONE-ON-ONE INTERACTION DID YOU HAVE
WITH MICHAEL ALONG THE WAY?
MB: As I mentioned, I was in no way authorized by
The Jacksons, Pepsi-Cola, nor the concert promoters, to be on this tour. I — through Pinnacle Books’ travel agent — was
simply showing up with Josh Touster to all of these concerts, completely “under
the radar.” I did not publicly mention
that I was going to write another Michael Jackson book from my experiences. I was traveling under the legitimate guise of
being “Mark Bego rock journalist” and the Editor-In-Chief of Modern Screen magazine.
I never officially mentioned the
new book to anyone of note, as I did not want to tip anyone off to what I was
up to, for fear that another book publisher could “scoop” me, and get a tour
book out on the marketplace before I did.
I viewed this as a contest, and I was determined to win it. The book I was writing became my “top secret”
mission.
Did I personally know Michael
Jackson in any capacity when this all started?
Actually, “yes.” However, I did
not know him well. I had already been
personally introduced to him at Studio 54.
Circa 1978, Michael was in New
York City, shooting the movie version of The
Wiz, and there was a big party for him at the super famous discotheque
Studio 54, to which I was invited. At
the time, I had a very good friend, who has since passed away, by the name of
Barbra Nagel. She was very well
connected in the music business. I met
her through jazz percussionist Ralph McDonald, and she and I became very close
friends. Barbra introduced me to a
bright and friendly young man named Steve Manning, and Steve just so happened
to have been friends with Michael since they were children. It was Steve who introduced Barbara and me to
Michael Jackson.
Concert promoter Cash Landy, Ola Ray--Michael Jackson's
co-star in the "Thriller" video, and Mark Bego, at the Los Angeles
party for the success of the book Michael! (Photo: William R.
Meade)
.jpg)
Mark Bego and famed artist Peter Max at a party for Mark's
first issue of Modern Screen Magazine as Editor-In-Chief (Photo by Roger
Glazer) /
Pia Zadora and Mark Bego at the 1984 Los
Angeles party for Mark's hugely successful book on Jackson: entitled Michael!
(Photo: Josh Touster)
As anyone who went to parties
and events at Studio 54 will recall, there was — first of all — the challenge
of being admitted to the famed discotheque at all. And, once you were inside, there was not only
the impressive dance floor, but there was typically an area of the club which
housed a star-studded party-within-a-party, roped off for whomever happened to
be that evening’s V.I.P. Since this was
Michael’s private party, he was the one who was behind the velvet ropes that
roped-off the club’s exclusive V.I.P. area.
And, since Barbara and I both
knew Steve Manning very well, we were not only “on the ‘A’ list” to be admitted
into the famed disco, but we were also heralded into Michael’s V.I.P. realm,
delineated by velvet ropes. As we
checked in with the person who held “the list” of who was to be admitted to the
V.I.P. area, we were ushered forward, and there stood Steve, with Michael
Jackson.
We found Michael to be outwardly
polite and friendly, yet at the same time, he was clearly very shy. I am the type of person who can walk up to
anyone and start a conversation, especially in a cocktail party setting. With Michael, it was a bit of a challenge to
get friendly with him. He seemed to have
an air of “reserve” to his manner.
Steve Manning said to Michael,
“I want you to meet two very good friends of mine, Barbra Nagel and Mark
Bego. Mark is the Nightlife Editor for CUE magazine, and I have known Barbra
for ages.”
“Hello,” Michael shyly said to
us. I reached out to shake Michael’s
hand, and as I shook it, I could tell that he was ultra-shy, like a young kid
who is uncomfortable in adult social settings.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” I
said, trying to jump right into a friendly conversation with him. “I have been a fan of yours ever since The
Supremes introduced The Jackson Five on The
Hollywood Palace. In fact, Mary
Wilson of The Supremes is one of my dearest friends.”
“Oh, that is nice,” Michael
said. “I like her a lot.”
I expected us to launch into
some sort of conversation about Motown, Mary Wilson, his music, his life, the
movie The Wiz, or some sort of
topic. However, my attempts at engaging
him, fell a bit flat.
Moments later Michael said to
Steve, “Can we go out and see the dance floor?”
“O.K.,” Steve said, and off they
went. That was my first, friendly, but
very brief meeting with Michael Jackson in 1978.
Now, flash forward to 1984, and The Victory Tour. Here I was in Kansas City, and there was a
big press conference for Michael and his brothers, and I was invited to it, as
one of the V.I.P. press members. As I
mentioned, at this point in the tour, I was traveling as “Mark Bego, the
Editor-In-Chief of Modern Screen
magazine.” The fact that I was also
writing a book for Pinnacle Books was strictly “top secret.”
Since this was truly the year of
Michael Jackson, and the year of the big reunion with his brothers as The
Jacksons, it seemed that every member of the Jackson family had a project of
their own to promote. Jermaine Jackson
had a solo album of his own on Arista Records at the time, older sister Rebbie
Jackson had her own album on CBS Records, Janet Jackson was signed to A&M
Records, and LaToya Jackson had her own recording career on Polygram. In addition, LaToya had also recently
launched her own leather fashion line.
Mark Bego and La Toya Jackson showing off her fashion line
(photo by Roger Glazer) /
Mark Bego and LaToya Jackson in her suite at The Helmsely
Palace Hotel, the afternoon in 1984 that Michael Jackson showed up for a
suprised visit with Mark (Photo by Roger Glazer)
Although I never got to know
Michael all that well, I met LaToya several times, And on a couple of occasions, I gave her a
big “write up” on the pages of Modern
Screen. In fact, when I interviewed
LaToya about her fashion line, that was when I met and got to know the family’s
charming and soft-spoken mother, Katherine Jackson as well. When The Jacksons and their Victory mega tour rolled into New York
City to play Madison Square Garden, LaToya was also in Manhattan, traveling
with her brothers.
That week, the group and their
family and their entourage were all staying at The Helmsley Palace Hotel in New
York City, and — of course — I was back in Manhattan as well, spending a week
in my Greenwich Village apartment. I
knew that LaToya was going to be in town, so I made arrangements to come to The
Helmsley Palace Hotel to meet her, interview her, and do a feature for an “all
Jacksons / all the time” issue of Modern
Screen.
LaToya was as outgoing and
lovely as usual, and we had a nice hour together. We chatted, and she autographed several items
for a “giveaway” contest that I was going to run in Modern Screen. I went up to
LaToya’s hotel suite with my Modern
Screen staff photographer, Roger Glazer.
I got along so well with Roger, and during this era we worked together
very successfully.
Roger and I would go to a
star-studded celebrity event together, and I would — in my own gregariously
open style — walk over to a celebrity and start a conversation. Without missing beat, Roger would grab our
attention, and say, “Look this way!” I would flash a big smile, and he would
snap some great candid shots with me and Andy Warhol, or me and Linda Gray, or
me and Lionel Richie, or whichever rock or TV star I was chatting with at the
time. We made a great team.
Needless to say, Roger got some
wonderful photos of LaToya and I together, and after an hour it was time to
leave The Helmsley Palace Hotel and go back to the office. I thanked LaToya for her time, and for the
autographed items I would be giving away in the planned Modern Screen reader’s contest.
We stood up and moved towards
the door, and LaToya proceeded to lead us to the actual door of her suite, and
then — with a big flourish — she swung the door open, and in a grand “Voila!”
moment, there stood her superstar brother, Michael Jackson himself! It was just Roger and me, and LaToya and
Michael.
For this surprise encounter,
Michael was wearing one of his trademark sequin-covered military jackets with
braids and epaulettes on it, a sequined glove, and his trademark dark glasses.
He was in full “Michael Jackson superstar” attire.
“Michael!” I exclaimed. “How great to see you! I am Mark Bego.”
“Oh, I know who you are” he
said, smiling a wry looking grin.
Apparently, he and Latoya had staged this surprise appearance for my
benefit — to see if I was shocked. And,
I was genuinely stunned.
Not missing a beat, Roger said,
“Michael, can I get a photo of you and Mark?”
“No, not now,” Michael said,
waving his gloved hand.
“It’s so great to see you,” I
continued, again wanting to start up a conversation with him. I was so impressed that I been treated to
this special private “audience” with the biggest superstar of the day, I wanted
to at least get a memorable exclusive quote from him.
Just then LaToya announced,
“Well, we have plans to play some video games and things.” Just then Michael stood out of the way of the
door, as a hint that my surprise visit with him was about to come to an end.
I turned to his sister and said,
“LaToya, it was great to see you, and thank you so much for the
interview.” Then turning back to Michael
I continued, “And it was great to see you too.
Keep up the brilliant work, and I will see you on stage.”
“Thank you,” he politely said to
me with a smile.
Roger and I proceeded to exit
the suite, and we walked out into the hallway.
After LaToya’s door closed, we looked each other in the eye, and both
mouthed the words, “Oh my God, Michael Jackson!”
And that was the only exclusive
in-person moment that I had with the legendary Michael during The Victory Tour. But for me — dare I say — it was brief, but
it was truly a thriller of a moment!
During this era, newspapers, and
even Publisher’s Weekly magazine,
started referring to me as “The Prince of Pop Music Bios.” So, I guess you could say it was a brief but
royal meeting between “The Prince of Pop Music Bios” and “The King of Pop
Music.”
kk: DID MICHAEL EXHIBIT ANY HINT
OF THE BEHAVIOR HE BECAME KNOWN FOR ALONG THE WAY … ECCENTRICITIES … STRANGE
FASCINATION WITH YOUNGER FANS … WHAT WERE HIS HOT BUTTONS ON THE ROAD?
MB: As I have said many times throughout the
years, one of the biggest successes of both of my books about Michael Jackson was
that they were written and published before things got odd or
controversial in his life. However,
along this line I did have an interesting conversation that summer with Ken
Ross of Pepsi-Cola. He was along for the
entire Victory Tour as well, since
Pepsi was underwriting it.
At a certain point, my tour
photographer, Josh Touster left the tour.
It was decided that after the first 15 or so Jackson shows that we
attended together, the photos of the show were getting repetitive. Michael and his brothers wore the same stage
costumes night-after-night, so the book company felt that they had more than
enough performance photos to properly fill the book I was writing.
After Josh left the tour, I
continued solo on to Quebec, Detroit, and Buffalo. There were a couple of free days before the
Buffalo shows started, so Ken Ross and I decided to take my rental car and go
have lunch while viewing Niagara Falls.
We had lots of time to talk that afternoon, and at one point I said to
him, “I know that Michael claims that he loves children, which is great. And, at every press conference there would be
five or six children around him.
However, has anyone noticed that when Michael steps up to the
microphone, the children he has picked up and is carrying around with him, it
is always a little boy, and never a little girl?”
Ken hesitated for a moment, and
then replied, “Oh yes, that has been noted.
And, we are not pointing out that fact in any way.”
I didn’t press the issue any
further, and just let the subject go. I
knew that any such allegations of odd behavior on Michael’s part — from anyone —
could cause a negative stir, so I never brought it up again.
The nice thing that happened to
me, was that the massive success that I had with my books Michael! and On The Road With
Michael! … both books became million-sellers, years before some of
Michael’s most scandalous headline grabbing behaviors occurred. I was able to herald his talent and his
music, and his brilliant success, without having to go into the odd plastic
surgery, the decidedly white make-up he later wore, and the lawsuits and other
allegations were to come to light, years later.
Even if I did have a touch of
suspicion about what might or might not be going on behind the scenes, I
certainly was not going to “upset the apple cart.” I was concurrently the most successful
Michael Jackson biographer on the planet, and I was not going allow anything to
jeopardize my position.
kk: WERE YOU ABLE TO IN ANY WAY STAY IN TOUCH
WITH JACKSON AFTER THE BOOKS CAME OUT? ANY POST-MANIA MEETINGS?
MB: After The Victory Tour came to a conclusion
in late 1984, that was my last actual personal involvement with Michael and The
Jacksons. When my Jackson book about the tour came out, I launched into
promoting it. In January of 1985 I went to England and did dozens of
radio and TV appearances to support the British edition of On The Road With
Michael!
The excitement and frenzy that Michael
Jackson and his brothers caused on The Victory Tour was nothing short of
phenomenal. Mark Bego was there for 30 consecutive shows in 1984.
(From the pages of On The Road With Michael! Original photo:
Ebet Roberts)
The year 1984 was truly
"the year of Michael Jackson." By 1985 everyone was looking for
"the next big thing," and that included Pinnacle Books. At an
editorial meeting at Pinnacle I was asked who I thought was going to be the
successor to the excitement that Michael Jackson had created. I said to
the editors and executives at Pinnacle, "There is this girl from my
hometown of Pontiac, Michigan. She wears all these kooky rubber
bracelets, and calls herself 'Madonna.' I truly think she is going to be huge."
Well, that was it. Pinnacle banked on my prediction, and my next book was
called Madonna! It came out in 1985 while her Like a Virgin
album was the biggest thing on the charts, and it became another million-seller
for me.
After The Victory Tour wrapped
up, Michael went on to record the huge all-star hit "We Are The
World" in January of 1985, and then disappeared for a couple of years, so
that he could record his Bad album, which was released in 1987.
Following my hit book on
Madonna, I went on to write books about the "next big thing"
performers Sade, Julian Lennon, and Whitney Houston. My two books on
Michael Jackson put me in a really unique position, and off I went into
different directions. I have to say "thank you" to Michael
Jackson for truly putting me "on the map" in the book world.
kk: WITH THE MASSIVE SUCCESS OF THE NEW “MICHAEL”
BIOPIC … AND SO MANY OF MICHAEL JACKSON’S RECORDS RETURNING TO THE CHARTS AFTER
SO MANY YEARS … ARE THERE ANY PLANS TO RE-RELEASE YOUR MICHAEL JACKSON BOOKS?
MB: That is a great question. I would love it if that were to happen, but
at this time no publisher has approached either me or my agent Scott Mendel, my
manager Dave Marken, nor my publicist David Salidor with an offer to do
that. When Michael died in 2009 I was a
guest commentator on ABC-TV during the funeral.
And at that time, a Japan-based publisher re-printed the Japanese
language edition of my book Michael! I would love to have that happen again. But nothing has materialized as of yet.
Who knows what will happen
next. If the success of the Michael movie grows any greater,
anything is possible. With all of the
books I have written, am I concerned that I am still known as the world’s
foremost Michael Jackson expert? Not
all, I am proud of both of my books on the man they called “Jacko,” and if I
had 1984 to live all over again, I would do everything exactly the same way.
kk: Mark, thanks again for sharing these VERY special memories
with our readers.
I truly do appreciate it … and hopefully enough people will
see this to prompt a publisher to reissue updated versions of both your books. It’s been great talking to you. (kk)
PHOTO CREDITS (recap):
Mark Bego and La Toya Jackson showing off her
fashion line (photo by Roger Glazer)
Mark Bego at a party in his honor in 1984, for
his nine million seller, Michael! (Photo: Roger Glazer)
Mary Wilson and Mark Bego celebrating his first
issue of Modern Screen Magazine in 1983 at Panache in New York City (photo by
Roger Glazer)
Concert promoter Cash Landy, Ola Ray--Michael
Jackson's co-star in the "Thriller" video, and Mark Bego, at the Los
Angeles party for the success of the book Michael! (Photo:
William R. Meade)
Mark Bego and LaToya Jackson in her suite at
The Helmsely Palace Hotel, the afternoon in 1984 that Michael Jackson showed up
for a suprised visit with Mark (Photo by Roger Glazer)
Mark Bego and Alan Thicke on the set of Thicke
of the Night TV show where Mark talking about Michael Jackson was part of a
4-episode special (Photo by Josh Touster)
Mark Bego and famed artist Peter Max at a
party for Mark's first issue of Modern Screen Magazine as Editor-In-Chief
(Photo by Roger Glazer)
Pia Zadora and Mark Bego at the 1984 Los
Angeles party for Mark's hugely successful book on Jackson: entitled Michael!
(Photo: Josh Touster)
PERFORMANCE SHOTS:
I have scanned the performance photos I have right from the
book. The best ones were taken by the
photo agencies. Those photographs were licensed and paid for by Pinnacle
Books, so what I will do is scan them right from the book, and identify them as
being from the book, so that they fall into the "photo rights"
category as being "product shots" from my book, and then we won't
have any licensing problems from the supply houses. (MB)
Performance Photo 1: Michael Jackson and The Victory Tour
was the most exciting live show of 1984. (From the pages of On The Road With
Michael! Original photo: Ebet Roberts)
Performance Photo 2: Michael Jackson on stage during The
Victory Tour, complete with his iconic sequined glove and amazing
choreography. (From the pages of On The Road With Michael!
Original photo: Ebet Roberts)
Performance Photo 3: The excitement and frenzy that Michael
Jackson and his brothers caused on The Victory Tour was nothing short of
phenomenal. Mark Bego was there for 30 consecutive shows in 1984.
(From the pages of On The Road With Michael! Original photo:
Ebet Roberts)
And finally, here is Mark Bego’s INCREDIBLE resume of books …
When they call him the “Biographer Of The Music Stars,” this list certainly documents his street cred …
Simply amazing! (how many of these have YOU read???)
Books by Mark Bego:
1. “The Captain & Tennille” (1977, Grosset
& Dunlap Publishers)
2. “Barry Manilow” (1977, Grosset & Dunlap
Publishers)
3. “The Doobie Brothers” (1980, Popular Library)
4. “Michael!” [Jackson] (1984, Pinnacle Books) *** + “New York Times”
Best Seller
5. “On The Road With Michael!” [Jackson] (1984,
Pinnacle Books) ** +
6. “Madonna!" (1985, Pinnacle Books) ** +
7. “Rock Hudson: Public & Private” (1986,
New American Library) *
8. “Sade!” (1986, PaperJacks Books) +
9. “Julian Lennon!” (1986, St. Martin's Press)
10. "The Best of 'Modern Screen'" (1986,
St. Martin's Press)
11. “Whitney!” [Houston] (1986, PaperJacks Books)
12. “Cher!” (1986, Pocket Books)
13. “Bette Midler: Outrageously Divine” (1987,
New American Library)
14. “The Linda Gray Story” (1988, St. Martin's
Press)
15. “TV Rock” [The History of Rock & Roll on
Television] (1988, PaperJacks Books)
16. “Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul” (1989, St.
Martin's Press) +
17. “Between The Lines” [with Debbie Gibson]
(1990, Eakin Press)
18. “Linda Ronstadt: It’s So Easy” (1990, Eakin
Press)
19. “Ice Ice Ice: The Extraordinary Vanilla Ice
Story” (1991, Dell Books) *
20. “One Is The Loneliest Number” [with Jimmy
Greenspoon of Three Dog Night] (1991, Pharos Books)
21. “Madonna: Blonde Ambition” (1992, Harmony
Books / Random House) + ^
22. “I'm A Believer: My Life of Music, Monkees
and Madness” [with Micky Dolenz of The
Monkees] (1993, Hyperion Books)
23. “Country Hunks” (1994, Contemporary Books)
24. “Country Gals” (1994, Zebra Books)
25. “Dancing In The Street: Confessions of a
Motown Diva” [with Martha Reeves of
Martha & The Vandellas] (1994,
Hyperion Books) [“Top 10 “Chicago Tribune” Best-Seller”]
26. “I Fall To Pieces: The Music & The Life
of Patsy Cline” (1995, Adams Media)
27. “Bonnie Raitt: Just In The Nick of Time”
(1995, Birch Lane / 2003, Cooper Square) ^
28. “Rock & Roll Almanac” (1996, MacMillan
Books)
29. “Alan Jackson: Gone Country” (1996, Taylor
Publishing)
30. “Raised On Rock: The Autobiography of Elvis
Presley's Step Brother” [with David
Stanley] (1996 Mainstream Publishing) +
31. “George Strait: The Story of Country's Living
Legend” (1997, Kensington Oublishing)
32. “Leonardo DiCaprio: Romantic Hero” (1998,
Andrews McMeel) + “New York Times” Best-Seller
33. “LeAnn Rimes” (1998, St. Martin's Press) +
34. “Jewel” (1998, Music Sales Press)
35. “Matt Damon: Chasing A Dream” (1998, Andrews
McMeel)
36. “Will Smith: The Freshest Prince” (1998,
Andrews McMeel)
37. “Vince Gill” (2000, Renaissance)
38. “Madonna: Blonde Ambition” [Updated Edition] (2000, Cooper Square)
39. “Aretha Franklin: Queen of Soul” [First Updated Edition] (2001, DaCapo Books)
40. “The Marx Brothers” (2001, Oldcastle Books)
41. “Cher: If You Believe” (2001, Cooper Square)
42. “Bonnie Raitt: STILL In The Nick of Time” (2002, Cooper
Square)
43. “Bette Midler: Still Divine” (2002, Cooper
Square)
44. “Julia Roberts: America’s Sweetheart” (2003,
AMI)
45. “Tina Turner: Break Every Rule” (2003, Cooper
Square) +
46. “I’m a Believer: My Life of Music, Monkees
and Madness” [with Micky Dolenz of The Monkees] (2004 Updated Version – Taylor Publishing)
47. “Jackson Browne” (2005, Kennsington) +
48. “Joni Mitchell” (2005, Taylor Publishing)
49. “Yolanda:
Just One More Question” (2006, Putnam)
50. “Billy Joel:
The Biography” (2007, Thunder's Mouth Press) + (JR
Booksin England and Australia, 2008)
51. “Macho Man:
The Disco Era and Gay America’s Coming Out” [with Randy Jones of The Village People] (2008, Greenwood)
52. “Elton John” Five different versions
including:
“Elton
John: Die Biography” (in German
language: June, 2009, Hannibal Book)
“Elton
John: The Bitch is Back” (in
America: October, 2009, Phoenix Books) +
“The
Elton John Story” (in England and Australia:
October, 2009, JR Books)
53. “One Minute Before Midnight” [with Ruth
Mueller] (2009, Publish America)
54. “Tina Turner:
Die Biographie” [German only original] (2009, Hannibal Books) +
55. “Whitney Houston: Die
Biographie” [German only original] (2009,
Hannibal Books) +
56. “Paperback
Writer,” a Memoir (2010, Publish
America)
57. “Where The
Action Is” [with Freddy Cannon] (2011, Publish America)
58. “Whitney
Houston! The Spectacular Rise and
Dramatic Fall of The Woman Whose Voice Inspired a Generation” (2012, Skyhorse Publishers)
59. “Aretha
Franklin: The Queen of Soul” [Second Updated Edition] (2012, Skyhorse Publishers)
60. “Murder
at Motor City Records,” a Murder Mystery
(2012, Publish America)
71. “Glen
Campbell: Life With My Father” [with
Debby Campbell] (2014, Omnibus Press)
62. “Eat Like
a Rock Star” [a Cookbook with Mary Wilson and dozens more] (2017, Skyhorse
Publishers)
63. “Aretha
Franklin: Queen of Soul” [Fourth Updated
/ Tribute Editon] (2018 Skyhorse Publishers)
[Number One Amazon
Best-Seller]
64. “Living
The Luxe Life” [with Efram Harkham] (2019, Skyhorse Publishers) [Number One Amazon Business Books Best-Seller]
65. “Supreme
Glamour” [with Mary Wilson] (2019, Thames & Hudson Publishers) [Number One Amazon
Best-Seller]
+
66. “Elton
John: Rocket Man” (2020, Pegasus) [Top Ten Amazon
Best-Seller]
67. “Band of
Gold” [written with Freda Payne with Introduction by Mary Wilson] (2021, Yorkshire Publishing)
68. “Joe
Cocker: With a LOT of Help From My
Friends” (2022, Yorkshire Publishing)
69.
“Campaigning For President” [written with Jordan Wright, and Austin C.
Wright] (2024, Yorkshire Publishing)
70. “I’m A
Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music
& Madness” [written with Micky
Dolenz of The Monkees] (2026, Lyon’s Press)
[Second Updated Version for the 60th Anniversary of TV show The Monkees]
_______________________________
+ Foreign editions
^ 500,000 copies sold
^^ 1 million copies sold
^^^ 9 million copies sold
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