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Michael Jackson: A Life In Pictures (Part 1: 1958-1988)

MARCH 11, 1969: The Jacksons sign to Motown
Jackson and his brothers sign with Berry Gordy's Motown and are taken under the wing of the company's star Diana Ross (the newly rechristened act's first album will be called Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5). Gordy informs journalists that Jackson is 8 years old (he's actually two years older) to make him appear even more precociously talented. ''Berry Gordy called and said, 'We signed this new act,''' says Shelley Berger, who managed the young group. ''So I go to the studio, and there's these five kids. Michael just started, and I almost fell down. I said to myself, 'Oh my God, this is Sammy Davis.' It was electric. A 9-year-old kid. I mean, he wasn't a kid. This was an adult at 9 years old.''