While many claimed to have discovered Michael Jackson – chiefly Diana Ross, Gladys Knight and James Brown – it was an ex-Vancouverite who brought the future superstar and his brothers to Motown Records after seeing them in Chicago in 1968.
The Jackson 5 opened some shows during a tour by Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers, a Motown act including guitarist Tommy Chong (of Cheech and Chong fame). Bobby Taylor was blown away by the Jackson 5's eight-year-old singer.
“I just loved to watch that little sucker dance,” said Taylor, now 74 and based in Beijing. “Gladys (Knight) was probably the first one to see them, but I was the first one to put my hand out to help these kids. I am the only one who did that. We worked for 10 straight days in Chicago. I put them in my limo, drove them back to Detroit (to get them signed to Motown Records). It was me and Tommy Chong at the time. It was a revue type of show that they had back in the day. We were the headliners and they were the local yokels.”
With the band signed to Motown, Taylor put his career on-hold to produce the early Jackson 5 albums, writing such now classic tunes as “Ben,” “ABC,” “I Want You Back” and “I’ll Be There.”
“With Michael I worked a lot. He was the voice. He had the tools. He screamed a lot. He was a James Brown at that time. Jermaine was okay and Jackie was okay. So those are the three that I used.”
Taylor performs regularly in Beijing and is seeking to discover the “Chinese Michael Jackson."
