UNHEARD MICHAEL JACKSON & HERMES PAN PERSONAL INTERVIEW
This is the rarest piece of music memorabilia we have listed so far in all of the Michael Jackson items we have sold. As far as we know, not a soul outside the original owner and our staff knows this exists. It is a personal interview by Michael Jackson of famed choreographer Hermes Pan, the legend that coached such greats as Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. The interview is roughly 20 minutes long in it's cleaned up form. The interview is personal, Michael at the beginning mentions that this is for his own use and not for commercial release. The two legends speak about multiple things, all related to dancing and music. Michael asks many questions about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and how they worked together in times past. It is great to hear these two speak so personally to one another. Unfortunately for legal reasons we are unable to provide a sample, as it could possibly violate copyright laws.
The original recording was on DAT tape. it is marked with stickers as the "Original Master" and "Not for Production". The quality of this recording was very poor, being a personal recording we are assuming the equipment was setup by someone not familiar with it. We are not sure if it was an assistant, or it's possible M.J. himself didn't know how to work the recording equipment! The DAT tape was taken after it was purchased in the Teddy Riley property auction and converted to CD in its entirety. That was then given to a friend in the recording industry who produced a 20 minute version that was cleaned up significantly. It is still difficult to hear in parts, but the speech is much clearer and it is easy to distinguish who is speaking.
It is tough to say when or where this was recorded. This tape, like all of our other merchandise, was acquired at the property auction of Future Records Recording Studio, here in Virginia Beach. We do not know how it made its way to this studio, or what it was doing there. We do obviously know that Michael did quite a bit of recording here, but the reasoning behind the tape being there is unknown. There are a few clues as to the date and knowing how this take came to be. Here are a few excerpts from books on the subject of Michael and the moonwalk;
Michael Jackson: The King of Pop By Lisa D. Campbell – Page 192
"Hermes Pan, a choreographer who worked with Fred Astaire, added that he was dying to know how he did that walk!"
From The Moonwalk Book:
"The day after the Motown 25 show, Fred Astaire called me on the telephone. He said - these are his exact words - "You're a hell of a mover. Man, you really put them on their asses last night." That's what Fred Astaire said to me. I thanked him. Then he said, "You're an angry dancer. I'm the same way. I used to do the same thing with my cane."
I had met him once or twice in the past, but this was the first time he had ever called me. He went on to say, "I watched the special last night; I taped it and I watched it again this morning. You're a hell of a mover."
It was the greatest compliment I had ever received in my life, and the only one I had ever wanted to believe. For Fred Astaire to tell me that meant more to me than anything. Later my performance was nominated for an Emmy Award in a musical category, but I lost to Leontyne Price. It didn't matter. Fred Astaire had told me things I would never forget - that was my reward. Later he invited me to his house, and there were more compliments from him until I really blushed. He went over my "Billie Jean" performance, step by step. The great choreographer Hermes Pan, who had choreographed Fred's dances in the movies, came over, and I showed them how to Moonwalk and demonstrated some other steps that really interested them."
Both of these lend to the notion that this might have been recorded shortly after Motown 25, what we all know as the introduction of the moonwalk and one of Jackson's most memorable performances. Other than that, there is no accurate estimate on what date this interview took place and when the tape was recorded.
This interview is an absolute must have for any serious fan of Michael Jackson, and will not ever be released again. This is a once in a lifetime chance to purchase this interview. We are not selling copies, and there are no copies being made personally. Because of this items extremely rare nature, the bidding will begin high. If you have questions feel free to contact us. Good luck bidding!
