You’ve probably seen the grainy, flickering YouTube footage. It’s 1983 at the Beverly Theater in Los Angeles. The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, is absolutely torching the stage. Suddenly, he calls out a name that makes the room explode: Michael Jackson.
Michael hops up, does some light footwork, and then leans in to whisper something in the Godfather's ear. That whisper changed music history. He basically told James, "Hey, Prince is in the crowd. You gotta bring him up."
What followed was five minutes of the most chaotic, legendary, and slightly awkward musical theater ever captured on tape. But for Prince Michael Jackson James Brown isn't just a trivia answer. This specific lineage—James to Michael, and Michael to his children—represents the DNA of modern pop performance.
The Night the Crown Was Passed (Twice)
Honestly, 1983 was a weirdly pivotal year. Michael Jackson was currently the biggest human on the planet thanks to Thriller. Prince was a rising, dangerous alternative who had just dropped 1999. When Michael got on that stage with James Brown, he was respectful. He did a few "yips," a quick moonwalk, and kept it classy.
Then Prince arrived.
He didn't just walk up; he arrived on the back of his massive bodyguard, Big Chick. Prince grabbed a guitar, wailed out a solo that sounded like a fever dream, and then—in a move that still confuses people—lean-pulled a decorative lamppost over into the audience.
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Legend has it Prince was so embarrassed by the "sabotage" of the evening that he tried to run Michael over with a car later that night. Whether that’s true or just rock-and-roll myth, it cemented the connection between these three. Michael and Prince were James Brown's "spiritual children," and that night in '83 was the family reunion from hell.
How James Brown Influenced the Jackson Household
Growing up as the eldest son of the King of Pop, Prince Michael Jackson didn't just hear about James Brown; he lived in a house built on the man's foundation. Michael famously studied James Brown’s every move. He watched tapes of The T.A.M.I. Show until the ribbons wore out.
If you look at the way Prince Michael carries himself today in his philanthropic work or even his brief stints in media, there's a certain discipline there. That's the Brown influence. James was a taskmaster. He fined his band members for missed notes or unpolished shoes. Michael adopted that same "perfection or nothing" mentality.
It's kinda wild to think that the same man who wrote "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud" is the reason Michael Jackson's kids grew up with such a rigid understanding of what it means to be a "professional."
The 2006 Connection: A Final Goodbye
Fast forward to December 2006. The world lost James Brown on Christmas Day. While many celebrities sent flowers, Michael Jackson actually flew to Augusta, Georgia. He brought his kids.
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At the funeral, Michael stood over the gold casket, leaned down, and kissed James Brown on the forehead. It was a heavy moment. For Prince Michael, who was about nine or ten at the time, seeing his father pay such visceral respect to an elder must have been a core memory.
It wasn't just celebrity gossip. It was a lesson in lineage.
Why the "Rivalry" Between Prince and Michael Matters
People love to talk about the "Bad" collaboration that never happened because Prince didn't want to sing the line "Your butt is mine." But the real story is about how both artists used James Brown as a North Star.
- Michael took the precision and the "showman" aspect.
- Prince took the grit, the funk, and the "multi-instrumentalist" genius.
- James Brown provided the blueprint for both of them to exist.
What Most People Get Wrong About the 1983 Video
If you go back and watch that video today, it looks like a disaster. Prince falls off the stage. The light pole crashes. Michael looks like he's laughing.
But talk to any music historian, like Questlove or even people who were in the room, and they’ll tell you it was a "testing" ground. Michael knew exactly what he was doing when he told James Brown to call Prince up. He wanted to see if the "new guy" could handle the heat.
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Prince could handle it, but he did it his own way—feral and unpredictable.
Actionable Takeaway: How to Appreciate the Legacy
If you want to actually understand the connection between Prince Michael Jackson James Brown, don't just read about it. Do this:
- Watch the 1983 Beverly Theater clip on YouTube. Look past the blurry quality and watch the body language between Michael and James.
- Listen to "Working Day and Night" by Michael Jackson and then "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" by James Brown. The percussion patterns are almost identical.
- Check out Prince Jackson’s "Heal Los Angeles" foundation work. You can see the "service-led" leadership that his father learned from the elders of the R&B era.
The history of pop music isn't a straight line; it's a circle. James Brown started the fire, Michael and Prince turned it into a spectacle, and now the next generation is left to figure out how to carry that torch without getting burned.
If you really want to dive deeper into the Jackson family's history, look into Michael's 2003 BET Awards tribute to James. It’s probably the most "human" Michael ever looked on stage, draped in a cape, honoring the man who made him.