The Jacksons thrive without Michael on Tom Joyner Cruise
Editor
GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman — Baby Boomers and Gen Xers were transported back to the legendary “Motown 25″ days when the venerated Jackson brothers appeared at the top of the stage on the Tom Joyner Cruise, adorned with their trademark stunner shades and effortlessly oozing swag, then descended down stairs as they were bathed in adoring cheers.
The first family of American music then exemplified why they are still considered musical royalty as they ripped through a treasure trove of hits that span more than four decades. With Jermaine Jackson, the original lead singer of the Jackson Five, and brother Marlon sharing the lead vocals, the brothers (sans the conspicuous absence of youngest brother Randy) delighted fans with songs that are literally tattooed into our consciousness such as “I want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There” — all chart-topping hits that helped them explode onto the pop culture scene during the latter part of the Civil Rights Movement and secure their place in the patheon of performer greats.
The brothers even sung the title cut from what some music connoisseurs considered Michael Jackson’s best album, Off the Wall.
Marlon, for one, continues to demonstrate why many felt that he was actually the best dancer in the entire 9-member clan of Katherine and Joe Jackson by employing moves that belies his many years in the business.
Matriarch Katherine Jackson regaled the audience during an engrossing video tribute to her sons, waxing poetically about how they were miraculously able to survive in a tiny house with 11 family members by, for one, affixing two sets of triple bunk beds the six brothers slept in.
Jermaine helped to close out the set with a heartfelt tribute to his late brother, the King of Pop, in a tear-jerker called “Go to Sleep.”
The following day was just as much fun as the Jacksons hosted a lip-synching contest on the same stage they had detonated the previous night.
