Momentarily, the death of Michael Jackson pulled ....Houston.... into the national spotlight as the media explored what it considered to be a shadowy relationship between the superstar and a local doctor from Acres Homes. I know next to nothing about the dealings between the men and only mention it because it brought to mind other ....Houston.... connections of Michael Joseph Jackson that served him well. The memories hearken back to a time when a “young and hungry” Michael having left his musical home of Motown and the tutelage of Berry Gordy, met with major record labels in a search for the company that would give him phenomenal promotion, extraordinary marketing, and stratospheric sales.
Of course, he was assisted by his own team of knowledge and notable industry attorneys, agents, and managers who recognized that Michael’s solo career was only likely to lift off again with critical help from black radio. They settled on Epic Records, a label owned by CBS Records(Currently Sony Music) and one that had a respected presence in the pop and country music genres and thanks largely to its distribution system and black radio promotion success of The Ojays, Teddy Pendergrass, Lou Rawls, Patti Labelle, Luther Van Dross, and The Isley Bros the label carried substantial and indisputable clout with black disc jockeys, radio and retail.
The formidable operation was led by two men who shared bonds of mutual admiration and respect forged during their days when one was a disc jockey in ....Houston.. ..Texas.... and the other was a hot shot record promoter living in ....Dallas.... on his way to national prominence.
TC Thompkins stands as a man whose reputation as a king maker is just as large as his 6’8” frame and just as real. During the latter portion of the seventies he burnished his reputation as a persuasive and aggressive record promoter who had helped the careers of Natialie Cole, Maze, Rufus, and Chaka Khan among others. About the time that it lured Thompkins as a ..Midwest.. regional manager with Epic records in ....Chicago...., CBS Records also hired the ....Houston.... disc jockey who eventually moved to its ....New York.... headquarters and eventually became the Vice President of Epic black music Promotion. One of his first acts was the crucial appointment of a reliable second in command whom he knew to be competent, and trustworthy. For him, that meant picking up the phone and calling Thompkins, the man whom he so greatly admired. Thompkins accepted and stepped into his high profile position to help fashion strategies and exercise the leadership that made Epic’s black music department consistently among the most successful in the industry.
It seemed logical to those heavily invested in Michael Jackson’s career that his solo album “Off the Wall” should be on Epic Records if it were to be given the best chance of success. Once the deal was made, others reminded the vice president, often, that much was riding on his opinion of the forthcoming album; hundreds of thousands of dollars were set to be spent on the album that was meant to restore and elevate Michael’s luster. Anything less than a rousing ovation for the album could spread panic and that meant disaster for Michael’s comeback campaign.. The vice president, however, was reassured by the presence of the one man whose opinion mattered most to him. Thompkins had helped craft the game plan, he believed in it and he would play a key role in it’s implementation. They had heard the early reviews from an assortment of influential disc jockeys, retailers, and music writers across the country but mostly they were comfortable in knowing the abilities of each other and the team around them. The word was confidently passed on to the powerful president of CBS Records, Walter Yetnikoff, that the Epic label was likely to have the strongest selling Michael Jackson album of all time in “Off The Wall”. With two million albums sold it was a commercial success that was hailed critically by industry tastemakers and established the eager anticipation that attended the release of his sophomore album in 1982: Thriller. The rest is history! (I know, I know, it’s a cliché, but boy does it fit). Following the release of the album's first single "The Girl Is Mine", some observers assumed Thriller would only be a minor hit record. With the release of the second single "Billie Jean", the album topped the charts in many countries. At its peak, the album was selling a million copies a week worldwide. In just over a year, Thriller became—and currently remains—the best-selling album of all time. Sales are estimated to be between 47–109 million copies sold worldwide. Seven of the album's nine songs were released as singles, and all reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album won a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards at the 1984 Grammys.*
By the time that the The Girl is Mine had peaked on black radio charts, Thompkins had risen to the senior position as Vice President at Epic Black Music department and his department charted the course the world wide mania that had become the release of “Thriller” video and album.
We read, in the wake of his death, some people may have benefited improperly from their association with Michael Jackson but it is helpful to know that there are Houstonians among us who used their unique skills to help him give him something that he came to them craving: unprecedented stardom.
As one of the two men I’ve written about it is a pleasure to be joined in ....Houston.... by my friend TC. Our lives are rewarding and content. We no longer spend as much time as either of us would like but the friendship is still warm and valuable, the memories are wonderful, and the tales are hilarious. On his way to becoming the King of Pop, Michael Jackson dropped into the lives of a couple of guys from Houston, and they all exchanged gifts.
Written by Paris Eley