Book 5- 1969 (Michael Jackson)

Chapter 8- Notice

                Chapter 8- Notice

                Date: Saturday, May 17, 1969

                Time: 10:47PM

                MICHAEL'S POV

"Umm... I think we're gonna change the yo's to ya's, if that's alright." Mr. Gordy spoke through the thick glass that separated my brothers, Kayla, Johnny, and I from everyone else, including Joseph. 

I raised one eyebrow, unbelieving. "But we spent three hours just getting that down..."

Mr. Gordy chuckled under his breath."You're just newbies, you haven't been exposed to a good recording studio yet. It takes time to get used to the works and acoustics. Time is all it'll take, buddy."

With my eyes on the tool I was singing into, I asked, "How long do you think it'll take? Maybe a week?"

"Mmm... More so a few months. Boy, it could take over a year. Your first album should be out before then."

Jermaine gasped under his breath. "That long?"

Snickers could be heard by everyone waiting in the soundboard room. "Yeah, it takes time, Jermaine. No worries, though; even Stevie Wonder took a couple months to get accustomed to the basics."

"But it seems like it's so long." Kayla threw her head back from the organ. "And I've been here for three hours. My fingers are cramped."

"No need to complain now," he scolded lightly. "This is only the beginnin' and things are just picking up. We've got a lot more from where that came from."

"Hey," Marlon voiced randomly. "Are Michael and Jermaine the only ones with singing parts? I wanna sing, too! I really love to sing, and I wanna be on this record."

"Uhmm... Well, we could try and add something in. You know, you could add in a little something when we reach the chorus. How about you add this-" Berry scribbled on a paper slip- "between the last line of the first verse and the chorus?" He pressed the slip against the glass wall.

In bold letters, the scribbled handwriting on the slip read EVERYBODY SAY.

He eyed the paper carefully, intently staring at the two words. His brows furrowed after a moment of considering, and his lips puckered. "Hey, Mr. Gordy, are those the only words? Is there something on the back of the paper?"

"Do you want some lyrics or not?"

"I'll take 'em." His frown turned to his signature smile, with his top teeth prominently showing. It wasn't enough to convince Gordy that he was satisfied, but it eased the tension that had built up between the two. 

Before Berry could carry on with his duties to us, the same suited men who were with us when we got signed to Motown came ambling in. They didn't appear frightened or urgent in any way, but they obviously needed Berry's attention. They motioned for him to come over for a second, holding a small stack of papers along with them. I assumed that Berry was to read over them.

It seemed as though all their lives were comprised of dawdling and carrying papers around. What a depressing job, it seemed...

Minutes later, Berry came back. Nothing seemed to be wrong, but he clearly had something on his mind. He distractedly handed some papers to Joseph, and then continued to mumbled a few phrases into his ear. With his duty being done there, he promptly left the room. Only one of the suited men and Joseph remained to watch over the seven of us in the recording studio.