The year was 1984, 40 years ago! JACKSONMANIA was sweeping the country by storm. Michael Jackson
was riding high on his successful THRILLER album plus he and his brothers were about to embark on
the biggest grossing US musical tour to date, the VICTORY tour. But a lot happened on the way to the tour, which kicked off in July of that year.
For the first time (and unfortunately only time), all six Jackson brothers (Jackie, Tito, Marlon, Michael,
Randy, and the returning Jermaine) would release an album together and tour. (Youngest brother Randy did occasionally perform with the Jackson 5 at Motown Records, but he was never an official member of the group until he replaced Jermaine)
At the end of 1983, The Jacksons announced the VICTORY album on Epic Records and tour with famed
boxing promoter Don King over the series of concerts. The tour took place in the summer of 1984 and lasted the end of the year. Football stadiums and cities were getting ready for the Jacksons to make their way to town. The Jacksons were obviously a big deal, they had been since their debut in 1969. They broke records set by the Beatles when they were just kids. But these were young men now, and with the extraordinary success of Michael’s THRILLER, there was nothing quite like this.
Another preview of things to come was captured in 1983 at Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. This was a special airing on the NBC network to celebrate 25 years of Berry Gordy’s Motown Records. Among the highlights of the show was a battle between the Four Tops & Temptations, Marvin Gaye’s last live televised performance, and a few reunions. Smokey Robinson with the Miracles, along with Diana Ross joining the Supremes, were just a few. But the other is what everyone was waiting for, Jermaine rejoining his brothers for the first time since 1975, and Michael debuting his moonwalk.
The Jacksons previous studio album, TRIUMPH was released in 1980 and the following year, a live album THE JACKSONS LIVE took you up close and personal with the band of brothers. It was just a glimpse of what you’d get if you never got a chance to see them in concert.
Another preview of things to come was captured in 1983 at Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. This was a special airing on the NBC network to celebrate 25 years of Berry Gordy’s Motown Records. Among the highlights of the show was a battle between the Four Tops & Temptations, Marvin Gaye’s last live televised performance, and a few reunions. Smokey Robinson with the Miracles, along with Diana Ross joining the Supremes, were just a few. But the other is what everyone was waiting for, Jermaine rejoining his brothers for the first time since 1975, and Michael debuting his moonwalk.
Shortly after Jermaine announced his return to the lineup. In 1984,he released a very successful self-titled album that featured, then-unknown, Whitney Houston. The Gold-selling album was number one on the Hot Soul charts just as the Victory tour was kicking off.
Michael’s Thriller shattered all kinds of records since its release in the fall of 1982, and was still high on the charts by the time the tour rolled around. That was two years later, folks! THRILLER was the best-selling album in 1983 AND 1984 (and eventually All-Time).
It was a rocky beginning leading up to the tour. Pepsi-Cola, who sponsored the shows, decided to film a pair of commercials to promote the events. One of the commercials famously had a pyro malfunction causing Michael’s hair to catch on fire, and he suffered second-degree burns in the aftermath.
If that wasn’t enough for you, this tour was so in-demand that to originally obtain tickets you had to enter a drawing, and a raffle would determine if you had been selected. Tickets were priced at $30 each, and you had to purchase four, totaling $120. The Jacksons and Don King received backlash, which in turn caused a slight switch in the way tickets were administered, with Michael eventually donating his portion of the tour money to charity. Between 200 to 400 tickets were given away free at each show. The setup was very expensive, with multiple trucks filled with equipment for two huge stages, as well as instruments, speakers, and props.
Originally a 40-show tour, it was totaled out to 55 dates across 21 cities in the US and Canada. Covered by the press daily, including new cable network stations MTV and BET, all of the magazines and local news outlets, the tour opened to a sold-out show at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The album, which eventually went 3x Platinum, hit stores days before the tour kicked off.
Over 2.3 million people attended the Victory tour, which went on to gross over $75 million dollars, becoming not only the best-selling tour of the year, but of All-Time up until that point. Black musicians were not known to play stadiums unless it was for a festival with multiple artists like WattsStax or the Budweiser Superfest yearly series. The Jacksons broke the mold. They were the biggest of the Black artists, and they played (and sold out) sports arenas up until the Victory tour. They were now selling out giant football stadiums with no supporting acts. Unheard of!
Even the sisters were putting in work that year. Rebbie, Janet, and LaToya all released albums as well, with Rebbie’s CENTIPEDE album and single being the most successful of the three. It was the only year in which all nine Jackson siblings released albums.
After the last stop at LA’s Dodger Stadium for six consecutive sold-out shows, this ended up being Michael’s last tour with his brothers. It would be another 15+ years before they performed again to celebrate Michael’s 30th year as a solo artist in a 2001 TV special filmed at Madison Square Garden. After Michael’s death in 2009, the brothers got back on the road and are still touring to this day.
40 years later, the Jacksons’ Victory Tour is still the highest-grossing tour by a Black band or group.
Now, that’s what you call a VICTORY!
