The Jackson 5 Five Were My Brothers

The Jackson 5 Five Were My Brothers

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The Jackson 5 Were My Brothers
by Nat King Pole


So the Jackson 5 are my brothers and we just sing and dance all day. Well at least in my mind they were from age 6 to well... now at 55 lol. ​

I was raised an only child in a small town of 200 on the border of Ontario. Everybody was very white and spoke English or French.

One day I heard a Jackson song on the radio and up until then I'd only heard country music as my mom was a country music artist. I was hooked and asked my mom who that was and could she buy me that record.

I was 6 years old and I was hooked.

From that day on it was all about the Jacksons followed by Motown and Martin Luther king and African American history.

I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let's see how can I explain this?

I knew from as far back as I can remember that I was different although I didn't know there was a name for it which was lesbian and I also instinctively knew it was something that was not acceptable to be in mainstream society.

Now the Jacksons became my héros just because I loved the music and the dancing but as I got older I learned that they were also part of a group of people that were not loved and accepted just like me.

After seeing a movie about Martin Luther king's life, he became my hero and in my child's mind I thought

"this guy is gonna save me, us, all the people that are not treated equally and loved and accepted".

Martin Luther King Jr.

When I learned he was shot I was devastated as I figured we were doomed to be hated forever.

But black people understood oppression and therefore would understand who I was and accept me.

I had found my people! Ok I'm about 8 yrs old at this point.

I didn't quite get all the subtilités of prejudice.

So I spent my days listening to Jackson records and watching black sitcoms and living in my mind with my black friends.

The kids in the neighborhood thought I was weird, didn't even know who the Jacksons were, and really weren't interested in learning dances.

I wanted an Afro I wanted everything they wore, I never missed them on TV and just bought everything I could get my hands on that I could with my 50 cent a week allowance.

The one and only time I'd ever dare disobey my parents is if it had to do with the Jacksons.

Now this was pre VCR or anything else so if they were on TV past my bedtime I was screwed. So I'd stay awake and creep downstairs and turn on the TV with no sound on and stick my face on it till it was over.

Then I'd spend hours trying to copy what I'd seen. I knew every lyric and move by heart. Man, I was the 6th brother.


Now all this put me in the loner weird nerd kid category until secondary five (Grade 11) when it happened.

A talent contest. That weird nerdy kid is actually trying out.

This should be hilarious they thought.

Well no one knew what I'd been up to all these years.

My folks were there with my grandparents and I came on stage in the school auditorium that was packed to the rafters. When I heard the first notes of my brothers I just became someone else and danced my heart out and the place erupted!

Everyone was standing and going crazy!

My parents and grandparents were crying and I won and my whole life changed dramatically that day.

Since then I've seen the Jacksons  a total of 3 times live and am going for four this June.

Nat King Pole and The Jacksons

But last year I actually got to meet them for about a minute and take a picture with them. I thanked them for taking the time to meet the fans after a show as they surely must be tired.

And I said I'd dreamed of this meeting for almost 40 years. I only wish I could've conveyed what they truly meant to me. 

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Today I'm still performing
and it's what gives me the most joy in life.

​That's when I can be who I really am
and it's just as magical as it was
when I was in my parent's place
just me and my imaginary brothers

-Nat King Pole

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About the Author

​Nat king Pole is Montreal's busiest drag King and has been for 15 years. As well as performing regularly In his hometown he's been making ladies swoon in Toronto, Quebec city, Ottawa and in Philadelphia, Boston, Provincetown Etc. He sings Live, writes his own parodies, dances and is just plain sexy. They call him the panty whisperer. His website is:  http://natkingpole.com/

To read Nat's past post:
 
http://www.franktalks.com/blog/profile-of-a-drag-king​

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