Michael Jackson's Promoter Pete Bennett Talks Openly About Late Star (VIDEO)

Pete signed the Jackson 5 with Epic Records in 1976. This is Part-1 of a special 4-Part Series.

Photo courtesy: Pete Bennett

(MONTREAL) - When rock band promoter Pete Bennett was named "World's #1 Promotion Man" by Billboard Magazine, it forever locked in history the legacy of a man who successfully managed and promoted the best musicians the world has ever heard of, and still does.

Pete Bennett & Tim King 2008

From Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and The Beatles, to The Who, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith and many names in between, Pete Bennett is a living legend and a person who can speak at length about a close friend of his named Michael Jackson who recently passed away from cardiac failure at the age of 52. Pete first met the legendary performer Michael Jackson when he was a young boy, just finding his way in the music business along with his brothers. Pete knew the Jackson family well, Michael in particular; he predicted he would go far, and he was right. But along the way there have been a consistent series of mishaps and problems for Michael Jackson; things of a personal nature and events that were tragically accidental. Over the hardest bumps in the road, Pete was there to lend a hand and he talks in our interview about afternoons at the Jackson house in Encino, California where he and Michael Jackson would sit by the pool and share long talks. He talks about Michael Jackson's humble and shy personality, and how difficult the pressure of a professional music career was on his psyche. He compares Michael's reaction to extreme pressure to John Lennon's' a person Pete knew equally well if not better. Few people can offer the insight into the life of a star like Michael Jackson the way Pete Bennett can. The interview below is the first of four parts that are being launched each day consecutively beginning 7-1-09. Here is part-2 in this special four-part series: Promoter for Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney and the Stones Discusses Star Performer's Recent Death (VIDEO) - Tim King Salem-News.com Here is the link to Part 3: Michael Jackson's Friend & Former Promoter Remembers Their Last Conversation (VIDEO) - Tim King Salem-News.com Here is the link to Part 4: Longtime Friend Pete Bennett Bids Farewell to Michael Jackson, King of Pop Video

More on Pete Bennett from Salem-News.com: Legendary Promoter Pete Bennett Brings Rock Stars to Oregon: Up Close and Personal (VIDEO) - Bonnie King Salem-News.com Pete Bennett Presents: An Evening of Classic British Rock and Roll with Denny Laine - Bonnie King Salem-News.com ----------------------------------------------------- Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor.
Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines. Tim holds numerous awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), the first place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several other awards including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated with Google News and several other major search engines and news aggregators.
You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com

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very nice!

Wow what a great interview , cant wait for the rest !

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