The Road to Victory
Covering the Jacksons' blockbuster album
The cover for the Victory album by the Jacksons might be the most overlooked high-profile project of Michael Whelan’s career.
While there was a feature story published in People magazine back in 1984, the painting wasn’t collected in any of Michael’s art books, and I suspect many fans don’t know that he painted the album cover.
What I’ve gleaned from conversations about the project is that intersection with celebrity of that magnitude can be a surreal experience. More on that from MW.
-Michael Everett
Strange Introductions
How did I get involved in a project with the Jacksons?
Columbia Records called me out of the blue. Michael Jackson had seen my cover art for Foundation’s Edge—I don’t know where, maybe on a book rack?—and was drawn to the spiral galaxy glimpsed beyond Trantor. The label told me that he wanted the artist who did that painting to submit his portfolio.
At first I thought someone was playing a prank. I didn’t know the art director for the record company from Adam. How could I tell he was who he claimed to be?
It wouldn’t be the first time I’d been taken in. A couple of people I know can imitate voices and accents amazingly well: David Wenzel being the top guy in that respect. He’s fooled me several times!
As it turned out, there was an open call for submissions. The art director explained that they had “a line going around the block of wannabes with portfolios” hoping to get the album cover assignment.
Like everyone, I was familiar with the Jacksons’ music. I had Michael’s solo album, Off the Wall (featuring “Rock with You” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”), but I wouldn’t say I was a huge fan but I enjoyed seeing the Jackson 5 on TV.
Call for Submissions
Columbia Records wanted me to rush a portfolio out to them. I was bemused, to say the least, because I didn’t have a portfolio to send—I hadn’t needed one after my first year or two working as a professional!
After throwing together copies of my recent work, I sent a quickly assembled portfolio to Los Angeles. I didn’t have long to agonize over what went in it, so I’m sure it was just a bunch of my SF book covers. That was about all I had to send back then.
The way I heard it, they put all the portfolios in a room, and Michael took a long time reviewing them. A few days later, a representative from Columbia Records called to say that I had been selected as the artist of choice for the album cover.
Michael was extremely complimentary regarding my work and seemed to genuinely appreciate it, for which I was rather stunned and flattered. When he compared my work to Maxfield Parrish, it seemed like a stretch to me. I only wish I was as good as Parrish!
All modesty aside, I think he chose me because of a shared sense of wonder. Michael wanted a magical yet SF feeling to the art, and I think he recognized how much thought I put into my work.
In the end, I suspect it was TRANTORIAN DREAM that really nailed it for me. Thanks to Isaac Asimov and especially Judy-Lynn Del Rey!
Carving Out Time
The news was terribly exciting for me, as you can imagine, but I had so much other work to do and no time to fit in a new project. Yet it was clear from the onset that I was expected to drop everything and jump in with both feet.
I lived in Connecticut, which made an initial meeting impractical. The record company was anxious to get started, so they asked me to send concept sketches as soon as possible.
Columbia Records didn’t attempt to force me in any particular direction, which surprised me given the high profile nature of the album. They did, however, spend time emphasizing which of my images Michael had spoken the most about and providing the substance of his comments.
The album concept was for each Jackson brother to have an equal part in the project as a whole. Since it would be a collaboration by all six, I knew from the beginning that all of the Jackson brothers would be featured on the cover. Using those guidelines as a jumping-off point, I began to develop concepts.
Most of my sketches featured the brothers in a surreal landscape setting with symbolic elements (galaxies, futuristic cities, etc). My personal favorite showed the six brothers, hand-in-hand, floating in a vast space with their silhouettes forming a “V.”
In the concept Michael selected, I had the brothers standing on a highway to the stars, almost too obviously saying that “the sky’s the limit” as long as they’re together.
The figure arrangement is mostly random, except that Michael specifically asked me to put him behind his brothers, which I thought was really generous. My sense was that he was concerned that people view the album as a collaboration and that his personal fame not be seen to outshine the others.
But at the same time, he wanted his glove and socks to glow. That was his trademark.
Creatively Bound
It’s a common joke in the illustration industry that a client will point to some other artwork and tell the artist, “I want something just like this, only different.”
I’ve found that isn’t really a joke, though; MeatLoaf said those very words to me a decade later—and in all seriousness! Another line you’ll hear is “You can do whatever you want, as long as it’s got this and this and that and oh yeah…”
That’s a measure of what happened on VICTORY. The focus of the art direction became manifestly about doing whatever Michael desired. To start, he told Columbia he wanted to see what ideas I came up with, and they let me go to it. As we went along, however, they emphasized how important it was to Michael for a galaxy to be part of the painting. That was non-negotiable after all, it turned out. He wanted a “Trantorian Dream” feel, at least in the background.
That has been my experience, over and over again, with record and Hollywood people in general, so I blame myself. If I had recognized from the onset that MJ wanted me so firmly, I could have used that leverage to demand more creative control over the process.
For years, that was how I managed most of my career in book cover art. You’d think I’d have been used to such mind games, but being bedazzled by Hollywood glamour, I found myself trying to please everybody.
At the Edge of Tomorrowland
Michael did mention more than once that he’d like to see some sort of fantastic city in the distance. “Like a big lit-up amusement park” is how I recall him putting it.
I balked because I wasn’t keen on the idea of adding Tomorrowland to the picture.
What I proposed was a structure built of cubic shapes. You see, a cube is a geometric form with six equal sides. Since the six brothers had equal shares in the making and profit of the album, the symbolism seemed perfect to me.
I thought they’d really go for it, but my pitch fell on deaf ears.
After time went by I felt that no one really cared what ended up there, so I made up the architecture with pinpoint lights. The forms are mainly based on cubic shapes suggested by intersecting iron pyrite crystals. I would like to have had more time to play with the idea because it felt underdeveloped when I turned the painting in.
Meeting the Myth
The day we were to meet for the first time was a disaster.
The Jacksons and the record company graciously agreed to fly my wife, daughter and babysitter out west and put us up in a hotel during the completion of the painting. But the night before leaving there the Northeast had experienced a torrential downpour. Major roads to the airport were closed due to flooding, and in spite of our best efforts, we missed our flight from New York. In desperation we arranged for another flight.
We didn’t realize how lucky we were to have missed our plane getting out to LA. When we arrived, Michael was at the recording studio with his brothers working on the album—minus Jermaine, who was the only one of the 6 whom I never met. (Because he wasn’t in LA, I had to get his likeness working solely from photos.)
Though we arrived hours later than intended, MJ was unexpectedly available and approachable. He was taking a break in an inner lobby of the studio with few others in attendance, so we had a wonderful one-on-one meeting with him. He was both very quiet and, of course, quite charismatic.
The brothers were inside working on a track, so I was ushered in to show the painting to everybody inside. In seconds a crowd assembled around the work-in-progress, with everyone talking at once and offering their assessments and suggestions. It was sheer confusion.
I remember thinking, man, if this is what fame is like all the time, I would not be able to handle it.
Meanwhile, Michael quickly saw that the work was coming along well and left the tumult to confer with someone in the reception area where my family happened to be waiting for me. He was so welcoming to them—totally charming and unpretentious and considerate—that we were all taken aback.
Though one could not meet the man without sensing the magnetic force of his talent and charisma, the thing that will always stay foremost in my memory of him is that meeting.
In the Court of the King of Pop
Right away I could see that Michael was surrounded by sycophants and attendants vying for his attention.
Everyone there had their own lawyer, agent, PR person and a multitude of hangers-on. Then there were those representing the interests of the record company itself and the entity of the band as a whole. It was somewhat overwhelming, like a king surrounded by people eager to be seen as representing, attending to, and “protecting” royalty. They all wanted a piece of the action, I imagine.
If we had dropped in as originally planned, I doubt the screen of attendants would have allowed me to meet Michael; he would have been sequestered in a private office while gofers shuttled my comments or work back and forth between us.
Unfortunately, that was how it went in the days following our first meeting.
Outfitting the Stars
I had taken the painting up to a point, perhaps about halfway done, when they flew me to LA to finish the work there.
The galaxy and sky were already painted. I think the road was done and I had the figures roughed in. I’d hired a model to pose for me so I could get much of the clothes on the figures done before showing up in California.
Since the other symbolic element of the painting was the “Road to Infinity,” I made up wardrobe that contained what I’ve always called “traffic graphics”—design elements borrowed from signs and whatnot seen on highways, road interchanges, etc.
Later, for the Victory tour, they had costumes made to resemble what I’d invented for the cover. We got complimentary tickets for their NYC show on that tour and sat a row away from Yoko Ono. It was trippy.
Capturing the Magic
I felt that I had to see the Jacksons in person in order to paint them with any real accuracy. I’m not accustomed to letting people see my work unfinished so it was hard for me to show it to them before I felt I had truly captured their portraits as well as I might.
When it came down to the work, I probably didn’t need the Jacksons to pose, really, because the figures weren’t very large in the image. That being said, I’m sure that meeting and spending a little time with them helped. I had my antenna out in full force and made a lot of notes and a few sketches right after seeing whomever so I could do a respectable job on their likenesses.
I could tell when I met them that they were all in great shape and had been working out. Several photos of the guys were supplied to me, and enough of the shots featured open shirts or whatever, so I could tell they were fit.
Positive from the start, they were quite gracious and even offered suggestions which helped, but it was an evolving process.
Finishing Details
While I was in LA for those 10 days, what took up most of my time were stylistic changes to the clothes and tweaking the likenesses of the Jackson brothers.
The heads in the painting are only what, three-quarters of an inch high? Maybe an inch for the figures in front? Trying to get a fair likeness in acrylic on that scale was…challenging. I’d be hard pressed to manage that now at my age. Thank goodness my eyes were still okay to get it done back then!
To be honest, I don’t remember what else I worked on at the hotel. It’s kind of a blur, though I remember all too well leaning over the stove in the kitchen trying to paint eyes and mouths and all that.
I was working over the stove because that was the only light socket that had a ceramic base. My studio lights back then were 300 watt monsters that would get pretty hot. I thought it would be bad form to set the place afire if I fell asleep while working late. Then again, the hotel was used to having rock groups stay there, so would that have surprised anyone?
The majority of changes they asked me for were minor, mere tweaks and touches. I thought the painting was finished to everyone’s satisfaction when I was asked for one last alteration: the dove on Randy’s shoulder.
I was exhausted at the end of the process because I worked around the clock to get it done. The company had a rigid deadline set for the album release. I recall not being happy with having to make the addition, but I soon realized how important the symbol was for Michael and the other Jacksons, so it was fine with me. I like the painting better with the dove; I only wish I had thought of it first!
No Fairytale Endings
Michael Jackson was one of the most innovative and imitated entertainment creatives ever, and that says it all. His work has always been accompanied by careful art direction, his vision and sense of style.
I treasure his musical legacy, of course, but even more, I treasure and miss the man…though I knew him only briefly.
Though it was strange to see how MJ changed in unexpected ways in the months and years after we met, one can see how such a thing can happen as a result of insularity provoked by the demands of fame and success, driven by a need for self-protection.
Twas ever such, I guess, whether you’re talking about kings, popes, presidents or CEOs. It’s easy to see how the people in the center of such phenomenon become sequestered in their own bubble and lose connection with reality…whatever that is.
-Michael Whelan
Weekly Art Recap
The Gods of Mars - John Carter cover for Grand Master Edgar Rice Burroughs
Climber - a fine art piece that led to the ultimate artist compliment
Trouble on Tiamat - concept developed for Tangled Up In Blue by Joan D. Vinge
Light Behind the Star - in children we find the possibilities of a brighter future
Boogeyman - a creepy cover for The Year’s Best Horror Stories: Series XIV
Terminus 2 - a large personal work and showcase of texture and shadow
Creative Writing Contest
Thank you to everyone who channeled their creativity into this fun project! We received submissions for 59 short stories and poems, so we have a lot of reading ahead this week. If all goes well hope to announce the winner of the contest in next Sunday’s newsletter.
A Truly Epic Whelan Wednesday!
Join us for a very special Whelan Wednesday…this week we’ll be featuring a spectacular preliminary concept for the Victory album by the Jacksons.
This is a rare opportunity to own original artwork from one of the most high profile projects in Michael’s illustrious career, commissioned for one of the most electrifying icons in the history of entertainment.
An exclusive preview of the framed original art will be available to our paid subscribers on Substack before the art is released in our shop on Wednesday, July 30 at 11am ET.
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A person at In community.com posted the following explanation. No clue if this is at all accurate:
Hey! :) For over two years now, every now and then I've been after proper information regarding the vinyl pressing of The Jacksons' album "Victory" with the white dove on Randy's shoulder on the cover.
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The story behind this, is following: The first copies that were pressed, didn't include the dove on the cover. As the production ran, The Jacksons came up with the idea of white doves being released at the start of every show during the Victory Tour. The production was put on hold and cover painter Michael Whelan was asked to add the dove onto Randy's shoulder. The new cover as used and went into production. While planning the tour, the idea of having doves fly at the start of every show proved to be very difficult. So, production was put on hold, the dove cover got removed and the first version of the cover was used again.
However, the dove cover was used for the picture disc format of the Victory album — 20,000 copies of the picture disc were pressed, only in the US and in Canada.
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As for the dove version of the standard format of the album, no one really knows how many copies were pressed or how many are still out there. One thing is for sure: The pressings including the white dove are not as rare as people think and not that much worth.
The reason? It's simple. First of all, note that the dove cover was only printed on copies manufactured in The Netherlands / Holland. What proves my point is that there's two different releases of the dove version, each with a different catalog number.
One is the original release that I mentioned in the story above. This version was pressed in 1984, the original release year of the album.
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It has the catalog number EPC 86303 and the dark blue Epic label.
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The other one is what seems to be a re-issue that must've been released some time after 1986, because in that year Epic redesigned and changed their label to a light grey one.
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You can see, this release has a whole different catalog number, too, which is EPC 450450 1.
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Some of those later re-issues also come with a "NICE PRICE FROM CBS" sticker.
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As you can see, it's not that difficult to find a pressing that has the white dove on Randy's shoulder. I, personally, would spend $60 at most for the EPC 86303, simply because it's from that 1984 production that didn't run for long. As for the re-issue (EPC 450450 1), I wouldn't spend more than $5-$10. I once found and bought one for $12 on eBay, but re-sold it after I found out it's a re-issue. For those interested in buying the picture disc, I'd say $20-$30 is a fair price.
There are some sellers on various websites trying to sell their dove copies for over $100. This is really much too much, and if you want my advice, don't go for it. You'll eventually find a copy for a lot less, just keep looking.
This is fascinating. I was just a bit too young to remember the Victory tour and album. I see the Wikipedia page for it mentions that that the dove was removed after the first issue but it doesn't explain why. Great job on the faces, you can see who is who!