27. How Michael Jackson Kicked Off a Feud With Prince
In 1983, Michael Jackson was at the top of the world after the release of Thriller. Although not in the same league, Prince was about to take off thanks to hits such Little Red Corvette and 1999. There was already talk that Prince might become the next MJ, and that did not sit well with the King of Pop. MJ and Prince revered and were influenced by James Brown, and at one of his concerts that year that was attended by both, the funk legend invited MJ onstage to do a little song and dance. MJ being MJ, he killed it. Then he whispered to James Brown: “Call Prince up – I dare him to follow me“.
James Brown did not yet know who Prince was, and asked “who?” After MJ repeated it a few times, Brown told the audience that somebody named Prince would join them onstage. Prince was delighted to share the stage with his idol, did a pretty good Jimi Hendrix impression, and performed some sexy dance moves. It started off good, before it all went into the crapper for him. He tried to get the crowd involved, but they were not as enthusiastic as he had hoped. So he decided to call it a day, but as he exited the stage, he leaned against a prop lamppost, and both musician and prop stumbled and fell into the crowd.