– Todd Gray

“To me there were two Michaels. He was this very fierce, immensely creative, single-focused performer. That is the Michael on stage or in the studio. That persona was distinctly different than the one that was off microphone. When he didn’t have a mike in his hand or there wasn’t a camera rolling, he was very quiet, very demure and really like a fun-loving man-child. But then when when you entered a conversation about business, he was almost like the performer again. That’s when a little bit of that Joe Jackson came out because he was a very, very savvy businessman. Some might have been surprised in negotiating with him or his surrogates because he ran a very tight ship when it came to negotiating deals. Then as soon as the business talk was over, he’d be back to his very sincere, playful childlike demeanor.”