Tuesday, February 1, 2011

"Explore the Mysteries of Exotic Africa"

16 magazine gave the trip to Senegal a two-page spread in their June 1974 issue. The Jackson 5's heads were superimposed on the continent of Africa in 16's trademark cheesy poster, and the sensational headlines might lead you to believe that their coverage would be embarrassingly silly. But once you get beyond the poster, the report was surprisingly informative. They mentioned Africa as a continent, named Senegal as the country the J5 visited, and actually named Dakar and Joal (albeit misspelled) as places they went. Their photos and captions were fine. They just neglected to mention that the J5, you know, performed a few concerts while they were there.


And if the J5's trip to Africa wasn't exotic or mysterious enough for you, check out Michael's strange companions on the teaser poster on the back cover. They make Donny Osmond look good.

2 comments:

  1. Oh my God, is that Rick Springfield way back then? I recognize Alice Cooper but I don't know who that Ted guy is. Rick Springfield became a major celebrity around 1980 and performed on the soap opera General Hospital. He released an album and a song "Jessie's Girl" became a huge hit in 1981. No one knew who he was back at this particular time. His career didn't take off for another 6 years. Alice is weird, yes; Rick Springfield was definitely NOT weird. Remember, some of us are "old" and we remember when these were not weird looks at all (except Alice. LOOOL!) Although, check out the faces on Alice's shirt, that's a pretty advanced print for that time period and I think one of the faces on his arm is Twiggy, one of the most famous models in the world. I want that shirt.

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  2. I remember Rick Springfield and he wasn't weird, but his teaser sure is! Ted and Alice are just plain creepy in a magazine aimed at young teenage girls.

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