Michael Jackson's glittery glove up for auction

[Triana]

...

Walter "Clyde" Orange, a founding member of the Commodores, has been holding onto the glove since Jackson gave it to him in 1983.

Orange said he got to know Jackson when the Commodores toured with the Jackson 5 in the 1970s. Orange would always ask the young entertainer for an autograph, but Jackson refused, saying Orange was the more famous of the two. The autograph request became a private joke.

They met again in March 1983 when the Motown special was taped. Jackson sang with his brothers, then took the stage alone to wow the world with his moonwalk during his solo performance of "Billie Jean."

Orange found his friend backstage and again requested an autograph. Jackson gave him the glove instead.

After Jackson's June 25 death at age 50, Orange decided the glove was too significant to keep.

...

"There's a hundred other gloves out there, but this is the one you want. He blew up after that (performance) with 'Billie Jean,'" Orange, 62, said in an interview. "The world should see this. This is the first. That's the song that made him shoot through the roof as a superstar."

Orange said he hopes the glove will find a permanent home at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or a similar institution. And he's happy that proceeds from the sale will benefit MusiCares, an organization that helps musicians struggling with substance abuse.

"Just for the world to see it, that means the world to me," Orange said.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090813/ap_on_en_mu/us_michael_jackson_glove

[sunnybrook]

1. Most famous?

"Orange would always ask the young entertainer for an autograph, but Jackson refused, saying Orange was the more famous of the two."

:rofl: Wow, MJ was crazy on that one! I remember that Lionel Richie said that once the press started knocking down the bass player to get to him he knew it was time to go solo. Don't think that happened with Walter Orange!