Michael Smerconish: Inside the ill-fated Jackson tour

DORIAN Holley didn't have a front-row seat for Michael Jackson's final rehearsal - he was right onstage.

His work with the onetime biggest star on the planet began in 1987. Holley sang in Jackson's musical entourage and served as its vocal director. He worked on Jackson's ill-fated British comeback bid, and performed at Jackson's memorial in the same building they'd been rehearsing in just weeks before.

Unlike the charlatans and hangers-on who've suddenly claimed authority when rehashing Jackson's life and death, Holley is one of the few with any real insight into the planned comeback of the King of Pop.

So what was the real story? Could Jackson still sing the songs people wanted to hear? Was he physically ready for the grueling schedule? Did the crown still fit?

"All that week, the show had gone from concept to physicality. You could see it. The film pieces that they had shot were up on the biggest LCD screen you'd ever seen. The secret surprises, the mechanical aspects of the show . . . the traps, the magic tricks, all that stuff now were like, 'OK, Michael, here it is,' " Holley told me recently.

"And all of us were standing there at the edge of the stage with our backs to what would be the audience looking at all this stuff and marveling." Heady stuff, even for Holley. The singer and vocal coach has worked with everyone from James Taylor to Chris Brown and Don Henley to Queen Latifah. He's also a vocal coach on "American Idol."

So he's the perfect guy to ask about the state of Jackson's voice before he died. I wanted to know if, as one of the British scandal sheets suggested, the O2 Arena had been selected because of the elaborate lip-synching technologies the venue could offer to a performer.

No such help could keep up with Jackson's act, Holley said. "Even the most novice music fan can look at the television and you can tell when someone is lip-synching . . . And if they have the added dimension of having to dance with the energy that a Michael Jackson does, you can really, really tell."

If Jackson was in good voice, what did he plan to sing? Holley said "Human Nature" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' " were on the list. A Jackson Five medley that included "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There" was planned, as was a performance of "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough."

All reflected an approach to live performances that Jackson had shared with Holley years ago: " 'I only play number 1 hits at a show. Because otherwise we'd be there all day,' " Holley remembers Jackson telling him.

What about the rumors that Jackson had agreed to the London shows out of desperation? His debt, reportedly in the $400 million-$500 million range, and wild spending habits have been widely aired. So has the notion that he wasn't physically up for 50 shows.

One confidante told journalist Gerald Posner that Jackson, "like a child who doesn't want to go to school," had mixed pills in an attempt to invite a minor medical emergency and avoid the shows.

Holley recounted a conversation he had with Jackson as they prepared for the tour. They were working with music director Michael Bearden when Jackson marveled at the demand the shows had sparked. They'd originally planned 10 dates, but sold out 50. And they could've sold out 50 more in London if not for Jackson's plan to take the show to Germany, France, China and Africa. "We could tour for five years," Holley recalled Jackson saying.

"To me, this is not the mind-set of a person who's like, 'Omigod, I've got to do 50 shows, and I really don't want to, but I need the money!' " Holley said. "It was the opposite. He was saying, 'Wow, look at what we've done and look at what we can do if we want to do it.' "

In a way, it's reassuring. Much has been written about Jackson's odd behavior and messy finances. And rightfully so. But, musically, Jackson "had the goods and he was prepared to deliver them," Holley said. "You can't take your eyes off him. And never could, from 1987 or 2009."

And, for the first time in a

long time, it was for all the right reasons.

Listen to Michael Smerconish weekdays 5-9 a.m. on the Big Talker, 1210/AM. Read him Sundays in the Inquirer. Contact him via the Web at www.smerconish.com.