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Michael Jackson’s Glove Up For Grabs
This November you’ll have the chance to get your left hand on the most famous glove ever – the glove Michael Jackson wore when showing off his moonwalk for the first time on Motown’s 25th-anniversary TV special in 1983.
The glove is going up for auction Nov. 21 at Julien’s Auctions’ “Music Icons” auction at the Hard Rock Café in New York City’s Times Square. Other must have collector’s items include an early Madonna demo tape and unreleased Jimi Hendrix lyrics. If you’re an MJ fan, Darren Julien of Julien’s Auctions says the glove is what you want your money on because it’s “the Holy Grail of Michael Jackson memorabilia.”
Photo: AP Photo/Julien’s Auctions
This image shows Michael Jackson’s glove from his 1983 performance of Billie Jean at the Motown 25 television special.
The glove is being sold by Walter “Clyde” Orange, a founding member of The Commodores.
Orange first met Jackson when The Commodores toured with the Jackson 5 in the 1970s. The singers developed an inside joke over an autograph request. The story goes that Orange continually asked the young star for an autograph but Jackson refused because he said Orange was the most famous of the two.
In 1983 the two caught up again at the taping of the Motown special. After singing with his brothers and then showing off his new fancy footwork during his solo moonwalking performance of “Billy Jean,” Jackson met up with Orange backstage.
Orange once again asked for The King of Pop’s autograph. Jackson again refused and instead gave him the sparkly glove.
The glove is different than his usual gloves, which were right-handed and decorated with hand-sewn crystals. This glove, the glove, is a left-handed, store-bought glove adorned with rhinestones.
“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. “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 that after Jackson’s June 25 death, he decided he needed to share the piece of history with others. He said he hopes the glove is snatched up by an institution like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“Just for the world to see it, that means the world to me,” Orange said.
Proceeds from the sale benefit the MusiCares Foundation, which helps musicians in need.
Click here for the AP story.
Click here for Julien’s Auction’s Web site.