Dan Beck, a 43-year resident of Rockville Centre, is offering a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the global operation behind Michael Jackson’s career in a new memoir tracing his time working with the King of Pop.
Beck, a longtime music industry executive, shared his experiences as Jackson’s direct marketing contact at Epic Records in “You’ve Got Michael: Living Through HIStory,” which was released last October. The 289-page memoir explores the inner workings of the music business as Jackson’s career reached a global scale.
Beck, 76, said the project grew organically from personal notes he began keeping while working with Jackson from 1991 to 1996, during a period when the superstar was already a global phenomenon, but he never intended to turn them into a book.
“I really started writing — not intentionally as a book at the time,” Beck said. “I just found it extraordinary how big his career was globally.”
Beck said he often was present for high-level meetings involving Michael Jackson and other major artists, such as members of the rock band The Clash, Cyndi Lauper, Luther Vandross and Pearl Jam, which led him to document detailed notes and reflections.
While his time working with Jackson coincided with intense public scrutiny — including a 1993 allegation of sexual abuse made by 13-year-old Jordan Chandler resulting the following year in a civil settlement of $23 million with no admission of wrongdoing — Beck said he chose not to focus his memoir on those events.
Instead, he concentrated on the business side of working with an artist of Jackson’s global stature.
“I didn’t want to write a salacious or sensational type of book,” he said. “I really wanted to write about the business circumstances of working with an artist of that kind of global impact.”
Beck chronicled his experiences working with the pop icon, continuing to build a collection of what he described as short stories over the years. He said he began writing more extensively a few years after Jackson’s death in 2009, including during trips to visit Will Gray, a close friend and artist he managed, who was battling cancer.
“When I was on the plane and when I was down in the cafeteria after visiting him, I just started writing more,” Beck said.
Encouraged by his daughters, Beck continued developing the manuscript before reconnecting with publisher Ira Robbins of Trouser Press Books, who helped bring the project to completion with final edits.
"I knew that Dan had written something unique and important,” Robbins said. “I’m glad that people appreciate that.”
Robbins added that while Jackson’s global fame may draw readers in, the book stands out for its distinct perspective.
“‘You’ve Got Michael’ offers insights and perspectives that none of the other books on him have,” he said.
The memoir’s title stems from a defining moment early in Beck’s tenure. In 1991, about eight weeks before the release of “Dangerous” — Jackson’s eighth studio album, which included songs such as “Black or White,” “Heal the World” and “Remember the Time” — Beck said his boss delivered simple but career-altering instructions.
“Dave Glew, who was chairman of Epic Records, stepped in the doorway of my office,” Beck said. “Dave said, ‘You’ve got Michael,’ and he walked away. That was his instruction that I was now Michael’s point person at the label.”
In that role, Beck coordinated marketing efforts ranging from album releases to music videos during an era when physical distribution was essential and required extensive planning. Despite Jackson’s larger-than-life public persona, Beck described him as grounded in their working relationship.
“The big challenge was his celebrity, not him personally,” Beck said. “If I had to use one word to describe him, it would be collaborator.”
He said Jackson valued ideas, worked closely with others and remained deeply committed to his craft.
“He was curious, and above all, he worked very, very hard,” Beck said. “He worked to perfect his dance moves; he worked to perfect his songwriting and production.”
Beck said the reception for his book has exceeded expectations, with about 1,000 copies sold in the first few weeks and more than 2,000 to date, drawing strong reviews on Amazon and garnering industry attention, including coverage in Billboard and Rolling Stone magazines.
“I expected it to be kind of lukewarm,” he said. “I’ve been really, totally surprised at how positive it’s been.”
Until April 1, the book was available only on Amazon and through Trouser Press Books, Beck said. In addition, he recently entered a distribution deal with Publishers Group West, marking its first major push into libraries and bookstores.
Interest in Jackson’s legacy continues to build ahead of an upcoming biographical film titled “Michael,” which will premiere in theaters on April 24, with Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar, starring in the title role. While Beck said his memoir is not directly tied to the film, he noted that readers have described it as a companion piece.
For Beck, the book serves as both a reflection on his career and a window into a unique corner of the music industry.
“It’s a fun time. It’s an exciting time,” he said. “It’s nice to be a geezer and kind of enjoying all these fun, young things.”
