How Jackson Got His Glove

Some of the mysteries that surrounded Michael Jackson may never be solved, but the glove enigma can be cleared up right now, John Kehe writes at the Christian Science Monitor. Kehe designed the video for the Jackson 5's Can You Feel It in 1980 and took Jackson on a tour of the production facilities, where the singer spotted an editor checking film—and wearing a single white glove to avoid leaving fingerprints as he ran film through his fingers.

Film editors routinely kept boxes of disposal gloves on the editing bench in those days, Kehe writes. "Michael, who hadn't shown any particular enthusiasm for the tour so far, seemed suddenly transfixed by the glove," Kehe recalls. He "politely asked a number of questions about it, concluding with, 'Could you spare one?'" The glove—customized with sequins—appeared on Jackson's hand when he sang Billy Jean at a TV special in 1983. "The rest, they say, is HIStory." (More Michael Jackson stories.)