Joe Jackson is still in Brazil, laid up in intensive care after he suffered a stroke and three heart attacks. Doctors are funny about allowing you to fly after you’ve had a pacemaker installed, so Joe could be convalescing in the land of Carnivale for a while.
Joe Jackson’s publicist said Joe’s heart stopped beating for 10 seconds in the hospital. Obviously, he was revived. Nut that’s not something you just check yourself out and hop on a plane after.
Joe Jackson, father of Michael, Rebbie, Janet, Jermaine — you know the rest — was in Sao Paulo to celebrate his birthday. He posted an announcement on his website once news broke that he had missed his on party on account of stroke and heart attacks.
“To my family, friends, acquaintances and fans all over the world. I want to thank you all for your prayers, unwavering support and kind well wishes during these trying times. Through God’s intervention the wonderful Doctors, Nurses and caretakers at the Albert Einstein Sao Paulo hospital have taken great care of me,” he wrote. “God willing, I should be able to make a quick recovery and travel back home soon. Thank you all once again for your prayers and support.”
Joe Jackson has suffered minor strokes in the past, but this one laid him a bit lower than the rest.
Sao Paulo holds a special place in the Jackson family patriarch’s heart. He recounted a story about his first trip there.
“Back in the 70s when I was touring with my sons in Brazil. We had just done a show in Rio and traveled to Sao Paulo for the next show. We run into a problem because our music equipment from Rio did not arrive in time. It had been sent out late from Rio, very late. So we waited, and the crowd waited. Finally the crowd’s patience run out. They became hostile and started throwing stuff at us. I remember all of us with the school teacher “Miss Rose Fine” in tow, running for cover onto a Bus. The crowd was upset. Wow, that was something. Our music equipment finally showed up around 8pm, and we still went out there and put on a show. My boys worked hard and won the crowd back over. But, boy was it tough. From there it was off to Bahia. A few years ago when I visited Brazil, i made it a point of mine to visit “Bahia”. Michael filmed one of my favorite music videos “They don’t care about us” in Bahia. Coming full circle from the 70s.”