Cascio's are an American family, very close to American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson from 1980's up until the artist's passing.
Background[]
In 1984, Michael would meet Dominic Cascio at a hotel, where they'd become long-time friends. Dominic would take him to meet his wife and kids. Jackson would keep in contact with them for a long time. They were a "second home" for him as he'd visit them often, e.g. for Christmas. They were there for Jackson, even through his darkest times, such as the raid in Neverland in 2003. In 2007, Michael would move to their house in New Jersey for a while.
Frank Cascio[]
Frank is one of the sons of the Cascio's. He'd become a very close friend to Jackson and spend a ton of his time with him in 1990's and 2000's. Through his teenage years, Frank he began to notice Michael wasn't perfect, and intended to help him in his darker moments.[1]
| “ | As I got older, our relationship evolved, and I began to see more clearly that he wasn’t perfect. I became a protector of sorts, helping him through the hardest times. | ” |
–Frank Cascio[1] | ||
As Cascio turned 18, he became a businessman and worked for Michael as his personal assistant starting in early 1999.[2] The bond between the two only expanded upon since then, having deep conversations and such. Frank left the job in late 2003. In the following year, him and Jackson had a conflict regarding the court, as although the businessman claimed the court simply didn't want to hear him, the singer concluded Frank simply didn't want to testify and cut any kind of contact with him for two years. In the following year, the Cascio family made a visit to Bahrain, as to celebrate Christmas with the artist, but Frank wasn't accompanying them. In 2006, he talked with Jackson through the phone, although the singer seemed to avoided him. When Jackson moved into the New Jersey house in 2007, the two saw each other for the first time since three years, having finally made up at that moment.
After his passing, in 2011 Frank would release his book: My Friend Michael: An Ordinary Friendship with an Extraordinary Man, where he described in depth his relations with Jackson.[3] In 2018, Cascio planned for the book to be adapted into a miniseries, having Jeff Farley to direct it.[2] The plan seems to have been cancelled due to Leaving Neverland following it only a few months after its announcement.
Eddie Cascio[]
Eddie is another son of Cascio's. After Jackson moved to their house, Eddie, now an amateur musician/producer, supposedly got Michael to record some of his songs at Angelikson Studios, built in the house's basement. Additionally, he would sleep in it as well. Cascio is also said to have helped with the Thriller 25 version of "For All Time" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008".
After Michael's death in 2009, the Michael Jackson Estate started works on their new project, the Michael album. Three of Eddie Cascio's songs would appear on the album, "Breaking News", "Keep Your Head Up" and "Monster", dubbed the "Cascio Tracks". These have been largely criticized however, as many claim them to not include Michael's vocals but an impersonator's. Eddie and, surprisingly, Frank have denied the speculations for years now, although the producer behind these songs, Teddy Riley came out to confirm, that the songs are in fact not performed by the King of Pop.[4] In 2014 a supposed "lost Michael Jackson" album leaked online, titled Bible. This would include all of Eddie Cascio's songs, that Michael is said to have recorded in 2007. However, the songs mentioned also are largely considered not to include Michael's vocals. Eddie's songs were ultimately removed from the album on streaming services in June of 2022 and new copies of the CD began to be issued on michaeljackson.com.[5]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://mjandboys.wordpress.com/2016/05/01/michael-jacksonfrankeddiedominic-jr-cascio-1993-2005/
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://pagesix.com/2018/08/29/revealing-michael-jackson-miniseries-in-the-works/
- ↑ https://www.amazon.com/My-Friend-Michael-Friendship-Extraordinary/dp/0062090062
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXP3o_XIluU
- ↑ https://www.mjvibe.com/the-cascio-tracks-removed-from-all-music-platforms/