Meet Adam Worthy | Jackson 5 Historian

We had the good fortune of connecting with Adam Worthy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Adam, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My thought process behind starting Worthy Vision Archives was totally inspired by my love for music, specifically that of The Jackson 5. I became a memorabilia collector shortly after graduating high school and searched for every album released by the group when they began their groundbreaking career with Motown in the late 60’s. After reaching my goal of owning each album released, I began to gather the teen magazines, like Right On!, Soul, 16, Tiger Beat, and many others. I became more fascinated by the articles which covered television appearances, concerts, and life as a world famous African-American teen group…I wanted more! Once I felt I had exhausted all efforts from gathering books, magazines, and vinyl, I decided that I wanted to “own” a piece of music history. I had heard the expression, “ownership is key”, but I didn’t feel that applied to me since I didn’t create the albums or magazines, which I learned those to be what is called “intellectual property”. In the early part of 2014, I was searching for something new and came upon a wonderful collection of rare and never before seen images (in the form of 35mm negative film) of The Jackson 5 when they toured Japan during the early Spring of 1973. Bingo! I did it! I went through a process which allowed me to acquire full ownership and rights to a treasure trove of amazing images capturing the group on stage, sightseeing, shopping, and more!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve been working in the banking industry for over 15 years, most of my experience involves roles within the financial crimes division. I began my career as a teller, helping customers with their financial transactions and after a little more than a year of that, I landed in the “back office”, operations side of banking working in the Large Currency Reporting Unit. I’m most proud of choosing a career within the banking industry that is quite stable in any economy. I believe what sets me apart from others is having a keen eye that can spot anomolies overlooked by most. Although I’ve been in the industry for more than a decade, the road was not without its challenges. I was able to successfully overcome obstacles by adopting a mindset that strengthens my ability to see the positive in many circumstances that can make anyone feel defeated. A few lessons I learned along the way are, don’t isolate yourself amongst co-workers, don’t think that your opinion doesn’t matter, and learn how to become emotionally intelligent. I want the world to know that I’m working on becoming the best Jackson 5 historian, I am resilient, and I believe the greatest power any individual can possess is, “the power to choose”.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If a friend were visiting the area here’s what we’re doing:

1) Breakfast at Sugar Jam in Scottsdale, AZ

2) Explore a few Goodwill stores (there are amazing things to discover)

3) Lunch at Roscoe’s Chicken ‘n Waffles

4) Check out some comedy at Stand Up Live

5) Take in some entertainment at the Chandler Center for The Arts

6) Drinks – well… I make great drinks…so no need to visit any specific place

7) Dinner at Spinato’s they have the best pizza (Ahwatukee location)

8) Explore downtown Phoenix and enjoy a Suns game

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are plenty of people that I would love to shout out and they deserve it. If I can only pick one person, it would be my father, Huston. When I was in the 2nd grade, he brought home a gift for me and my sister. The gift was an album, The Jackson 5 Greatest Hits. I already knew of the Jacksons with their hits on the Epic label and Michael Jackson from his Off The Wall album; however I had no clue of most of their material from their days at Motown, I was hooked! That was one of the happiest days in my life that I’ll never forget. I’m thankful that my father shared one of his favorite groups as a kid with me and my sister, clearly it stuck!

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Image Credits
Courtesy Adam D Worthy © Worthy Vision Archives LLC