Teacher spotted Michael Jackson's singing talent aged 6, before his family

A RETIRED music teacher has told how she discovered Michael Jackson's talent after he sang a song from The Sound Of Music.

- By Michael Lee Simpson

Anita Hill, 91, said she can still remember when she first heard his voice as a six-year-old performing the classic Climb Ev'ry Mountain.

She added that his parents, Joe and Katherine, were unaware of his vocal talent until they saw him perform at a school choir event. Anita, of Gary, Indiana, was speaking ahead of the release of a new biopic about the King of Pop called Michael, due to be released later this year. She recalled meeting him while a music teacher at Garnett Elementary School in Gary in the 1960s.