Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen's First Conversation Unearthed

In 1984, music icons Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen met one another backstage during The Jacksons' Victory Tour stop in Philadelphia.

In the brief backstage encounter, Jackson and Springsteen raved at each other during their first meeting.

According to a manuscript of the original encounter that People has released for their 50 Years of Stars Anniversary edition issue, then-35-year-old Springsteen met with the 26-year-old Jackson after his concert.

Jackson, who had just read about Springsteen in the 1984 issue of People, asked the New Jersey native about playing long concerts.

Admitting that he can perform for as long as three hours, Springsteen also shared that he takes more than a half-hour break in between, which seems to work well for him.

At one point, Jackson also asked Springsteen whether he was the one who wrote "Fire" for the Pointer Sisters."

"Yeah, that was a quick one. Only took me about 10 minutes. But I don't write when I'm on the road," Springsteen said before bouncing the question back to the King of Pop, who said that he couldn't write on the road because "there's too much going on."

As Springsteen and Jackson posed for a photographer, a curious Jackson asked The Boss if he liked to talk to his fans after the show.

"Yeah, I tell stories. People like that, I've learned. They like to hear your voice do something besides singing. They go wild when you just ... talk," he answered. Jackson shared that he feels when he talked to fans, they are bound to know things that they shouldn't know.

"I kinda know what you mean -- the songs are a protection," Springsteen affirmed. "But I remember once I played for a Vietnam veterans' benefit and I had to go onstage to introduce this guy who was a president or something, and I didn't have my guitar. Man, I was shaking. I realized it was the first time in 15 years I'd been onstage without it, and I've never been so nervous in my life."

To continue their conversation, Jackson racked his brain for more things that he had read about Springsteen and inquired whether it was true that he goes right to sleep after performing.

"No, I feel good after a concert, because I feel like I've worked hard. I stay up till about 4," he confessed.

As for Jackson, he opts to watch television or read because he can't go to sleep.

A year later, the two linked up again when they sang on the charity single "We Are The World," along with other music icons like Lionel Richie, Cyndi Lauper, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick, and Diana Ross, among many others.

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Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen