Michael Jackson was famous for surrounding himself with unusual animals, but one pet became particularly memorable to the people making music around him. His large snake named Muscles was allowed surprisingly close to recording sessions. Quincy Jones remembered it crawling across equipment and wrapping itself around his leg. Then one day, Muscles disappeared and turned up somewhere nobody expected.
Jones recalled finding the snake inside a parrot cage after Muscles had swallowed the bird. There was one problem. Its enlarged head could no longer fit back through the cage bars, leaving the snake stuck. For Jones, who admitted Muscles already frightened him in the studio, it became an unforgettable Michael Jackson story.
Michael Jackson & Quincy Jones Interview 1983 RARE!!!
The rare interview captures Jackson and Jones during the extraordinary period surrounding Thriller, but it also lets viewers hear Michael discussing Muscles and his other animals. That matters because the snake was not simply a distant pet kept somewhere at home. People who worked with Michael remembered Muscles becoming part of everyday life around him.
And Muscles did not stay around Michael’s own property. Years later, Motown executive Suzanne de Passe revealed what happened when Jackson arrived at her home with the boa wrapped around his neck. She refused to allow the snake loose inside, forcing Michael to improvise with one particularly expensive household item.
Why Michael Jackson Once Brought His Pet Boa Constrictor to Suzanne de Passe’s Home
De Passe said Jackson eventually stuffed Muscles into one of her expensive Pratesi pillowcases and tied the top while he went to watch old footage of himself. She was left watching the pillowcase. When Michael later asked whether she wanted it back, de Passe jokingly told him he could take the bedding too.
Stories about Muscles reveal one of the stranger sides of Michael Jackson away from the stage. Yet the man carrying snakes into studios and friends’ homes was also creating Thriller, “Billie Jean” and “Beat It,” records that helped redefine global pop. Watch the videos above for the stories behind Michael Jackson’s unforgettable pet snake.