And Now, Michael Jackson....

When does it end? Ed McMahon, then Farrah Fawcett-and now the King of Pop.

More words will be said over the next few weeks to smother and render irrelevant anything I put out here. However, I must put MJ’s life and work in perspective from a personal point of view.

First, I must say that I am not –nor was I ever really a “fan” of Michael Jackson. As a DJ who grew up on the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Michael was merely a curiosity when he landed as a solo act. I was actually a fan of the Jackson 5 when I was a kid. I was singing, “stop, the love you save may be your own!” right along with the radio. I also remember reading an article from someone in the music business who was asked, “Who is the next big thing in music?”—and this person (whom I cannot recall, but obviously was spot-on) said, “Michael Jackson”. I distinctly remember thinking, “That kid from the Jackson 5? They are OVER!”

Shows how much I know.

The writer went on to extol the 1979 solo LP “Off The Wall”, the album that immediately preceded “Thriller”. When that record dropped in 1982, the music world exploded! I was the Program Director and midday announcer at WKSQ-FM (“Kiss 94”) in Bangor, Maine at the time. Mark Osborne, the station’s owner-told me to put “Billie Jean” on the air immediately—a move that Mark was not known for. It was fresh-and amazing, completely redefining pop music.

Despite all of this, I was more respectful of Michael’s incredible timing—to make use of the emerging medium of music videos and MTV—breaking the color barrier by producing visual masterpieces that were as compelling as the music itself. I believe it was the videos that really catapulted him to the mega-stardom that he was destined for.

As for the allegations, Neverland, “Bubbles” the chimp, the Elephant Man bones (and on and on)-all these things pulled me further and further away from admiring him as I did, say, Elvis—or The Beatles. Frankly, he was a mess. If even 10% of what has been reported about his childhood is true, then it is nothing short of incredible that Jackson was not committed to an asylum in adolescence.

His body of work was impressive-and his impact will be felt forever. In this world of downloads, it is highly likely that the sales pinnacle that “Thriller” achieved will NEVER be topped. Maybe that should be his legacy. The Guinness Book called him “The World’s Most Successful Entertainer”

Too bad that success didn’t extend to Jackson’s own life. His appearance-changing as it did—and his increasingly eccentric and bizarre behavior betrayed a scared little boy with low self esteem.

He deserved better.

Jackson’s people have disabled the ability to embed his music videos on this blog (sorry!), so here is a LIVE performance of “Thriller” from 1987. Still impressive!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYrUQItmW4s


Michael Jackson, Rest In Peace. Maybe you will find the peace you never had here.