Michael Jackson is dead! Long live Michael Jackson!
With the Beatles, he defined my career in radio….and my life before radio.
The Beatles made my senior high school graduation ball memorable. Michael Jackson’s “Ben” evokes a recollection of an innocent movie date, way before I embarked on a career in radio.
The Beatles broke up during my early years as a disc jockey. Michael Jackson never seemed to stop.
MJ (once used as a euphemism for marijuana), and now that he is dead has become a shorter way to mention “Michael Jackson”, moved on from being the energetic soloist of the Jackson 5, and evolved into an exciting solo performer. Every at every stage of his wonderful musical journey, he never failed to thrill.
MJ also defined music television, and perpetuated himself through it.
I am older than MJ, but somehow, because of his genius, he matured earlier than I did in terms of his work. His lyrics became much deeper over time, enigmatic even. I loved his earlier melodies, though, such as Music and Me, One Day in Your Life, but then, I must just be more sentimental than others. His richly textured later compositions were much admired, but I found it more and more difficult to follow his career and musical houvre as I got older and busier. It was now my daughters’ turn to update me on his music.
I can only say that how he was perceived to have turned out —as a person and as a celebrity—is nothing short of tragic. I am not sure I was correct in reading Newsweek’s terse and biting coverage of his life and death, but I interpret it as reeking of how some white men continue to see blacks. Time Magazine’s tribute was a wee bit gushy and dramatic, but one can see that their MJ special saw Michael Jackson as the genius he truly was.
For me, however “bad” he may have become in the second half of his short confusing life, Michael Jackson deserves the lofty pedestal his admirers have long put him on.