Michael Jackson, the solo artist, came 'after my time'.
I first knew him as the cute little boy in The Jackson Five and I loved The Jackson Five. Who didn't? C'mon and marry me, Bill! Let the sun shine!
Michael-on-his-own was an interesting development. I wondered why his voice was so high, but it was new, different and very interesting. I didn't know all of his tunes, but I liked the ones heard..
I didn't know his material to extent I know that of Judy Garland,The Beatles or ABBA. I wasn't a fan in the sense of going to his concerts, having his posters on my walls or buying every magazine with his photo on the cover.
Of course I heard whatever was in the news about him, and young fans would tell me things they had read about him in pop magazines, ie. he was given hormones to keep his voice high. If so who cares? He had a great sound, a great look and he did a very cool moon walk that people still try to imitate.
In chronological order, these are my memories of Michael Jackson:
His music was played about 50% of the time when I was working a moonlighting job in a crafts store: Thriller, Billie Jean etc. One soft-spoken line stuck in my head: "I'm a lover, not a fighter."
I remember rumblings about his church wanting to excommunicate him for some reason or other in the early 80's.
Michael's videos were often played at one of my favorite restaurants in the university town where I lived. I thought he was cute and handsome, and I loved the single glove. I even borrowed that idea when I performed at a club once way back when. I think a lot of people borrowed that idea. On and off stage, Michael's was one of the most imitated styles in the history of pop culture.
Then there was the phenomenon known as "We Are the World": a Michael production that asked us to consider the radical notion that we're not just a bunch of countries, but a world.
Then came "Heal the World", another challenge to consider striving for world peace and harmony.
That was all when I still lived in Illinois.
In 1986 I moved to California. I went to Disneyland and saw Michael's huge 3D sensation, "Captain EO" at the site that now houses "Honey I Shrunk the Audience". "Captain EO" was a totally cool video and I wish it were still being shown, dated or not.
Next thing I recall is when the video "Black or White" was released in the early 90's and there was a big hoopla because several of the videos were stolen, postponing their distribution. I got to see the video on TV, however, more than once, and it knocked my socks off. The morphing effect was mesmerizing. I thought it was the absolute coolest way to demonstrate human oneness.
Then there was Michael's friendship with Elizabeth Taylor followed by his marriage to Lisa Marie. That was when I was beginning my look-alike work, and I met at least two fabulous Michael impressionists. One even had a Lisa Marie with her...yes one was a "her".
Next came the accusations of child molestation. Maybe I'm wrong, but I am of the notion that Michael was always very childlike for whatever reason, and just maybe those accusations were extortion attempts. (Would that ever happen in a capitalist society? NAW!)
Who knows? Michael was never proven guilty.
Somewhere around that time I heard the rumors of skin bleaching and the possibility of a detachable nose.
Bottom line?
Michael Jackson was an amazing talent, an excellent musician and performer, a good-looking guy, a phenomenal dancer, a revolutionary contributor to the world of pop music, and now, another icon who died way before his time.
That will be the Michael Jackson legacy. That will outlive the conversations about plastic surgery, skin lightening, removable noses, hormones, child molestation, a tragic childhood, Neverland, and dangling babies over balconies.
The fact is, Michael Jackson will remain the King of Pop long after the tabloids have biodegraded.
