This article is really just about my feelings and recollections of what I thought of Michael Jackson and what I have to say about this life and death. I did purchase the three aforementioned songs on iTunes in preparation for this article. I imagine with Jackson not around anymore to spend his own money, his debts may get paid off sooner than most people think. As of now, his personal debt has been estimated to be as much as $400 million or more. After that, I’m sure the family, record labels, lawyers, and a slew of others will be in court fighting over rights to his name, likeness, and music. Vultures.

Early Recollections

The Jackson-Five were before my time, so I’ll pick up around 1984, during his solo career. This period of the 1980s was the most “urban” of the decade. Breakdancing and early RAP music were mainstream. Everyone was breakdancing it seemed, and all you needed were a large cardboard box and some sneakers with fat shoelaces. With movies such as Breakin’, the urban culture invaded the towns and suburbs of white America. Madonna was just rising to superstar status at this time, but Jackson was already there.

Jackson’s star was rising at a meteoric pace. I remember seeing everyone and their grandmother with Jackson-inspired red jackets. The merchandising was also out of this world. You couldn’t go anywhere without seeing something with Jackson’s face on it or hearing his music. With help from MTV, Jackson reached a vaster audience much faster than many artists before the age of video. White and black kids alike were listening to Jackson, and in that regard, he bridged the racial divide.

Video Killed The Radio Star

There’s no question that Michael Jackson took the music video to the next level. Around this time, music videos were just an assembled piece of randomness, for the most part. All the cliches of slow motion, still framing, something breaking, reverse video, and color effects were present in about 100% of videos during this time. Many were not memorable but for the only reason that this was a new area of art and MTV rammed them down your throat 24 hours a day.

Jackson always used a narrative and the video played out like a mini-movie, with defining acts. It was a formula he would use for his biggest hits of the decade. It worked, and made the video more than just a boring lip-sync adventure. His videos definitely stimulated more of the senses than the average fare.

At The Top

From about 1984 through the closing of the decade, there was no bigger performer than Michael Jackson. Only Madonna could rival in stardom and success. As much a part of the 1980s Jackson was, he only produced two studio albums during this time, Thriller (1982) and Bad (1987). There is no album in music history that tops Thriller in pure sales. It’s estimated that worldwide sales are 60 to 65 million. To put that in perspective, based on current world population estimates, about 1% of the world population owns or has owned this album. That is pretty impressive. There are other estimates that put Thriller at 100 million or more, but those numbers seem to be unfounded and not realistic.

Jackson would go on to release three more albums during his career, Dangerous (1991), HIStory (1995), and Invincible (2001). Each subsequent album received less audience than the one before it.

The Music

As I mentioned, I’m not the biggest MJ fan, but a song like Beat It has some appeal. From the great Eddie Van Halen guitar riff and sensational lead guitar, to Jackson’s vocal melody and catchy chorus, the song is a solid example of good music craftsmanship. The song also has much more of a Rock flavor than some of the other titles on the Thriller album. The songs Thriller and Billie Jean are also my other favorites.

I’ve always said that a good song is a good song, regardless of the genre. My tastes are eclectic and wide-ranging. I can listen to Sam Cooke, The Beatles, and Nirvana, then jump to Simon & Garfunkel, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan (pre 1966 mostly). But you can throw in any combination of early 1960s girl groups, such as The Crystals or 1950s pioneers of Rock, like Buddy Holly. I like a wide range of music, but the music has to be sensational for me to listen. Life is short, and I don’t want to cast such a wide net that it’s wasted with music of little importance or mediocrity.

I wouldn’t judge Michael Jackson’s career on three songs. I’ve heard much more of his material over the years, but most of it doesn’t grab me nor resonate with me. That is not to say that it isn’t good or solid work, it’s just not for me. Maybe if I had more time to go through his catalog there would be catchy little numbers I’d get to like. But I don’t have that time. All I will say on his career is that there was no one single individual probably ever in the history of the world who could attract more people than Michael Jackson. He had talent and whatever else it takes to become a superstar. The only problem was what it takes to be a human, a real person, he was apparently lacking.

Personal Life And Death

This story has been written time and time again. It’s an old, tired story. A sad, and often pathetic one. The question has been asked countless times, “How can a person with everything wander so far astray in life?” How did Jackson’s life end the way it did?

For starters, this man had no real friends surrounding him. He had business associates, lawyers, and record executive types who were all looking out for their best interests, not Jackson’s. To be fair, Jackson brought most of his problems into his own life, but he had plenty of help in willing collaborators and enablers.

There is no doubt his childhood was screwed up, but his incessant desire to capture youth was clinical in it’s scope and sickness. Sleeping with children, acting like one, and having no sense of reality outside of what he created really hurt him as a person. To him, we were not the “normal” ones, he was. I’m sure he truly couldn’t understand why so much of the public looked at him with estrangement and wonder.

His fascination and addiction to plastic surgery all but rendered him unrecognizable from his early career. This site shows clearly how his face has changed over the years. The website takes a humorous approach, but mostly it’s not pretty. Michael Jackson has admitted to only a few cosmetic “improvements,” but as you will see from the site, nothing could be further from the truth.

Michael Jackson became a caricature of himself. At some point, he morphed into an aging entertainer from a vibrant artist. With allegations of child molestation following him around for the last 16 or so years of his life, I’m sure that had a direct effect on his actions and strange behaviors. But again, he created that monster. He had no one to blame but himself. I don’t know for sure if he was a pedophile or just someone who really wanted to be a kid, or wanted to be around children. In any event, it was a psychological impediment, one that he could never overcome.

Sadly, when his story is fully written, it will contain many sordid and painfully shocking details. Since he was so secretive, who knows if we will ever truly know the real Michael Jackson. What is certain however, is this story won’t have a happy ending.

The End

I received a text message from my sister at 6:32 PM EST on June 25. The message reads, “Michael Jackson is DEAD!” I can’t say I wasn’t shocked, I was. I immediately put on MSNBC and sure enough, it was true. For the next several hours, I was glued to the TV, switching from MSNBC to Fox News to CNN and back. Even in death, Jackson grabbed the media’s attention. Farrah Fawcett died earlier in the day, but you’d be hard-pressed to know about it. Ed McMahon’s death was buried, pardon the pun, even further under the news heap.

In the weeks to come, I think the picture will become more clear, and the abuse of his body will become more evident. When his body was removed from the transporting helicopter and into the Coroner’s van, it looked like a flat piece of wood on the stretcher. You couldn’t even see a defined outline of a body. Obviously, he was malnourished and his addiction to prescription drugs had taken a toll on him physically. If he was 110 pounds, I would be very surprised. What a waste.

I’m listening to Beat It (Single Version) by Michael Jackson

Update 06.27.09: Michael Jackson dominates top-ten album list in U.S. iTunes Store.