picture courtesy of: http://www.tatjana-novak.comBeing June 25th, we mark the one year anniversary of one of the biggest shockers in music history, especially for people my age who grew up on a diet of Thriller and Bad. The legendary King of Pop Michael Jackson died of a cardiac arrest at the age of 50, mere weeks before he was set to embark on a triumphant comeback run of shows at the O2 in London.
Although there are artists I have followed more closely and have been a bigger fan of over the years, Michael Jackson to my age group was equal to what Elvis was to my parents. I was three years old when Thriller came out and I remember watching the music video for Thriller as a kid and running out of the room during the infamous werewolf transformation. I also remember having the album on vinyl and playing it so much that the album was scratched and unplayable, that's when I got it on cassette (I am dating myself here, aren't I? lol). Then came the Bad album which brought forth another great run of hit singles and videos. When he came to Louisville KY in March 1988, I begged and pleaded to get tickets and then got my way. Looking back this was truly a once in a lifetime experience because he never did an extensive tour of America again like this. Michael had a level of superstardom in the 1980's that I have yet to see in any of today's pop stars. For instance, I do like Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Beyonce, but even combined they are barely a blip to what Michael was back then (or Madonna or Prince for that matter).
I continued to support Michael's career afterwards, buying Dangerous on my twelve birthday and also picking up HIStory and Invincible around the time they were released, but while there were moments of genius like Earth Song, Will You Be There and Remember The Time, I felt like Michael had lost his muse when he parted company with producer extraordinaire Quincy Jones and that his music started becoming more self-indulgent and grandiose instead of focusing on giving us great songs. Unfortunately his private life began to overshadow his music and the music career sadly took a back seat to his legal woes and unproven rumors and he spent most of the last decade of his life in seclusion when he wasn't in court.
When Michael announced his return to the stage with This Is It in March 2009, I was pulling for him because seeing him live in 1988, I knew exactly what he was capable of. Seeing his two biggest 1980's contemporaries of the same age, Madonna and Prince, still being in the best shape of their lives and being able to command the stage made me hopeful that Michael was going to be able to prove the world wrong and make a triumphant comeback where you would look past the drastic change in appearance and see a man who can still dazzle the stage like 1984 had never left us. With the concert film, we did get to see Michael prove the world that he had it, but sadly it had to be posthumously.
On June 25th, 2009, I was already upset over the loss of Farrah Fawcett, as Jill was always my favorite one of Charlie's Angels, but her death had been anticipated with her public bout with cancer. Michael Jackson dying came out of nowhere. I remember browsing MadonnaNation and reading that he had suffered cardiac arrest, but not really thinking it was going to be anything fatal because Michael had suffered from health issues for years, but then a few minutes later, TMZ illegally leaked that he had died. For an hour that seemed like days, reports were conflicting from dead to critical condition. Then the news broke. Although I hadn't really been excited over Michael Jackson in years, I had never stopped loving his music, I remember listening to The Way You Make Me Feel on my ipod earlier that very day. It was a very sad and depressing day for music lovers everywhere and for many people my age group, a little part of our childhood died that day. That day feels like yesterday, so its surprising that one year has already passed since he died.
Although there are artists I have followed more closely and have been a bigger fan of over the years, Michael Jackson to my age group was equal to what Elvis was to my parents. I was three years old when Thriller came out and I remember watching the music video for Thriller as a kid and running out of the room during the infamous werewolf transformation. I also remember having the album on vinyl and playing it so much that the album was scratched and unplayable, that's when I got it on cassette (I am dating myself here, aren't I? lol). Then came the Bad album which brought forth another great run of hit singles and videos. When he came to Louisville KY in March 1988, I begged and pleaded to get tickets and then got my way. Looking back this was truly a once in a lifetime experience because he never did an extensive tour of America again like this. Michael had a level of superstardom in the 1980's that I have yet to see in any of today's pop stars. For instance, I do like Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Beyonce, but even combined they are barely a blip to what Michael was back then (or Madonna or Prince for that matter).
I continued to support Michael's career afterwards, buying Dangerous on my twelve birthday and also picking up HIStory and Invincible around the time they were released, but while there were moments of genius like Earth Song, Will You Be There and Remember The Time, I felt like Michael had lost his muse when he parted company with producer extraordinaire Quincy Jones and that his music started becoming more self-indulgent and grandiose instead of focusing on giving us great songs. Unfortunately his private life began to overshadow his music and the music career sadly took a back seat to his legal woes and unproven rumors and he spent most of the last decade of his life in seclusion when he wasn't in court.
When Michael announced his return to the stage with This Is It in March 2009, I was pulling for him because seeing him live in 1988, I knew exactly what he was capable of. Seeing his two biggest 1980's contemporaries of the same age, Madonna and Prince, still being in the best shape of their lives and being able to command the stage made me hopeful that Michael was going to be able to prove the world wrong and make a triumphant comeback where you would look past the drastic change in appearance and see a man who can still dazzle the stage like 1984 had never left us. With the concert film, we did get to see Michael prove the world that he had it, but sadly it had to be posthumously.
On June 25th, 2009, I was already upset over the loss of Farrah Fawcett, as Jill was always my favorite one of Charlie's Angels, but her death had been anticipated with her public bout with cancer. Michael Jackson dying came out of nowhere. I remember browsing MadonnaNation and reading that he had suffered cardiac arrest, but not really thinking it was going to be anything fatal because Michael had suffered from health issues for years, but then a few minutes later, TMZ illegally leaked that he had died. For an hour that seemed like days, reports were conflicting from dead to critical condition. Then the news broke. Although I hadn't really been excited over Michael Jackson in years, I had never stopped loving his music, I remember listening to The Way You Make Me Feel on my ipod earlier that very day. It was a very sad and depressing day for music lovers everywhere and for many people my age group, a little part of our childhood died that day. That day feels like yesterday, so its surprising that one year has already passed since he died.
My top 10 fave MJ songs:
1. Billie Jean
2. The Way You Make Me Feel
3. Dirty Diana
4. Rock With You
5. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
6. Human Nature
7. Beat It
8. Don't Stop Till You Get Enough
9. Thriller
10. Earth Song
My top 5 fave MJ albums:
1. Thriller
2. Off The Wall
3. Bad
4. Dangerous
5. HIStory
What are your favorite Michael Jackson songs, videos, memories?
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