Michael, Michael, Michael. What can one say? Yes, he is arguably ths most successful pop entertainer of the last half-century. And, yes, he became so odd and wierd in the past 20+ years.
But, I was always a huge MJ fan. I grew up on his music — and I loved “”Off the Wall” and “Thriller.” I did like the Jackson 5 music as well as some of his later albums, but those two albums were the favorites.
I DJ’ed for over 15 years, including DJ’ing over 500 wedding receptions. I used to always say that Michael Jackson was a dj’s best friend since if you have played his music, you could get the dance floor going (especially at wedding receptions).
I also worked in promotions and marketing at a few Washington, DC radio stations. Since concerts were a big part of our job, I’ve probably attended 150 – 200 concerts, but I can easily place Michael’s concerts at the top of the list. Nothing else really came close.
The way he moved and danced on the stage was incredible — the fans would shriek with joy and amazement (it might have been how the fans reacted to the Beatles in concert in the ’60′s).
I’ve seen many, many great acts (U2, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, Who, Janet Jackson, Dave Matthews and on and on), but none matched the fervor of a MJ concert.
So, although he was out of the limelight the past few years … and although he did so many wierd and odd things, the memories I will take away are those two dynamic albums and the memorable concerts I was fortunate to see.
RIP, Michael.
I’ve seen sides of life that people don’t want to see, so I know that things are not necessarily the way they appear, and that this goes both ways. I have no proof of anything that Michael did was out of line (accusations and being paid-off are not proofs of mis-behavior) and personally did not feel I needed to put my nose into something that others better trained and closer to the situation were already doing. So, I accepted what I got from Michael’s legacy – many years of pleasure from his music, and his dancing. I cannot underplay that he affected my life and the lives of those I grew up with. Michael was the star of my first concert at age 12 – as the lead singer for the Jackson Five on a huge stage in Japan (none of the stages I’ve seen since in the US match it in size…) Whether or not he had anything left to give us, he gave us his all then, and rightly deserved the title King of Pop. Amen on the RIP.
Hey Jimmy,
Glad to hear everything is going well…that must be pretty crazy trying to do all of the preliminary stuff to get the business started, but probably exciting too; good luck! After seeing the last ever at Shea last summer with my favorite Billy Joel, I had to see the first ever at Citi Field last night with McCartney. Both concerts were awesome…like I expected (and was hoping) Billy Joel returned the favor and made a guest appearance last night. The place was packed and it was a great event. Hope the trip to NY went well, and go old man Tommy Watson tomorrow!
Best,
Sean