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Michael Jackson – Death of an American icon

Jun 26, 2009 My thoughts on...

It was a warm spring morning in 1970 when I first heard the amazing voice of Michael Jackson. I was riding to school with my brothers and sister when a group called the Jackson 5 came on the radio singing a beautiful ballad entitled ”I’ll Be There”. It was a very beautiful song indeed, sung with great passion by someone with one of the most incredible voices I had ever heard. Imagine my surprise when the DJ later told the listening audience that that incredible singer was Michael Jackson, age 11 – just a little over a year older than I was!

Due largely to Michael’s talent and showmanship, the Jackson 5 went on to become one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970’s. They turned out hit after hit and filled stadiums and concert halls to the brim, making their dad Joe a very wealthy man in the process. Only years later would the world find out just how iron-fisted and ruthless Joe had been in directing his children towards stardom. And what a star Michael would become!

Being thrust into the spotlight at such a young age had a profound impact on Michael. During the period of his life when most boys were  just enjoying being a kid, he was spending countless hours in rehearsals, recording records, and performing on stages all around the world. He never really had a childhood, and sadly he spent his entire adult life trying to make up for it.

As he rose to ever higher levels of success in his music career, his personal life gradually spiraled downward until he finally hit rock bottom in several ways. For whatever reason, he never seemed happy with his appearance, and after a long series of cosmetic surgeries he ended up looking like little more than a caricature of his former self. To many in fact, he looked a lot more like a mannequin than a real, flesh and blood human being.

Worse still were the allegations of child sexual abuse that were leveled upon him over the course of several years. Although he agreed to monetary settlements with some of the accusers and was eventually acquitted in a criminal trial, he lived the rest of his life with a huge cloud hanging over his head. Michael had forever lost the most important things that an entertainer can possess: the respect, trust and admiration of many of his fans.

This summer was supposed to mark the “return” of Michael Jackson with a series of 50 concerts in London, but whether they would have successfully lifted him back to the ultimate superstar status that he once enjoyed will forever remain a mystery because yesterday he passed away from cardiac arrest. One of the most talented performers to ever step onto a stage is now gone, leaving only his maker as his ultimate judge.

Although Michael’s music changed over the years into a style that I didn’t really enjoy, it was obvious that he never lost the ability to entertain a crowd. And although I personally found his adult lifestyle and life choices to be quite odd, and even distasteful, I will always remember that spring morning so long ago when I heard him sing for the very first time. A contemporary of mine went on to hit the big time. In a way we grew up together, and it’s sad to see him go at such a young age.

Michael Joseph Jackson
August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009