Michael Jackson’s ending was as dramatic and over the top as his life. It seems the richness of rumors, from the real cause of his death to the list of people who would or wouldn’t be at his memorial to the mystery around his burial plot—it was all vintage Michael and it was all show biz.
I remember the first time I heard the Jackson 5. It was early 1971 and I was a pharmaceutical rep, imprisoned in a car with AM-only radio. And yeah, after a hundred or so reps in a week I was tired of the tune, but I was fully aware of the energy. Then I found out they were kids and the lead singer was what—12? Sure, the days of KC and the Sunshine band lay dead ahead, but I was paying attention to these guys.
Fast forward seven or so years and there was Keith Martin, anchorman at WBRE-TV, dancing in the newsroom to “Rock With You,” I think it was. The kid still had the energy and now he was putting his stamp on pop music. His sound was the same, but different. And could he dance! Better than Keith. Better than anyone. I’d been watching the soul music scene from the late 50’s so I knew about the early giants like Jackie Wilson and James Brown. Michael borrowed widely from their styles, gave them credit and showed their moves—as if brand new--to a recently colorblind world.
Michael owned the 80’s, plain and simple. By the time he was smashing cars with trashcans I was getting off the express, but you had to admire the wave. People remember where they were for the 25th Motown Anniversary, something we all watched on TV. When he released his videos, we stayed home and watched them on TV as if they were theatrical premiers, which of course they were. And they were made just for us. They were short enough to keep our attention and free—on the tube. But best of all, they were great! Top directors, great dancers, all Michael.
Then came the so-called sexual stuff. I didn’t know what to think back in 1993 when he was first accused. When he paid the millions to settle the case it left all of us to wonder what he’d done. Was this guy an abuser? But by the time he was accused again in 2005, there was no longer any doubt. He wasn’t. I wrote about the trial on this website back when it was going on. There were months to go before the verdict was announced, but I predicted, correctly, that Michael would be found not guilty. Not innocent, perhaps, but not guilty. It was an easy call. Sexual behaviors like pedophilia don’t recur once in 12 years. These people are compulsive, regular abusers until they’re caught. I simply stated the obvious. With the whole world watching, someone would have seen something. Something would have been reported. No reports means no abuse, and the jury agreed.
I remember how I felt when I first heard the news about Michael. I had the same reaction when Wilt Chamberlain died. Wilt was a giant presence in basketball, larger than life in every sense. But when he died in his early 60’s, he’d been out of the NBA for 20 years. Wilt was simply a memory, and while his early passing was sad, in a sense it was as if he’d been dead to basketball fans since the day he retired.
Michael was the same in many ways. He hadn’t done anything serious in a decade, despite threatened comebacks and cancelled tours. Michael was also, already dead. But Michael has his music, and we got days of it served wall-to-wall to remind us. He was the entertainer of the age, a perfect made-for-TV star. We can revel in his talent at any age we choose, and that’s what I’ll do. If I stick with the music, Michael will live forever in me. Just like he always wanted.
Corbett
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