Me and Michael Jackson

I never met Michael Jackson but I did have a number of Michael Jackson experiences.

Michael Jackson is only 18 months older than me. When I was in grade school and the Jackson 5 had their first hit, "I Want You Back," guys like me were labelled jealous by all of the girls that swooned over pictures of him and his brothers. I was already a Stevie Wonder fan so it wasn't a stretch to like the Jackson 5 though I would never admit it to my classmates. And who could resist the Saturday morning cartoons? Not me. I even liked the ballads though I thought that "Ben" was just plain weird.

In college, Michael Jackson's Off the Wall was the record that broke the monotony of Pink Floyd's The Wall (hmm, coincidence?). Any party that was in the least bit subdued was sparked to life by "You Better Be Startin' Something."

I was already working in the music industry when Thriller came out. I was one the the millions watching the Motown 25 Special that night he busted out the moon walk. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was talking about it the next day. When he slid across the stage that night you knew that you were watching one of the most important TV moments in history. I remember sitting in the offices at Chrysalis Records reading the story of how he planned on spending a million dollars to make the video for "Thriller" and thinking that he was insane.

Back in Toronto, I saw the Victory tour at the CNE. Ask anyone who saw that show and they will tell you that it was one of the most incredible things you could imagine. Parliament/Funkadelic built the mothership but Michael and his brothers flew it that night! But no amount of pyrotechnics could over shadow the dancing. The evening was otherworldly.

The videos for "Bad" and "Dirty Diana" made Michael look cool.

I remember that ABC premiered the video for "Black or White" and Michael started looking freaky. It took a while to appreciate the song but it did eventually sink in. Most of what Michael recorded after "Black or White" was too sappy for me. I hated his duet with Janet on "Scream."

I always thought that Michael was a good looking guy and never understood why he started with the cosmetic surgery. His troubles with child molestation accusations and random bizarre acts always threatened to take the shine off of his star. feel sorry for him. Maybe because we're of the same generation. If only he had a chance to have a normal life, perhaps he'd be alive today. Perhaps he would have made many more interesting records.

I have nothing else to say.