I remember the Michael Jackson before the glitter glove, Thriller, Ms. Presley and Neverland. If you’ve ever ready the stories about Ike Turner’s treatment of Tina or Murray Wilson’s almost maniacal handling of his Beach Boys sons they don’t even come close to the torture that Joe Jackson, Michael’s father, inflicted on his sons, The Jackson 5. In an interview he gave in 2003 Jackson casually said that he never beat the Jackson boys but used the belt a lot. In other words Joe treated them like performing circus animals.
Michael Jackson’s off behavior can be traced back to his father’s sessions of brow-beating and whipping but in recent years a new form of torture has become mainstream: People who harass famous people for a living. I’m sure Clint Eastwood and Angelina Jolie are tough enough to handle it but Jackson sunk further into insecurity. In the end, he died like Elvis Presley, his body giving into the strain of cocktails of prescription drugs that helped them cope with their celebrity status.
For now I would like to say that I remember the Michael Jackson . . .
1. As a little boy with the big voice in the Jackson 5 singing ABC, I Want You Back and I’ll Be There.
2. Of the 1970’s as the black version of Donnie Osmond. The two were the top pinups for the year.
3. For his breakout song, Ben, a great song (believe it or not) about a rat.
4. As the great-dancing scarecrow in The Wiz, a musical based on the Wizard of Oz and where he met the musical genius of Quincy Jones.
5. Of the album Off the Wall in 1979 which made him an international superstar. There for our great hits: Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough (written by Jackson), Rock With You, She’s Out of My Life and Off the Wall.
6. Of Thriller: A fabulous album and a 14-minute horror story by director John Landis. As Quincy Jones said about the album, Jones:
“Michael Jackson was the biggest entertainer on the planet Earth. We made history together. This was the first time a young black performer had won the hearts of everyone from eight to 80, all over the world. This was breaking major barriers.”
7. We Are the World (Need I say more?)
So, what he did later, Beat It and others, were great but I will always remember him for these accomplishments. What came afterward, the Neverland stuff and the parents who let their kids sleep in the same bed with him, well this was not the talented kid who combined his talent with the moves of James Brown and the Temptations.
He wasn’t Wacko Jacko, he was Michael Jackson, one of the greatest performers this planet has ever seen.