Michael Jackson: Side by Side

First off... Michael Jackson and I are the same age. I remember every moment of his career and popularity as Jackson 5 front man. I remember the girls in my class having his posters and playing his 45s over and over at our middle school parties.
I followed their success through TV appearances, radio play lists and even Tiger Beat magazines. I knew that Jackie wanted to be the break out star of the group and then Jermaine. (Tito was just a recognizable cog in the Jackson family marketing machine.) But it was always Michael. On Ed Sullivan, it was Michael. Tonight Show..again Michael. Merv Griffin... Michael. Michael was the popular, cute and talented front man to the group. Other performers wanted to be or aspired to be Michael.. including Donny Osmond (the Pat Boone version of Michael). But Michael was Michael.
Michael found independence from the Jackson grind with the popularity of Ben. The theme love song from A movie about a rat. The song was better than the film. Michael knew he could probably make it on his own, even if the networks gave the group a cartoon show... and later a Sonny & Cher type TV variety program. Michael fully knew his popularity after playing the Scarecrow character in the film The Wiz starring his friend and career mentor Diana Ross.
The Disco era arrived and Michael made one last concert go with his brothers ushering in the Dancing Machine Michael. Michael could dance and people would pay to see him electrify the stage.
Quincy Jones appeared and took Michael to the stratosphere. His album Off the Wall was his solo launching point, laying the ground work for the coming Thriller avalanche of success.
The Perfect Storm. Three things coming together at the right time. MTV needed a popular hook and personality for the music/TV format. Michael needed to find a new audience. Quincy Jones provided the beat. Michael was old school... Moms and Dads knew who he was.. he was a safe album to buy for their kids. Michael was good looking... young girls fawned over his doe-y eyes and lean, dancing body. Marketers loved the glove, the jacket, the parodies and the groups they could promote using his coattails. No Michael... no Prince. No Michael.. maybe, no Madonna. No Michael... no Weird Al? No Boy groups, etc... Michael was not just the King of Pop... he was the master of his own domain!
Unfortunately, a career crumble is always bound to happen after reaching a successful summit. How do you follow up the greatest selling album of all time? You change your image and become.. Bad? Michael's album Bad was good.. but it wasn't Thriller. But no album was going to be Thriller. Lightning does not strike twice in the same place. Michael just outdid Off the Wall with Thriller. Michael did not want to usurp Thriller with Bad... just keep selling his music.
Michael reunited with his brothers to let them share in his personal success and went on a Victory Tour (promoted by Jimmy Osmond, no less). His sense of family career duty and responsibility was all but finished. Except for his promotion of sister Janet and an awkwardness in dealing with sister LaToya's public eccentricities.
But Hollywood called... and Michael had to play the part.. public Michael. Be seen with celebrities. Have celebrity friends. Live the celebrity lifestyle. Michael was magical (so said the press) he better live like it... Neverland ranch came into being. A wonderland. Disney without Mickey... just Michael. But as opposed to Disney... a corporation that churns out, packages and repackages product.... Michael was only a man. Or was he? He was painted as a Peter Pan. The boy who never grew up. Neverland was supposedly the childhood he never had. He could play with kids. He could be a kid. And when he wanted more friends.. he had his own kids. All through a sham marriage or 2.
Now was he a pedophile? Two schools of thought. One... he did pay off a child $20+ million dollars to keep quiet about some personal issue. And then he was accused by another child of molestation... charges were proved false in court. Second school of thought.. He had sleep overs with young children. What type of parent allows their kids to sleep over with a 40 y/o man? Too weird.
The plastic surgery. Michael denied most of it... but if you ask 90% of Hollywood (Joan Rivers excluded)... they will deny it, too. But the rumor that Michael wanted to look like Diana Ross may have been somewhat true... as he did look like her with nose #3 out of 6. Chemical peel or skin disease? I'll guess, the peel. Hair straightener... definitely!
So bills mounted for Michael because living in a magical world is expensive. Lawyer bills are, too.
So he planned to head off he for a new tour. (Probably culminating in a long $$$$$$$$$ stay in some Las Vegas venue.) Had he shaken off all the bad press in the US to sell tickets? He was to start his tour in London. Safe enough and still some fanatical fans across the great pond.. Jacko and all. But Michael was 50.. he was not in his teens, 20s or even his 30s. Tours are grueling and grinding.. especially when your show has you dancing 75% of it! The drugs appeared. Was it the drugs that ended it all?
I have lived my own 50 years side by side with Michael. I am not sad or shocked by his demise. He death to me was like Elvis.. like John Belushi...even John Lennon. He was just another star who surprisingly went too soon.. but will live larger than life as legendary dead icon. Add Michael to that diner picture with James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis. His music will live long past his lifestyle. Death erases a lot of things... well, at least it did for Socrates. Rest in Peace, Gloved one!

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