1. THE CURIOUS CASE OF MICHAEL JACKSON
A VIEW FROM THE MIKE
Two months and change later, and in the aftermath of his 51st
birthday, it is difficult to comprehend the reality that Michael
Joseph Jackson is no longer amongst the living. His untimely and
shocking passing triggered a tsunami of memories from and
number of perspectives, musically, culturally, psychologically, and
otherwise, the impact he made was so profound. I would like to
examine Michael Jackson from a singer’s standpoint, but there is
no doubt that the other factors will be discussed in this space. The
forces that guided his existence on this earth will be scrutinized for
eternity. ‘His’ story is a curious one indeed.
Michael Jackson was the first clear-cut vocal inspiration for me,
and he takes me back to summer camp when as a 9 year old, I sat
mesmerized as 5 of my peers sang Jackson 5 songs at the camp
talent show, with me wishing I was up there, and the one guy that
sang again, my man Terry Belle asking me 32 years later why I
wasn’t up there with them. I first heard Michael when we both
were 8 years old, before his age was changed to the correct one
years later when the Jackson 5 bolted Motown for Epic. So,
because of the Motown star-making machine, many of us thought
that Michael was the same age as we were, but hey,he was only
two years older.
In spite of all that, I was old enough to know that there was
something very special about the little guy with the doe eyes, and
the big voice. It seemed as if we all wanted to be part of this
phenomenon that swept the nation in the late 60s and early 70s…
Motown, The Sound of Young America, was the catch phrase, and
the Jackson Five epitomized that. The brothers were in our age
range, of our generation, and so many of us identified with them in

2. a way that was borderline spiritual. Many young Black males
wanted to be like Michael, and this was way before Jordan. The
Jackson Five’s ‘ABC’ album did it for me. I wanted to sing, and I
made sure I maintained that vision, thanks to Michael Jackson.
Glancing backward, I recall the impact the J5 had on popular
culture in the late 60’s and early70’s with Michael as the star. As a
performer, he was spectacular, wise beyond his years with an
emotional maturity no 10 year old had a right to be singing with.
Listen to some of the early Jackson 5 recordings, the yearning in
his voice, he made you feel that he’d been through everything he
sang about. In addition to his ‘little man’ persona, he possessed a
business savvy to match any adult, often questioning the decisions
of the group’s manager, his father, Joe, and his boss, Motown
chairman Berry Gordy. He wore the mantle of breadwinnner thrust
upon him by both his father and his prodigious talent. Michael
Jackson was the real-life Benjamin Button, the character played by
Brad Pitt who began life as a man, then became an infant in old
age. Michael Jackson was a man as a boy, a mature entertainer and
businessman whose development as a human being was
compromised by his gifts, who reverted to the childhood he never
really had, due to the demands of this cruel industry. The Curious
Case Of Michael Jackson, and while you may think there are
similar stories, none of these child stars were named Michael
Jackson. He was too big for comparison.
Sometimes, we get so caught up in the stuff totally unrelated to
Michael Jackson the artist that we forget what a brilliant artist he
was. Lest we forget, particularly when African-American stars pass
on, I will remind those that do. MJJ was one of the greatest
vocalists of all time, a singer of infinite depth and range, with a
delivery so dynamic that it shook us to the core. Even when his
voice started to change as a teenager, he was still a bad mofo, a
beast Check out the Jackson Five catalog, the proof is all there. I
consider myself fortunate to have lived the duration of his career,

3. through the Jackson Five years, the Jacksons’, years at Epic, my
favorite album, Off The Wall, the commercial phenomenon that
was Thriller, the early solo work, Bad, Dangerous, and an album
that did not do well commercially, but one that no of us should
sleep on, Invincible. So many of us have been extremely lucky to
witness this` talent grow before our very eyes. As a child, we made
the hour and some trip to Harlem, 125th
Street, to the world famous
Apollo Theater to see so many of the greats, up close and personal.
My one regret is not seeing the Jackson Five, although I did see the
Jacksons at the old Omni in Atlanta, Ga., in 1981.
As we all know MJJ was an extraordinary dancer, a student of
the great hoofers, and he took the dual art of song and dance to the
highest of high levels. I am not qualified to expand on his dancing
greatness, but there is plenty of film footage out there to prove it,
so I need say nothing more. The proof is in the viewing. The co-
lead vocalist of the Bernadettes, Elden Lowery does a great
Michael Jackson, from the standpoint of that duality, and he gets
major props for being able to pull it off, but as we all know, there
is only one MJJ.
Recently, or should I say, almost daily, I have been listening
to the Jackson catalog, and it brought back so many memories. I’m
sure so many of us can point to a time when they remember the
year that certain Michael Jackson songs were released, and the joy
and good times that came along with those seminal moments. I did
not come here to bury Michael Joseph Jackson, let the paparazzi,
and the tabloid freaks do that, he deserves all the praise. I
remember him as a artist, dancer, composer, humanitarian, and for
me, one of the greatest pure singers who ever lived. R.I.P.
Michael…well done, my brother.