The Big Picture: The Music of Michael Jackson

— With the release of the much-anticipated Michael Jackson film This Is It coming on October 28, perhaps folks can finally step away from the television gossip programs and pay attention to what made the King of Pop special in the first place: brilliant songs combined with hypnotic performance skills.

Having last seen Jackson rock a screaming audience back in 1989 on the Bad tour, I still remember the blissful faces of the fans staring in awe and cheering as he cast a spell of pure showmanship. While it was obvious that Jackson put in hours of rehearsal, on stage his flow was effortless. Sliding from one step into another as the music built, Michael Jackson was enchanting and beautiful, electric and dangerous.

Yet, since his death this past June, Jackson’s aural brilliance and extraordinary body of work has been overshadowed by the singer’s bizarre life.

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http://www.soulsummer.com/michael-jackson-the-big-picture

M.J.: Non-Fiction

An Invincible Victory.

June 26th, 2009 | Black Music, NONFICTION, Obituary

Today, on NONFICTION, I’ll be talking about the life and music of the late, great Michael Jackson, who died yesterday, with ethnomusicologist Dr. Kyra Gaunt and cultural writer Michael Gonzales, author of “Remembering The Times: Memories of Mike.”

You can hear their ideas by tuning in at 2 pm. If you’re outside of the New York tri-state, check out our stream on the web. If you miss the live show, dig into our archives for up to 90 days after broadcast.

http://harryallen.info/?p=4176

Remembering The Times: Memories of Michael

As one of the first generation of kids who embraced those five flamboyant brothers known as The Jackson 5 in the pre-rap music ’70s, especially the perky innocence of the Afroed rug-rat that was Michael, it is difficult to comprehend that the “King of Pop” is now dead.

In those long-lost years before brother Jackson became known as a parody of his former self, his gorgeous voice and staggering image seeped into the fertile imaginations of America’s chocolate city children. ”We embraced the J5 like family, like imaginary best friends or make-believe boyfriends,” wrote soul historian David Ritz in his 1995 liner-notes for the four-CD Jackson box-set Soulsation! ”We loved their bounce and joyful rhythms.”

Many current artists from Jay-Z to Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake to Usher, viewed M.J. as the guiding light that inspired their own ambitions. Missy Elliott once gushed, “I would sit in class and look out of the window hoping I’d see a limousine pull up outside. I’d hope to see a glittery glove on the limo door and it would be Michael Jackson and he’d say, I’m here to get Missy.”

I can only imagine how difficult it must be for her to think of M.J. lying in a coma, taking his last breath.

FOR THE REST OF THIS ESSAY, GO TO:

http://soulsummer.com/ezine/feature-stories/remembering-the-time-memories-of-mike