I will never forget sitting in my living room watching Michael Jackson perform at the Apollo Theater for the 25th anniversary of Motown Records. I had never seen anything like it. Those moves were like nothing we'd ever seen. As he moonwalked across that stage I knew I had just seen history being made.
Even though I was a young mom at the time, I was still very into music and bought "Thriller" which I played constantly. I was awed by his talent.
It saddens me that for many young people that the impression they have is of "Wacko Jacko," trials for child molestation and his children shrouded in scarves. I hope that in time the bizarre behavior will fade in memory and that his talent as a song writer, singer, dancer and producer will be what we remember him for.
I don't think Michael Jackson ever had a chance to have a normal life. Thrust into the spotlight by an abusive father, he achieved a level of fame as a child that no one can ever fathom.
He truly did seem like the lonely man at the top. I heard someone say in the midst of this media blitz that the reason he befriended children was because they were the only people he knew didn't want anything from him. They didn't want to hang out with him because he was a star or would be looking for a check. But I wonder, what about their parents?
Yes, he was an odd man, but he was an amazingly talented one. No one will ever know if the horrific charges levied against him were valid, or perhaps just more of the leeching off of a vulnerable man.
It's particularly sad that he died now, just as he was poised to rebound from the trauma of the last few years. We will never know what he would have shown us next, and how he might have, once again changed the landscape of music.
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