There will doubtless be thousands of articles, stories, a few books, and another movie on the life of the famous Jackson family; and Michael in particular. Michael, like those few humans blessed with an extraordinary gift or talent, became larger than “LIFE;” an almost iconic, mythical figure, who transcended the normal boundaries of moral and spiritual requirements, although he was very much a frail, broken, flawed, and damaged human being. Of Michael’s enormous talent, he stood alone on his pedestal, towering far above the rest because he had no equal. Just think about it: The seventh of nine children, born in Gary, Indiana who was taught musical routines along with his older brothers at the tender age of 7 by his hard-driving, demanding father, Joe Jackson. At age 11, Michael becomes the featured lead singer and performer with his siblings known as “The Jackson Five.” Two years later, though still part of the group, Michael goes for a solo career. Both Michael and his brothers are very popular during the decade of the 1970’s. There was a period where they received some criticism for playing “Bubble gum” music, meaning that they needed to grow up more lyrically, professionally, and in the public perception of their personalities as well.
Although aloofness and strangeness is not uncommon with genius, Michael’s particular eccentricities and interest in some of the bizarre, like bones of “The Elephant Man,” may be deeply rooted in psychology rather than anything else. In 1984, Michael seemed to be just your typical, talented, rising Super-Star performer until his hair caught on fire from doing the Ad for “Pepsi.” There was news footage of Michael being bandaged around his head and hands, and interesting enough, those bandages still remained; in an emotional and mental sense. Michael had repressed or suppressed a lot of childhood pain and this physical sensation from the ‘burn’ was like the internal hell-like torment that he must have carried within himself of the abuse at the hands of his father all these years. It is possible that the uniforms, gloves, masks, and handkerchiefs Michael wore on his body were symbolic to protect his vulnerability and hurt. Sometimes, when one experienced a traumatic, life-threatening event, it can change your entire approach to the way you do things. Remember comedian Richard Pryor’s ‘change’ after he caught on fire from free-basing, and stopped using the “N” word in his routines; and what about soulful crooner Al Green who also saw the “Light” after some hot grits was tossed on his chest by an angry girlfriend while he was in the bathtub?
Not to drift too far from the point, the person who sang, “Man in the Mirror,” seemed to live at times as though he were the “Boy in the Bubble” by his aversion to coming into contact with germs and sleeping in a hypobaric oxygen chamber. And like former billionaire industrialist Howard Hughes, Michael got to the point where he didn’t want to pick up and handle anything with his hands. Mr. Hughes’ condition can be explained medically because he was diagnosed as suffering from ‘Syphilis;’ which had affected his brain. It is unfortunate that Michael has been accused of Child Molestation because the one thing that he seems to stand out for is his great ‘Love’ for children. It is almost as though he was an ebon ‘Pied piper’ who could capture the hearts of the youth with his magical flute.
There will continue to be the debate as to whether Michael Jackson should be called “The King of Pop” as opposed to the title going to “Elvis” or the “Beatles.” Well, with the latter, classification would be impractical because it would be comparing an individual to a group. Even when Paul McCartney formed the group “Wings,” it still wouldn’t make sense because how well has Sir Paul done as a solo artist? Now, regarding Elvis Pressley; Michael has sold more albums; and “Thriller” has more Number 1 hits than Elvis had from any of his albums. Although Ed Sullivan didn’t want the cameras to show the gyrating legs of Elvis when he performed on his stage, how does that compare to Michael’s patented “Moonwalk” and other irreproducible, unduplicatable, gravity-defying dance moves; let alone his eye-catching, jaw-dropping, crotch-grabbing dance number in the “BAD” music video. One thing though, are the similarities to his death and Elvis; which is: a personal medical physician has once again prescribed medication or “pain killers” [‘ironic label’] which proves to be fatal to his famous client.
The legendary Fred Astaire made a comment about Michael Jackson’s form as that of ‘an angry dancer,’ and perhaps there was some truth in his assessment. For Michael, since he couldn’t go back and relive his childhood all over again and recapture all the fun, imagination, and fantasy of youth; he will just try and create it by his Walt Disney-themed Never Neverland ranch in Santa Barbara, CA. Michael once remarked that he was “Peter Pan” or the boy who never grew up; perhaps that explains his surgically-altered appearance as opposed to suffering from ‘Vitiligo’ (skin depigmentation). Although it would seem that Michael was someone who may have had the genetic material which appeared to be a combination of ‘Peter Pan’ and ‘Benjamin Button.’ As old Blues legend B.B. King used to say, “THE THRILL(ER) IS GONE.” Be that as it may, perhaps Michael finally has found peace and may truly walk through the pearly gates of the true “NEVER NEVER LAND!”
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
June 26, 2009
pbks@hotmail.com
