Spent this evening watching a Michael Jackson retrospective. I’m left feeling awe, delight in his brilliance, and an emptyness. The world is incomplete without him.
Forgive the weirdness. Remember the artistry.
Billie Jean may well be the single greatest pop song ever recorded. And Thriller the best commercial video/short film ever produced.
Both, within the context of the time they were made, were transcendent. They moved the culture of music forward and truly marked the merger of artistic media. Jackson was a genius. And that’s how I’ll remember him.
In the same vein as Elvis and Jimi, Michael’s artistic purpose may have faded into legend. Watching his videos and performance footage, I was reminded of how truly unique he was. There’s a reason he sold 750 million albums and influenced hundreds of artists during the past three decades. Just as Elvis gave rise to blues-infused rock and roll that’s still going strong, and Hendrix took rock guitar to cosmic heights, Michael had the same effect in truly becoming the first post-racial mega-star. What these guys did will never be duplicated.
And, what’s really interesting to me is that none of these brilliant men would have succeeded had it not been for Son House, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and John Lee Hooker. Original Delta bluesmen who’s legacy still lives on. And their influence can be heard – and felt – in every song produced by Elvis, Jimi and Michael.
And just as with the great bluesmen that came before him, including Elvis and Jimi, Michael’s train pulled into the station, and he climbed aboard, leaving us wanting more.
Someday that train will come for each of us. While we may never leave the culture-changing legacy that Michael left, let’s hope we all leave our tribe wanting more of us.
Thanks Michael.
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