Michael Jackson dead at 50!!!

[incognito_NYC]

But .....

It's the 'unknowns' who create new musical genres single-handedly that make music history. And their names are known only to a few.

It's not the famous ones that every else credits with 'discovering' a new type of music that really made a difference.

It's like an inside joke.

Most people would agree that Elvis is the King of Rock & Roll.

But only true musicians understand that the title really belongs to Professor Longhair from New Orleans. (who?!?!?)

It would be fun to see a study who look at who's the most known person amongst a bunch of celebrities.

I must admit, a big part of the names mentionned here ranking against MJ are unknown to me.

- stompin Tom Conners: who's that? A wrestler? Na, JJ said he went to one of his concert...
- Sam Cooke, Louis Jordan and Big Joe Turner: no idea.
- Burl Ives: Burl who?

What I mean is, these names are known to peoples listening the type of music they made. Michael Jackson, like Elvis Presley are names known by peoples who like any music type, no matter if they are huge fans of the type or if they hate that music with passion.

Now, if that's what being a star implies, MJ was one of the biggest star that ever lived! Of course, there's more to it but, in my opinion, the reminder of his career confirms he is one of the biggest musical star.

 

[Techman]

I think it is all relative to the era and the tools available. Beethoven, Mozart are stars. Time made them eternals.
Singers like Britney Spears would not have made more than Star Search 20 years ago. Some American Idols would not even have done more than the Country Bar in their neighbourhood.
How many extraordinary people could have reach the stars if they would have had a Big Machine around them.

Britney Spears was on Star Search, so were Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake and Usher plus comedians Drew Carey, Dave Chapell, Rosie O'Donnell and Ray Romano and actress Sharon Stone. A lot of talented performers come out of these talent competitions as has been evidenced by some of the Idol winners who have gone on to Grammy winning careers as well as one Oscar winner. Just because someone gets their break on one of these shows doesn't change the fact that they are talented individuals.

And don't forget that the Jacksons may have never amounted to anything without the immense Motown machine, including their writers and producers called 'The Corporation', which provided them with their first hits and publicity.

And don't pick on Stompin' Tom!!! Where would we be without The Hockey Song?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZWxErEbQkY

 

[centaurus]

Tito Jackson will always be my favorite Jackson. He is still alive, right? Good, good.

 

[Dee]

As promised here's Chrisite Blatchford's comments on Michael's blackness - he seemed to want to escape rather then celebrate it and have it accepted:



That crowds were lining up around the star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the boyhood home in Indiana and the rented estate in Los Angeles for “Michael,” as everyone is now calling him, was entirely predictable. The public mourning promises to be protracted and ridiculous, with people who had never met him or even seen him in concert all but bursting into flames with grief.
Oddly, for a change the usual grotesque circus will actually suit the deceased: While he was a wonderful talent, Mr. Jackson was a seriously troubled guy.
He began life as a beautiful black man who seemed to grow whiter every year, and while he always attributed this to disease, his plastic surgery choices seemed nonetheless to reflect a preference for Caucasian features. He was, if never convicted as a pedophile (one set of allegations involving a 13-year-old boy were settled out of court for $23-million, while he was acquitted of later molestation charges), certainly a curious boy-lover, admitting that he slept with youngsters at his Neverland Ranch and kissed them goodnight but insisting there was nothing sexual about it, only sweetness. That omnipresent face mask, the barely audible soft voice, the completely bizarre dangling of his youngest child over a balcony: The man was a train wreck.

 

[Turbodick]

Considering all the millions of people who MJ brought happiness through his music the news is very sad indeed. The one consolation out of the loss of MJ and Farrah on the same day is that the feeding frenzy the tabloids would have preferred to be spread out a few weeks apart has to occur all at once, and they won't sell as many of their rags this way as they would have.

 

[Doc Holliday]

And don't pick on Stompin' Tom!!! Where would we be without The Hockey Song?

I happen to love Stompin' Tom. Among my favorites are 'Sudbury Saturday Night', 'Tillsonberg', 'Margot's Cargo' & yes indeed, "The Hockey Song".

Anyone remember that old show "Marketplace" that used to air on CBC every Sunday night? The song for the show was sung by none other than Stompin' Tom himself. "Yes we are the people......."

 

[Techman]

The funniest thing is that last night CTV showed a Stompin Tom concert at 7 PM and I ended up watching the entire show. That was really strange timing!

At the moment I'm watching a 2004 Prince concert at the Staples Center. Absolutely amazing show with Candy Dulfer on sax. He said a great line during the show..."We don't believe in lip syncing, people! This is real music played by real musicians!"

 

[mtwallet]

Weird how MJ's death bumped the iranian revolts off the front page.

That's because people don't want to deal with real problems nowadays. They would rather hear "fluff" reports than real news. It seems (to me anyways) that a hell of a lot of people will simply try to hide from reality rather than deal with it. Maybe that was MJ's problem. Personally I couldn't care less.

As for the identity of the REAL King of Rock and Roll?...Ronnie James Dio. And now that you know...I'll have to kill you all.

 

[YouVantOption]

Wholly unintentional, Pepsi is enjoying a bit of added exposure in Times Square. It's signage is placed all around a digital display which is paying tribute to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

http://animalnewyork.com/2009/06/michael-jackson-the-king-of-pop/

Most brands don't willingly take advantage of a celebrity's death but it's a sure bet a few people at Pepsi and the brand's agency aren't complaining about this coincidental confluence of events.

Pepsi and MJ had, of course, a very long-standing relationship. They aren't a Johnny-come-lately, I think it appropriate.

How does MJ compare to lets say, Celine Dion or Roch Voisine?

Céline and MJ certainly played in the same league. I know, don't feed the trolls, but I think the similarity between MJ & Voisin is that they both ostensibly have penises, are potentially gay, and share a common gene pool.

Weird how MJ's death bumped the iranian revolts off the front page. Concidence? i think not.

I guess that depends upon a number of things, including where you get your news. Nick Kristof blogged about the emphasis given MJ, I'll note the NYT site now has plenty of Iranian-focussed news since they nabbed the UK staff yesterday.

Nicholas D. Kristof So if you were a newspaper editor or TV news executive producer, what would be all over the front page or news program today? Michael Jackson? Or Iran/Iraq/health, etc? Did we overplay Jackson? I would vote vote for giving the big play to Jackson, because he was such an icon and that makes this a historical moment. But I can see why some readers lament that real news is being pushed out as a result. Your thoughts?

PS: Just to give an idea of how dominant Louis Jordan was in the late forties : check out the R&B charts for 1946-1950
yet the guy is largely forgotten today. So, where will MJ's rep be in 50 years? ... only time will tell.

The operative phrase being R&B charts from the 40s and 50s. A very marginal place at the time. But you knew that.

Most people would agree that Elvis is the King of Rock & Roll.

But only true musicians understand that the title really belongs to Professor Longhair from New Orleans. (who?!?!?)

Rock & Roll is a far more complex thing than can be laid at any one doorstep. Many of the artists named thus far contributed, as did Hank Williams Sr., as did the boogie-woogie proponents of the 20s and 30s. Where would Professor Longhair be without Jelly Roll Morton?

 

[Dr Edgar Who]

The operative phrase being R&B charts from the 40s and 50s. A very marginal place at the time. But you knew that.

Rock & Roll is a far more complex thing than can be laid at any one doorstep. Many of the artists named thus far contributed, as did Hank Williams Sr., as did the boogie-woogie proponents of the 20s and 30s. Where would Professor Longhair be without Jelly Roll Morton?

Yes and no, I think having million-selling records was a pretty impressive achievement at a time when disposable incomes were much lower (esp for blacks) and when US population was half of todays. Always hard to compare people from different eras (as with hockey players). I think that Louis Jordan was a household name back then even for whites but I wasn't even close to being born yet. I guess my point is that it will be interesting to see how more recent "mega-stars" like MJ and Prince stand the test of time. You are right though that Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman may be a better point of comparison.

It is also very difficult to give everyone who contributed to the rise of Jazz, R&B and Rock their just share of the credit. Something very special happened in american music I would say between 1905 and 1955, lots of people contributed and the evolution was very gradual.

 

[NathanJ]

Yes and no, I think having million-selling records was a pretty impressive achievement at a time when disposable incomes were much lower (esp for blacks) and when US population was half of todays. Always hard to compare people from different eras (as with hockey players). I think that Louis Jordan was a household name back then even for whites but I wasn't even close to being born yet. I guess my point is that it will be interesting to see how more recent "mega-stars" like MJ and Prince stand the test of time. You are right though that Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman may be a better point of comparison.

It is also very difficult to give everyone who contributed to the rise of Jazz, R&B and Rock their just share of the credit. Something very special happened in american music I would say between 1905 and 1955, lots of people contributed and the evolution was very gradual.

Yeah ! and you wanna know a good one ? According To M. Marsalis himself... all these pop music king and stars owe it to M. Louis Armstrong and the singers of his time..for having been the ones who started making it popular to play with their voice and not just sing a 'story'.

So I don't care about people saying this artist is the king of this or that, the other one is the genius, bla bla bla...we all owe something from someone else way before and we always overlook at how hard it must have been to anyone in his/her own time to get that level of popularity.

Same goes for Beethoven vs. Mozart. If there hadn't been Mozart, Beethoven would have not be a genius, and guess what...same goes for Mozart. You can't compare the two if you really know about Classical music.

Same goes for MJ and Elvis. Comon !

I'm telling ya ! this sh*t about 'the greatest, the biggest, the best...' is just eclipsing the reality out of any's conversation.

As if the whole population is mythomaniacs !

BTW is Elvis still alive

 

[Dee]

Looks like Mommy Jackson will get custody of little Mikie's putative children. Really no contest. She did such a great job raising Mikie and his siblings.

 

[Dee]

Yeah but she is older and wiser now and i am sure that Grandpa is a much nicer guy then he used to be

You are right about Grandpa... he is a strong man... despite the overwhelming grief he was suffering he was able to take time to promote his new record company when they were asking him about his deceased son.

 

[metoo4]

Holy shit! Micheal Jackson died.? When ? How? We're there any angry parents involved?

What?! Micheal Jackson is dead? When? Where?
The entire planet will miss him.

Loosing your memory?

 

[breadman]

Royal Guards play tribute...

 

[blakjak]

jordan chandler admits it was a lie

the boy who accused him in '93, admitted that his father forced him to lie

 

[metoo4]

the boy who accused him in '93, admitted that his father forced him to lie

Not doubting, just curious. Where did you learned this?

 

[Techman]

It's just another Internet rumour. So far there has been no official news agency reporting this.

 

[EagerBeaver]

the boy who accused him in '93, admitted that his father forced him to lie

Intuitively this does not make any sense. The boy, Jordan Chandler, gave an official statement to police regarding alleged sex acts by Jackson, and to now admit that the statement was false would possibly subject him and/or his father to criminal prosecution for giving a false statement to police. He would have been so counseled by his attorney.

Furthermore, since a civil action was brought based on the same allegations which settled out of Court, apparently for $22 million, an admission that the allegations were false would not only subject that settlement to being negated, but Jackson's estate could possibly also sue the Chandlers for vexatious litigation, which is a statutory cause of action in most jurisdictions. For these and other reasons, the Chandlers' attorney and Jackson's attorneys as well, likely built a broad confidentiality provision into this agreement, and talking about the allegations would be a violation of the confidentiality provision. Chandler stopped cooperating with police after the settlement, so it is almost 100% that the agreement had a confidentiality provision that barred the Chandlers from further discussing the allegations, including any cooperation with law enforcement. And any discussion now would be a violation of the agreement subjecting Chandler to suit by Jackson's Estate which could seek to recoup the settlement monies, if they are still around.

In addition as Techman noted, no legitimate news outlet has reported this rumor as fact. For the reasons noted above it makes no sense.

This is not to say that Chandler's allegations were true. Based on all of the facts and circumstances I have read about, I believe they were either false or else exaggerated. I think Jackson was probably guilty of very poor judgment in hanging around with too many cute young boys like Chandler, and clearly set himself up to be a target of an opportunistic parent eager to shake him down.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I think Jackson was probably guilty of very poor judgment in hanging around with too many cute young boys like Chandler, and clearly set himself up to be a target of an opportunistic parent eager to shake him down.

Very well said. Add to that list of kids Emmanuel Lewis & McCaulay Culkin. Michael Jackson never had a real childhood himself since he became part of the 'Jackson 5' at a very early age. I believe he spent the most part of his adulthood trying to re-live or find that part of his life that he didn't have & missed dearly. Example, the Neverland ranch. He was also much more comfortable being around children than around adults. Yes, this is weird..different. But it's no proof that he actually & intentionally sexually abused children. He was guilty of bad judgement & of being weird. I've always had my doubts about the accusations against him. People who looked upon him as a responsible 'adult' found his behaviour to be unnacceptable. But if you looked at him as the way he was...a very strange & weird adult, who acted like a child....well, it wasn't that difficult to figure out wow people who wanted to make a quick million could have taken advantage of him being 'different'. Yes, he showed very bad judgement....but his adult entourage could have stepped in & done something instead of being 'yes men'. Same goes with the parents of these kids. Sleepovers??? Come on!