Michael Jackson 1958 - 2009
On 25 June 2009 the world lost a superstar and a legendary musical icon. Michael Jackson, who has profoundly left his impression on pop culture with decades of successful chart topping hits, was pronounced dead at 2.26pm local Los Angles time.
Several hours earlier I had read on the BBC News website that the megastar had collapse at his home and had been taken to hospital for what appeared to a suspected cardiac arrest, and at the same time I had received a call, asking me if I have heard the news about one my most admired artistic performers.
My immediate feelings at the time were, perhaps its nothing too serious and just put it down to possible exhaustion from his preparation for his up and coming UK tour, and as a result he will not be able to carryout his full commitments to the tour. I was also on the phone to my broadband supplier at this time, having just arrived home after a busy day and had not yet turned on the television. But I instantly reached for the TV remote control and switched over to BBC News 24, upon which time they were announcing that Michael Jackson the ‘The King of Pop’ was dead, but yet to be officially confirmed.
Eagerly I switched over to CNN International who was also making similar announcements, as was Sky News. It was said that; news of his death was coming from the celebrity website TMZ.com and from the LA Times, but neither of the dedicated broadcast news channels had any confirmation of his death.
I waited patiently switching between the news channels as they talked about is career and personal life, stitched with reactions from friends and fans as fast as their cameras and phones could reach them and get it on air. Within 2 hour of the first headline reporting the artist condition, the well known and established Associated Press (AP) was know reporting that the signer had indeed past away in a suspected heart attack. A good part of me did not want to believe it, but I also relised that something very serious had happened to Michael Jackson and that at this point he is unlikely to recover.
For me, it was quickly becoming a very sad moment. For Michael Jackson was the man, who when I was a little boy aspired me through his music, dancing and singing. He was the man, whose records I played endlessly in my room and danced to as young boy. He was the man I would sit for countless hours and play his ‘Off the Wall’ album, and then would write out every word of my favourite songs from the album, over and over and over again, in order to practice my hand-writing techniques, and now that tiny piece of me, which he helped shaped, was suddenly touched. I have never openly spoken of the impact Michael Jackson had on my life growing up as a young boy during adulthood before. But I sincerely thank him from the bottom of my heart for being such an extraordinary influence during one of the most important times of my upbringing. As I contemplated those thoughts and many more, his dear brother Jermaine Jackson, officially pronounced the mega superstar dead in a statement, a mere few hours after the story first broke.
Once again a much loved icon has been taken from the world as we knew them to have lived; Dr. Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, John Lennon, Princess Diana (Lady Diana Spenser) and today; the ‘King of Pop’ himself – Michael Jackson. Because of these remarkable people and others, the world has found a cause, a purpose to try and unite on common causes in order to try and fulfil a dream, which is the promise of a better tomorrow. They leave us with a legacy, that we can all work, to live to see a better tomorrow and that no one person is an island upon themselves, but instead; we all brothers and sisters and united we should stand.
Michael Jackson did not just write, sing and danced to music; he tried to use music to unite the world on common causes such as our planet. He noticed the differences within cultures and tried to have a shared popular culture through his music, and I sincerely believe that he saw children as innocence, that needed to be protected. I further add, that; I sincerely think that he died as result of the corporate machinery, so many of us are guilty of, including the legendary ‘King of Pop’ himself.
Michael Jackson solo album career:
Album: Off the Wall
Released: 1979
Sold: 20 million worldwide
Includes: Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough, Rock With You and She’s Out of My Life
Album: Thriller
Released: 1982
Sold: 65 million worldwide
Includes: Wanna Be Starting Something, Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean and The Girl Is Mine
Album: Bad
Released: 1987
Sold: 30 million worldwide
Includes: Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Man In The Mirror, Dirty Diana and Smooth Criminal
Album: Dangerous
Released: 1991
Sold: 22 million worldwide
Includes: Remember The Time, Heal The World, Black or White and Dangerous
Album: History
Released: 1995
Sold: 20 million worldwide
Includes: Scream, They Don’t Care About Us, Earth Song, Come Together and You Are Not Alone
Album: Invincible
Released: 2001
Sold: 10 million worldwide
Includes: You Rock My World and Cry
Source figures: Evening Standard
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