Vintage Michael Jackson
June 30, 2009
Michael Jackson was my first crush. I was a nine year old girl when I first heard this song on the radio and saw the Jackson Five perform on ‘American Bandstand’. In 1970s, you’d be hard pressed to find a little black girl who didn’t have crush on Michael Jackson. From there, Michael and his brothers became an important part of my life. We rushed out to buy the next new Jackson Five single, created dance steps for every Jackson Five song and fought over who was going to be Michael’s girlfriend.
My love for all things Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five continued into my teenage years. I never missed an appearance on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’, ‘American Bandstand’ or a concert if they were in my town. All I know is I would have died if I had missed a Jackson Five concert. Luckily for me, my mom understood the earth-shattering importance of this and saw to it that I had tickets for every concert. I think I first saw Michael Jackson live in 1972 and probably have seen him more than a handful of times since then. I was never disappointed.
Although I have enjoyed Michael’s music over the years, I have a particular fondness for his music from the 70s. No one could tell me, ‘Stop the Love You Save’ was not a bombass song. I’m not as fond of his newer music because the memories aren’t the same. After his classic ‘Off The Wall’ album was released, Michael began to change. His nose got thinner, his skin got lighter and his hair got straighter. He was no longer that beautiful black man I fell in love with. ‘Thriller’ was the last Michael Jackson album I bought.
Michael first achieved his fame as a young black kid from Gary but by the time he died, he was as far away from this as he could possibly be. It was his marriages, first to Lisa Marie Presley and then that odd one to that homely Debbie Rowe and then it was the children. No one was willing to state the obvious about Michael, his intense self-hatred. Though he sang “it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white”, he was clearly becoming a white person before our very eyes. And then the children, was I the only person wondering why or how he fathered white children? No one, particularly black folks, said a word about it. I know I wasn’t the only one who thought this was both bizarre and sad at the same time.
Michael Jackson had enough fame, talent and money to transcend racial barriers. To his millions of fans, his skin color didn’t matter but to him it seemed terribly important to leave his black skin and features behind. That more than anything makes me sad. I can’t lie, I’m going to miss him but I know now he will finally be at peace. R.I.P. Michael Joe Jackson, thanks for the wonderful memories.
