I was not and am not a Michael Jackson fan. Not by any means. BUT:

I remember the Jackson Five - MJ and I are close to the same age and when I was a child he captivated me. His voice and his moves. I remember being upset when he struck out on his own as I felt he had betrayed the group.

In hindsight, he was probably pushed out on his own as I think he was too young to have necessarily been the prime mover behind it, but at the time I was very disappointed because I liked the group and they died when he left.

Now, I never followed his career. After he went solo I never found him nearly as appealing and pretty much forgot about him. Much of the rest of the world didn't. Whether you like his art or not, whether he appealed to you or not, you cannot deny that he was a consummate entertainer. He knew his market and exploited it - just look at the fan base - you cannot argue against it.

Was he a good musician, songwriter or dancer? I don't really know - I didn't follow his career and don't have basis for a valid opinion.

As a comparison, what about KennyG? Here is a musician that many look down on too because, they claim, he has bad intonation or bad this or bad that, but he is popular and makes money. Why? same reason as MJ - he is an entertainer.

I know plenty of very good musicians who will never get anywhere in music. Because they are NOT entertainers. The ability to captivate and entertain the crowd takes more than good or even great musical skills or a wonderful voice. It takes an ability to connect with the crowd, to make them your best friends while you are performing, to so grab their attention that they cannot ignore you or get enough of you, and the ability to know and give them what they want.

Was he a paedophile, was he some kind of evil monster or some of the other claims that have been made over the years? The only ones who really know are the ones involved. All we know is what the media tell us and that is carefully controlled by either the marketing machines or those journalists with either an axe to grind or a nose for a good story, or both. I forget who it was who first said*; "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story". The MJ saga exemplifies this.

* <Edit> I remembered. I'm pretty sure it was William Randolph Hearst. A media magnate - how appropriate...

Last edited by Lawrie; 07/13/09 05:00 PM.
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