Michael Jackson: It’s the Music That Matters?

By: Sherry Rashad


I think it is a universally accepted axiom that civilized people tend not to speak ill of the dearly departed. Thus, even though I’ve never been a full-blown Michael Jackson fan, it is still hard to casually ignore the contribution that he made to the world of popular music - not to mention the music business' bottom line. I’m still trying to mentally struggle with the fact that the King of Pop passed away last June 25, 2009. As a part of the over-30 demographic, I too consider myself fortunate enough to had appreciated Michael Jackson’s musical works and full-blown live performance stagecraft long before he became a case study of the US justice system from the supermarket tabloid’s perspective.

Ever since he went solo, the musical works of Michael Jackson – even though they are only relegated to the Billboard Chart / Mainstream FM staple – they are still a cut above the rest of the contemporary competition. And if you add his empathy to relatively obscure session musicians by allowing them access to the fame and fortune they desperately deserve, I find it hard – at present – why I never became a Michael Jackson fan during the 1980s. Maybe it was after Jackson’s USA for Africa style humanitarianism that the King of Pop – from my perspective at least – doesn’t have any trouble amassing legions of fans.

During the intervening years – between the release of his Thriller and Bad albums – I’ve always thought that Prince (The Artist Formerly Known As Prince or whatever the hell he calls himself these days) was the first one destined to become a sex-crimes defendant. Due to Prince’s frequent reference of oral sex and purple-colored toilet paper during his press interviews. I never would have foreseen – back in April or May 1987 – that Michael Jackson could become a legal test case for America’s sometimes prudish and illogical sex crime statutes. Though the September 14, 1993 court summons was still light-years and another space-time dimension removed from the time.

Even though he was never convicted in the court of law, Michael Jackson was unjustly convicted in the court of public opinion. Sadly – during the early 1990s – I was too involved in my own Heavy Metal / Alternative hybrid band to even care about Michael Jackson after his Dangerous album. Even Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash wasn’t convicted while “hanging out” with then under-aged Traci Lords. For better or for worse, looks like Reverend Al Sharpton is right all along, Michael Jackson will be remembered more for his music, rather than the celebrity excesses that became supermarket tabloid fodder for much of the 1990s. Given that his upcoming This Is It tour would have served not only as a vital economic stimulus for the global economy, but also could make everyone - avid fan or not - experience the Michael Jackson "magic" first hand.