Remember Jackson the Artist, Not the Man

Michael Jackson's death last week was a sad event. A great artist has passed, his children's futures are unsure, and his family are left without a brother and son. His comeback tour won't happen, and it's hard to say what his musical legacy could have been. Yet, the passing of the King of Pop says more about the society in which he lived than it does about his life. Frankly, there is a twisted bunch of ghouls out there.

In order to appreciate Mr. Jackson's career, one must disentangle it as much as possible from his private life (which he had to live in public). As Quincy Jones observed (and he's in a position to know), Mr. Jackson was a musical genius. His ability to make the transition from boy-band front man to the King of Pop was nothing short of a miracle in the face of very long odds.

Moreover, he was a social symbol to a great many Americans of different races. For the black community, he went from being a cross-over success to being a breakthrough artist. To others, he was simply a great performer who got his due, yet in so doing, vindicated the decisions of desegregation and civil rights. Given an equal shot, the best will rise to the top.

Mr. Jackson's personal life was, at best, a mess. Having virtually no childhood, it is unsurprising that he was, to be kind, an unconventional adult. And the vultures eventually find a person like that to manipulate. While it is entirely likely that Mr. Jackson was guilty of inappropriate acts with children, it is also true that the legal system acquitted him. And one wonders just what those parents were thinking in the first place.

His cause of his death is unknown but quite obvious to anyone familiar with what performers have to face. He died because no one was ready to sit him down and tell him to get a grip. Someone long ago should have said to him, "no, dammit, Mike." Those who might have once had that standing (for instance, his father) were far from the inner circle at the end. Mr. Jackson died of indifference.

His music, his dancing and his long list of hits are the better estimate of his life. Whether it was "ABC," "Billie Jean" or "Thriller," he touched music lovers in a way few can. His fame is as great in Russia or Nigeria as it is in Rhode Island or Nebraska. He spent 40 years in the music business, and most of it was at the top. A final bow just wasn't in the cards.

© Copyright 2009 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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