Beatle experts discuss how Michael Jackson's death parallels when Lennon, Elvis died

   An image of Elvis Presley is seen on a purse along with a message
   to be left at a makeshift memorial outside the family home of late pop star
   Michael Jackson in Encino, Calif. on Monday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

There was a feeling of deja vu last week for us and we suspect a lot of older Beatle fans when the news suddenly broke about the death of Michael Jackson, especially the utter shock and the complete unbelievability of the whole thing.

When the news of John Lennon's death broke, it was a different world. There was no Twitter or Facebook to spread the news. Many of us learned the shocking news from Howard Cosell's sudden announcement on "Monday Night Football."

The complete disbelief of what had transpired hit us all square between the eyes. Yoko Ono requested a 10 minute period of silence a couple of days later, which was televised. Those 10 minutes on the air conveyed quite a message -- the power of seeing the faces during the silent period was something we've never forgotten.

The grieving came -- and still does -- when we realize what's missing from all our lives now with Lennon not being here. It's the same thing the Michael Jackson fans are going through now and will continue to do.

The obvious parallel with another icon's death, besides Lennon's, would be that of Elvis Presley. It's a pretty safe bet that the majority of older Beatles fans are Elvis fans since John himself was one. Neither Lennon or Jackson, who both appeared to be in prime physical shape (though some stories coming out about Jackson in the last couple of days have raised medical questions), seemed unlikely to pass away so suddenly. Elvis Presley, on the other hand, was overweight and bloated. You could almost see it coming.

We asked a few Beatles experts to compare the two events.  First, Dennis Mitchell of "Dennis Mitchell's 'Breakfast With the Beatles'":

I could not comprehend John's death on any level for several days after it happened, because it was so completely unexpected.  Michael had so many ups and, more recently, downs in his career that I'm sure I wasn't alone in speculating along the way that it would probably not come to a good end for him.  Not that I wasn't watching along with millions of people around the world to see if he could really deliver on what he had promised, with the huge run of shows in London. 

 

But you just didn't hear that kind of talk about John, at least not seriously, even when he was at his lowest low.  I think we just kind of figured he would eventually reach rock bottom, get tired of being embarrassed by tabloid headlines, and come around.  And he did.  The resulting album, "Double Fantasy," was proof positive that John was still capable of entertaining on a wide scale, and there was no reason to believe that a subsequent tour wouldn't have been the event of the young decade.  We are still stunned a little bit to this day at how he left us, when we think about it. 

 

There are obvious parallels between John and Michael being on the brink of major comebacks, even to the point that both artists had huge and (for different reasons) forgiving followings ready to flock to the shows.  But unlike John, we didn't really have an indication yet that Michael was capable of pulling it off, and there was still a lot of residual doubt and skepticism about that because of the most recent scandal and his disappearance from the public that followed.  Michael's death is extremely sad, but somewhat understandable because of the turmoil that apparently continued up to his dying day.  John's death continues to defy logic on any level. 

Andre Gardner, host of "Andre Gardner's 'Breakfast With the Beatles'":

That's surely an interesting question. I suspect that Michael was, to some people, their John Lennon or Elvis, but the big difference I see was that neither Elvis or John were embroiled in the degree of controversy that Michael was, nor were they as, eh, eccentric.  I think those factors may have taken a bit of shine off of the apple, so to speak.  Even though Elvis was in a bit of career decline, his death and the days that followed drew crowds of supporters and mourners in the TENS of thousands, and I haven't seen that with Michael yet.  We'll have to wait to see if there's any sort of public service to know for sure.

John's death sort of goes without saying.  We know the amazing number of people who gathered outside The Dakota that horrible night, and who silently mourned in the days that followed.

 Brad Kava, who's SF Radio Examiner and former pop music writer with the San Jose Mercury News, where he was my former cubicle mate, wrote this:

They are similar, from what I'm hearing on the radio. When John died, all the rock stations played his music and nothing but for almost a week. Today, I heard non stop Michael on two stations all day. I think one difference is that Lennon was approachable to his public and relatively normal. Jackson, on the other hand, appeals more to more races. Lennon's following was strictly or mostly white...Jackson's covers so many nationalities.

Mitch Axelrod, author of "Beatletoons, The Real Story Behind The Cartoon Beatles":

I think (they are) the same, but different. Let me explain. It is still the unexpected death of an icon and that is a complete shame, so there is a real frenzy and media storm that will always follow. That is where it is the same. The BIG difference between the death of John Lennon and the death of Michael Jackson is that John died at the hands of a murderer while Michael died at the hands of himself. John was just “starting over” (pun intended) while Michael was proclaiming “this is it” for the name of his tour. John was having a rebirth and loving it while Michael was trying to recapture what once was for the very last time.

There were no controversies surrounding John at the time of his death. He was a husband and a family man at peace with himself. Michael was a loner with a lot of baggage ever trying to find the inner peace that everyone deserves.

Either way, both people were immensely talented individuals who were taken from this world far too soon.

Al Sussman of Beatlefan says the two events aren't really that similar at all:

The circumstances are very different. John Lennon's death was by assassination. The main connection would be the scenes of people at various sites on Thursday night and Friday singing MJ's songs. After the news of John's death was announced, people instinctively headed to the Dakota, some with boomboxes tuned to the many radio stations playing wall-to-wall Beatles and Lennon music. Soon the crowds began singing along with the radio.

Otherwise, as has been already chronicled, the real comparisons are between the circumstances surrounding the deaths of MJ and Elvis Presley, right down to the time of day when the news of their respective passings hit.

Casey Piotrowski, host of "The Beatles Show," agrees with the Elvis comparison:

It seems that Michael's death is more comparable to that of his one time father-in-law, Elvis Presley.  Lennon was murdered, of course.  And, though the deaths of all three men were unexpected, Jackson's, like Elvis', will be of natural causes...and there's already speculation of prescription drugs being a factor.

The Beatles were unique among all pre-eminent pop music figures through the decades before and after (from Rudy Vallee through Elvis, then from Elton through Michael, Prince and Madonna and whoever might be the most dominant rock star today...though I don't think there's anyone at the same level of the names above) in that they did more than just change music and pop fashion.  They changed attitudes toward money, sex, drugs, the environment, war.  They used their popularity to change the world...as they said they wanted to...in Lennon's song "Revolution", among others.

And Lennon was the frontman for it, during and after The Beatles.  His murder, even though it was at the hands of a madman, rather than a political foe, turned him into a martyr.  Hence, the reaction his death produced happened for reasons far beyond the real end of The Beatles.

The real gauge, I think, will be if Michael dominates the magazine covers in the next week...short of the Enquirer and that sort.  If he makes the cover of Newsweek and Time, then his death will have significance beyond that of being the latest celebrity headline.  (To give a better comparison than Lennon, Harrison's death...anticipated...and 20 years after Lennon's...30 years after The Beatles' breakup...still dominated headlines and major news magazine covers...demonstrating Harrison's...and The Beatles'...importance beyond the pop charts.)  That...and whether Michael's life and death become only fodder for gossip...will ultimately determine just how significant a figure...beyond his wealth and fame...he really was.

Jude Southerland Kessler, author of the Lennon enhanced biography "John Lennon: Shoulda Been There," wrote a very detailed answer:

 To be honest there are some striking similarities.

 Both men were children of tragic childhoods…so tragic that they both felt compelled to make a name for themselves in music history to prove that they were valuable, worthy, loveable. Both struggled against the overwhelming feeling of being unwanted. Both gave every measure of their talent, spirit, and determination to get to “the toppermost of the poppermost,” to become the “King of Pop.”

 But once there – once at the pinnacle of fame – both John and Michael found it lonely, unfulfilling, not at all what it had seemed from afar. Fame didn’t fill the hole in their hearts anymore than drugs or peace happenings or Neverlands or even the birth of their children did. Nothing made them really, truly happy.

 It was the Beatles first manager, Allan Williams, who accused John of always rushing toward “the next big thing.” There was always something out there, just beyond John’s grasp, that would surely satisfy him, make him happy at last. Alcohol, Prellies, Fame, Power, Moooney (that’s what I want!), Meditation, Scream Therapy, Drug Rehabilitation, Peace, Lost Weekends…surely something would work. But it was all a lie. And Michael Jackson, similarly, searched for new venues and new faces as well, making himself over and over and over into the person he could never be.

 But that is where the similarities stop.

 John’s death was murder. Just after he had written, “Grow old along with me…the best is yet to be,” that chance was taken from him. On the verge of releasing his fantastically successful Double Fantasy album (and this is not a conjecture…look at the sales figures), his future was denied him. When he had written to relatives and friends in Liverpool about his future plans, about returning to Liverpool to work and live, the opportunity was stolen from him. Brutally. Coldly. And with malice aforethought.

 John’s was a New York death. Midwinter, five cold shots, gone. No need for a second autopsy. This was “what it’s like to be dead. This was what it means to be sad.”

 And I am still sad...deeply.

 Throughout the eighties, I taught aerobics classes. I have such good memories of “Biilie Jean” and “Thriller” and “Bad.” Each song has its own happy association. And how I loved to watch Michael dance! He was completely mesmerizing. He was, in every way, the razzle dazzle King of Pop.  I hurt for his family. And I am sorry that he lived such a short time and such a troubled life.

 But Michael’s was an L.A. death full of second guessing and theories and lurking rumors. Last night, the news media interviewed the people who had defended Michael Jackson in his child molestation trails and they talked about the huge settlement Jackson paid to end the first trial and about the latent suspicions. They interviewed people who discussed Michael’s tremendous debts and the fact that his children may not have enough money for their future. Some much of the Hollywood rumor mill hovers around Jackson’s death. We are left whispering, wondering, questioning.

 John left us not with questions but with answers.  Give peace a chance. All you need is love. Love is what happens while you're busy making other plans. You can't take nothing but the soul ... think!

And of course, this:

Instant Karma's gonna get you, gonna look you right in the face,
Better get yourself together darlin', join the human race,
How in the world you gonna see, laughin' at fools like me,
Who on earth d'you think you are,
A super star, well, right you are.

Well we all shine on, like the moon and the stars and the sun,
Well we all shine on, ev'ryone come on.

 Tonight, with all their similarities and differences, I hope they do….shine on, that is. For Michael, I hope that he finds the love he never realized here on earth, and for my dear friend, John, I wish him to continue to be “dry, safe, and warm…home at last, free as a bird.” 

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