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"Billie Jean", "Smooth Criminal", "Earth Song", "Human Nature", "Beat It".....The list of my favorite Michael Jackson songs could go on forever. Whatever this man wrote, produced, recorded, and performed was certifiably perfect. He is a true musical genius. This evening, a good friend of mine and I saw This Is It. It was truly a glimpse into what makes Mr. Jackson a creative genius. He knew what he wanted-perfection-and he was not going to settle for less. However, he was humble and very compassionate toward his entire crew of singers, dancers, bandmates, producers, etc. He called them "family" and said that he was doing things only " from love". If these concerts had been performed, they would have undoubtedly been the greatest performances that fans would have ever experienced.
I felt that seeing Michael Jackson's movie was a good way to top off my review of his biography, Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, 1958-2009 by J. Randy Taraborrelli. Mr. Taraborrelli met Mr. Jackson when he (Mr. Jackson) was twelve years old and kept in touch with him throughout the years interviewing him several times throughout his life. Mr. Taraborrelli has also repeatedly interviewed all of the Jackson siblings, Joseph and Katherine Jackson, and several members of Mr. Jackson's inner circle. Mr. Taraborrelli traces Michael Jackson's early childhood, his time performing with his brothers in The Jackson Five, his complicated relationship with his brothers and the rest of his family, his solo career, his larger than life status as The King of Pop; and beyond. After reading Mr. Jackson's biography, this Examiner has come to two conclusions. The first one is that the only place where he was truly happy and felt loved was on stage. Secondly, all he ever wanted was to feel loved and accepted off stage. Thinking back to This Is It, he was truly enthralled with the whole process of putting these concerts together and enjoyed every single minute of it. He honestly felt that every member of that crew was his family; and you could tell that he loved all of them unconditionally. He had very few people off stage who he felt he could trust. Sadly, according to Mr. Taraborrelli's book, there were many who betrayed him and he never fully recovered from that. If you want further details, read the book. I do not believe that it is appropriate to detail those matters here.
Michael Jackson dreamed larger than life both musically and professionally. He was also a loving father to his three children and worked extensively to help and provide for children all over the world. He is a man whose vision and talent will always be missed no matter how much time passes. To quote one of my favorite lines from the movie The Sandlot, "Heroes get remembered; legends never die." Mr. Jackson was truly a legend. His music will impact generation after generation after generation.
You can follow everything Michael Jackson and see what people are talking about the most on Examiner.com's Real-Time Michael Jackson Tracker.
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