» Michael Jackson just passed away [Memorial Thread]

[methodistgirl]

I heard on the news that Michael Jackson just passed away. May
he rest in peace.
judy tooley

[Frederik Magle]

Such tragic news He was a great artist.

Rest in peace, Michael Jackson.

[rojo]

I'm in shock. I can't believe it.

I don't understand; he had heaps of medical tests for the upcoming shows, and received a clean bill of health. I don't understand.

I'm so, so sad.

Perhaps he will now get the respect he deserved.

I truly loved this man

[Krummhorn]

Indeed, shocking news. And so suddenly, too.

I feel the most for his three children who have lost their father at such a young age in their lives. I hope they will be taken care of.

Rest in peace, Michael.

[Soubasse]

Aye, this certainly came out of nowhere. Like him or not - and regardless of the media circus that he created - there was the music of and for a generation because of that guy.

[rojo]

"He was a kind, genuine, and wonderful man. He was also one of the greatest entertainers that ever lived. I loved him very much and I will miss him every remaining day of my life." - entertainer Liza Minelli

"Dame Elizabeth Taylor is too devastated by the passing of her dear friend Michael Jackson to issue a statement at this time. We will direct her words to you once we receive them." - a representative for actress Dame Elizabeth Taylor

"I am so very sad and confused with every emotion possible. I am heartbroken for his children, who I know were everything to him, and for his family. This is such a massive loss on so many levels, words fail me." - ex-wife and Elvis' daughter Lisa-Marie Presley

"I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news... he had it all - talent, grace professionalism and dedication. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him" - music producer and Thriller producer Quincy Jones

"(His success) was amazing, so well deserved. He was excited about getting back to the stage." - actor Joe Pesci

"I knew Michael as a child and watched him grow over the years. Of all the thousands of entertainers I have worked with, Michael was THE most outstanding. Many have tried and will try to copy him, but his talent will never be matched.'' - host of American Bandstand Dick Clark

Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, which honored Jackson with 13 Grammys, says, "Rarely has the world received a gift with the magnitude of artistry, talent, and vision as Michael Jackson. He was a true musical icon."

CHER, SINGER:
"I'm having a million different reactions I didn't expect I would feel.
"He was a great singer - God gives you certain gifts and this child was just an extraordinary child touched by this ability. He could sing like nobody else and he was able to connect with people."

Berry Gordy, Motown Records producer and founder:
"I am somewhat numb. I'm shocked at the death of Michael Jackson. It's like a dream, a bad dream. He was so much like a son to me. It's just hard to realize that Michael Jackson is not here.

" ... As a kid Michael was always beyond his years, he was an innovator, he was a genius at what he did. He had a knowingness about him. At 9 years old, when I first started working with him, he seemed to me like he had been here before. He was just so knowledgeable about life."

Lenny Kravitz (Twitter page) "There will never be another talent like Michael Jackson. Many people are saying what a performer, what an icon. How many Grammy’s he won, how Thriller was the biggest selling album in history. They speak about the controversy and countless other things. But the truth of the matter is he was a boy that God blessed with the most angelic voice. Just listen to an early Jackson Five album and listen to that voice. The purity, the feeling, the interpretation of the lyrics. At the age of ten, he was on par with James Brown and Aretha Franklin. But the thing he had that they could not match was the fact that he was a child. But at the same time he sang as an adult. That line between child and experienced adult took his expression to an unmatched level. I heard somebody on the BBC news tonight say that he was a great singer but didn’t have feeling like James Brown. That somebody is not listening carefully. As a child he did it all. Even if he had not done Off the Wall or Thriller, he would still be a genius in my eyes. I got to work with Michael on a track that has not been released and it was the most amazing experience I’ve had in the studio. He was funny. Very funny and we laughed the whole time. I also saw what a beautiful father he was. He was a beautiful human being. I am deeply saddened this evening. He was the first live performer I ever saw. I got to see him at Madison Square Garden when I was eight. If not for him, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. He gave me joy as a child and showed me the way to go. He was music. Period. His hugeness as a star was great but before he was the King of Pop,he’d said it all. May you rest in peace sweet Michael. You gave us all you had to give. Lenny."

[Frederik Magle]

When I was a child I mainly listened to classical music, but Michael Jackson's music stood out. I liked that as well. It was "pop" - and I'm generally not a big fan of pop, but his music had an extraordinary quality, on several levels, raising it far far above "ordinary" pop.

The first CD with non-classical music of any kind I ever bought was "Dangerous" (had I had a CD-player at the time it could very likely have been "Bad"). I didn't buy this CD because my friends had it or something like that, I bought it simply because I liked it. Buying that album was a big deal to me, especially because I heard so little music other than classical.

Michael Jackson truly was the King of Pop. And now the King is dead.

[rojo]

Long live the King of Pop; the legend will continue forever. No one can, or ever will take his place.

Oh Frederik, I'm so sad. What a huge loss for so many.

And now the media finally start to praise him, after all the garbage they spewed about him.

MJ is the only celebrity I ever cared about. I checked on how he was getting on every day. I was so happy for him.

What happened?

Dangerous was fantastic; I love Remember the Time. And Frederik, thank you for supporting him by posting the verdict after the trial.

[Frederik Magle]

His death is extra sad because I could I have wished for him that he had gotten his comeback, and those 50 concerts could have been just that. But sadly it wasn't to be.

His life really is a fantastic story, unfortunately also a very tragic one. But no matter what, no one can take away his music and his amazing talent as an artist and entertainer.

I join you, Robin; Long live the legend!

[Contratrombone64]

Fred and Robin, totally agree with you both. Jackson was an extraordinary talent and he was a genuine innocent. The media should be suitably soul searching for the way they treated him. Hope he's at least at peace now.

[methodistgirl]

Hello Mr. Magle! I'm about the same age as Michael Jackson. I grew up
with him. I can remember when he had his first hit Ben. I just loved that
song and for real he loved animals or he wouldn't have had such pets as
a chimp, a giraffe,horse, and his pet snake. Or was that Alice Cooper?
The last of my favorite of his songs was Black or White because the song
was on different people. Now they say the the pain medicine he was
taking killed him. I can understand that because some of those pills the
doctors prescribe don't work. They just hurt you or cause heart or liver
trouble. Don't worry. Years from now people will claim to see him in
UFO or something like they do Elvis. Who knows?
judy tooley

[dll927]

I aplogize for being different, but is this supposed to be a loss to civilization?

I live in Santa Maria, CA, which is where his well-publicized trial took place. You couldn't drive down any street near the courthouse when something was going on. OK, requiescat in pacem, but I'm not shedding any tears, and it just might be a bit more "peaceful" without him.

[Art Rock]

We will probably never know whether he was a twisted pervert or a supernaive manchild, but his music has made a great impact without doubt. Even though I do not like most of his output, the occasional song is well worth hearing. And none more than Billie Jean - a song I raped in a karaoke session in Shanghai last April. R.I.P.

[Pista Gyerek]

Originally Posted by dll927

I aplogize for being different, but is this supposed to be a loss to civilization?

I don't get the outpouring of grief either. I liked his Jackson 5 stuff when I was a kid, and he had some good hits in the 80's. But the notion that he was some sort of musical genius, or that this is a sad day in history, is baffling to me.

[Bahaichap]

Some diarists, poets and artists, like Evelyn Waugh and Michael Jackson, among a host of others, have a taste for exaggeration and fantasy. Indeed, exaggeration appears to be a major problem in our celebrity culture and in autobiography generally. Perhaps this is because, as Oscar Wilde once wrote: “Where there is no exaggeration there is no love, and where there is no love there is no understanding. It is only about things that do not interest one--that one can give a really unbiased opinion; and this is no doubt the reason why an unbiased opinion is always valueless.”1 -Ron Price with thanks to Oscar Wilde in the magazine Speaker, July, 1891. I think Wilde is a little over the top here, but his words exhibit a clever turn of phrase containing what is often, it seems to me anyway, an important facet of the truth of a question or issue. --Ron Price with thanks to Oscar Wilde in Robin Markowitz's article "Reconstructing Michael Jackson: Close Readings of Pop-Works," Stranger in a Strange Land: Internet Site, April 2004.

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married for 42 years, a teacher for 35 and a Baha'i for 50