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Nelson Hansen

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By the time this week's column comes out the so-called "King of Pop" Michael Jackson will have been dead exactly one week. In that week it is most likely that we will have learned of his cause of death, seen a presumably huge and perhaps bizarre funeral and perhaps heard new allegations of the scandalous nature that may have proved his demise.

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Deadlines being what they are, this week's column was written on the night that Michael Jackson was pronounced dead. Before the cause of death is known, before the funeral and before the sordid tales begin to emerge I sit at my keyboard, tired of watching the endless coverage on CNN trying to make some sense out of what Michael Jackson meant to the world of popular culture.

I am of the vintage that can not only recall Michael Jackson's time atop the world of entertainment. I can remember back to the days of appearances on the Ed Sullivan show with his siblings as a member of the Jackson 5. From an early age it was obvious that there was something special about Michael Jackson. As a young boy he had a charm that won over audiences. That charm was eclipsed by a natural talent for performing. As early as the age of 12 when the Jackson 5 had their first number one single, the youngest of the Jackson family outsang, outperformed and definitely outdanced his older brothers.

Classic Jackson 5 singles like ABC and I Want You Back are pure pop perfection. Spurred on by a father with the warmth of Slobodan Milosevic the Jackson 5 turned out some of Motown most memorable records. Michael Jackson's talent would soon outgrow the sibling act and he would begin a solo career that would lead to something beyond superstardom. Oddly enough, the first step on that journey was a love song to a rat (Ben). Perhaps hindsight is 20/20.

As a solo artist Michael Jackson transcended the boundaries of music and race. His broad appeal in the 1980s made him a superstar like the world has never seen and will most likely never see again. His influence was tremendous. Black or white, male or female, rich or poor when Michael Jackson came on the radio or MTV people took notice. I recall an interview with the original gangsta rapper Ice-T who admitted that no matter how tough you thought you were, when Michael Jackson came on you stopped what you were doing and watched or listened in amazement.

At the height of his game, Michael Jackson was a consumate performer. He produced the greatest selling album in history 1982's Thriller (my preference is actually 1979's Off the Wall), he sold out the largest stadiums the world had to offer and his dance moves? Forget it. There isn't a pop performer on today's charts hat does not owe a tremendous debt to Michael Jackson.

I recall Jackson at the height of his powers and superstardom. As a non-fan I would stop to watch unbelievable performance after unbelievable performance. The growth of the music video in the 1980s was largely due to what Michael Jackson brought to the game and a Michael Jackson video premiere was an event that you took time out of your life to watch.

But at one point, it all started to go downhill.

Perhaps fame and fortune the likes of which Mr. Jackson enjoyed are of such an unnatural enormity that eventually one inevitably cracks under the pressure. Perhaps losing a childhood to a career in the showbusiness industry will have serious affect at some point down the road. Whatever the case, at one point things started to get weird in Michael Jackson's life. And not just a little weird, we're talking buying the bones of the Elephant Man, Bubbles the Chimp, wait a minute, he's a white dude weird. And things got sordid too.

Tawdry allegations, out of court settlements and increasingly bizarre behaviour turned Michael Jackson from one-time "King of Pop" to "Wacko Jacko", a reviled figure of eventual irrelevance. His death came shortly before he was to give a series of sold out shows in London. Would those shows have seen him back to his old "Thriller" self? Most likely not and maybe it's best that one of the greatest entertainers the world has ever seen did not embarrass himself or his musical legacy.

So a week after Michael Jackon's death how are we to remember him? Will he be remembered for his groundbreaking performance on the Motown 25 Special (YouTube it, kids) or for a series of tawdry legal scandals? Will he be remembered as the guy who married Elvis's daughter in a creepy PR stunt or as the 12-year-old boy who sang and danced better than people twice his age?

Whether we remember Michael Jackson as a pop superstar or as tabloid fodder, his impact on the music world cannot be denied and the effects of what he did at the height of his fame can still be felt in the music world today.

If your NB based act, event or venue would like to be featured in this column please contact the columnist at oneyearofnbmusic@yahoo.ca