Dear Editor,
We do not know how many more or who else may spring forth to be deemed a phenomenon in this our 21st century. For me there are two cases at this point in time that we can point to – the election of Barack Obama, a black President to the White House, and the musical genius of Michael Jackson.
The Barack Obama ‘miracle’ many of us never even remotely expected, but in the case of Michael Jackson, even though he has been with us for quite some time, it took his unexpected death to quicken a realization that here in our midst was a phenomenal personality. As for me may I hasten to say that I’m waiting to be convinced that this musical luminary was not ‘taken out.’ I want to be proven wrong. Editor, I was not the least surprised to hear that sales from his recordings the world over ran wild, all DVDs sold out within an hour of his death announcement, and our reactions here at home were no different. I know for sure this happened here in Linden, confirming his iconic and now legendary standing.
And no doubt, hopefully many will now find the time to play his songs and meditate deeply upon some of their profound lyrics. Michael Jackson, the king of pop held uncountable audiences spellbound through his ‘stagenotic’ performances, crisscrossing the world heels on wheels, thrilling, mesmerizing and hypnotizing people across race; even those who held strong a racial prejudice were constrained to honour him. The CNN coverage of him was like that of a monarch; hours of uninterrupted reporting, reminiscent of the 911 event. God! The brother was ‘Bad.’
Some fifteen years ago in reading a biography on Mr ‘Versatility,’ the great Sammy Davis, Jr, he (Sammy Davis) said as John the Baptist said of Christ, that he was no match for a young entertainer who was coming behind, who toured the world with a thousand pieces of instruments as against his hundred pieces – and he was speaking of Michael Jackson.
There are some who glory in spouting the negative things about him that have made for sensationalism, without an effort to view things from another angle. How are we to know how many times he has not had a conversation with the ‘man in the mirror’ to ‘make a difference,’ to ‘make it right’? We all knew a long time ago that this little black prodigy, no more than 125 pounds, this little black magic, who to the chagrin of many tried to walk out of his black skin was bashful, an introvert, too shy for the public let alone the media. We the world knew a long time ago that he was a sort of recluse and that he indulged in childish fun. He once said that one of our failings when we became adults was that we forgot totally and cut ourselves off from doing some of the things we did when we were kids – yes we do.
And isn’t it somewhat a sort of irony that Michael, who with every stage appearance would captivate sold out audiences, literally moving them to the point of hysteria – would refrain from a conversation with the public or a few adults, but would become garrulous and excited in endless hours spent with kids!? We were so contented to be fed the negatives out of which we spun a web of tales that we are still lost in them. How many times was he not alone in his cold world? ‘Do you remember?’ He sang ‘Love me and care for me hold me and kiss me, show me that you care, in my deepest despair…’
But if we look closer at the song ‘Ben’ as he is now dead, maybe, just maybe we might get a peek from the other side:
‘…When most people they would look away I won’t listen to a word they say, they Don’t see you like I do, I wish they would try too, I’m sure they think again if they had a friend like Ben.’
The words ‘when the world must come together as one,’ in the song ‘Heal the world,’ which he co-authored with Lionel Richie, can be seen as an extension and endorsement of his many stunning and dynamic performances across the world. He was single handedly, consciously or unconsciously, reaching out and unifying the world through his unique versatility, and the combination and coordination of voice and electrifying movements. In his pleading for the world to come together as one, the world gave acclaim and came to him, and it didn’t matter to him ‘if you’re black or white.’ That’s why he sang, ‘Heal the world, make it a better place, For you and for me and the entire human race.’ We all know, Editor, that the world is a stage where we each make our entrance to play our part, then our exit, and Michael has been a leading protagonist on stage. But his final curtain call came a bit too soon, and earlier than what he had intended. Well, well, we can condemn him for all his faults and failings, and call him ‘weirdo,’ ‘bizarre,’ ‘Whacko Jacko’ and all that (many who tore him down did so to soothe their consciences), yet he stood tall, a master over them all; some he made disappear and others just had to ‘Beat it’ with three-quarters of a billion albums sold! Motown’s CEO Berry Gordy is correct in saying that the name ‘King of Pop’ was a misnomer, absolutely no match for his stature. He was the greatest entertainer ever.
But the master performer par excellence after all was only human, and now must cool his heels as the melodies from his songs linger on forever. He was indeed the quintessence of a singer/entertainer. Go on Michael, go on my brother, and as it was on earth, rock the heavens with your volcanic, blistering and thrilling performances that dazzled and enlivened us here; only this time, do it even better.
Yours faithfully,
Frank Fyffe
