So I've never been a huge Michael Jackson fan, but I do respect the work of anyone that can accomplish what he did, from a boy until the end of his life. What he accomplished as an entertainer is second to none. Yes, the guy turned into something of a freakshow toward the end of his life, but he had his own demons to deal with. Child molestor? I dunno. There were certainly a lot of things he did that most would not consider normal. Here in L.A., we had 24x7 coverage of the trials he had on those charges. I will tell you that it became very clear that the Sheriff that brought those charges was on a witch hunt...it was retarded. Remember, he was cleared on all charges ever brought. Does that mean he got away with something? If he did, he took it to the grave.
I watched some of his videos on VH1 Classic last night - they're running a weekend tribute. I had completely forgot about the "We are the World" song for the Feed the Children fundraiser (or whatever it was called), which raised $50 million for starving children in Africa. He had every big name artist at the time in that video with him - I saw Bruce Springstein, Willie Nelson, Steve Perry (Journey), Cyndi Lauper, Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Billy Joel, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick, Huey Lewis, Paul Simon, and Ray Charles. That song & video and $50 million doesn't happen without Michael Jackson. I have respect for what he did. A lot of his later music was also about various causes, specifically the environment & world hunger. I don't necessarily agree with everything promoted in those videos/songs, but I will give him credit for raising awareness and money for those causes.
I heard a comment on the news from a lady being interviewed here in L.A. that is from a small village in Nigeria. She said that most of the people in her village could barely speak any English. However, she said they all knew the words to Michael Jackson's songs. How many of us are going to have that much impact on the world during our lifetime?
He was about to engage in 50 concerts in London. The ticket revenue alone from those shows was estimated at about $100 million. I'm sure with follow on DVDs, concessions, etc, he would have easily pulled out the debt he was in. It will be interesting to see how much all of his other assets brings to pay off the debt and hopefully have something left for his children.
It's not likely we will soon see a superstar like Michael Jackson who is able to maintain that status globally from childhood until death. He was quite a character, love him or hate him. He had his demons, as do we all, but he also had some great moments. Star or not, he is someone's son, someone's father, someone's brother, someone's friend. Rest in Peace, Michael - Join Elvis in showing some of those other flat-foots in heavan how to get their groove on.