June 25, 2009 the news of the day was a little Off the Wall and very much unexpected
Something Bad, shocking, and unfortunately true
So last night I refused to watch the news in review
Speechless, while still in a State of Shock I reflect on my own memories of The King of Pop
My friend, I wanted to see you the way I got to know you; in song
Without the distraction of the media filtering in scandals
True or false allegations
"Just because you read it in a magazine or see it on a TV screen doesn't make it factual"
And although Farrah may go away squeaky clean
You know what I mean
I do believe that everyone does a little something
Without knowing firsthand what happened in your Childhood behind closed doors at 2300 Jackson Street
I do know Like A Sunset...Dying With the Rising of the Moon...Gone Too Soon
You see, I just wanted to listen to you sing to us again
So I invited over a friend, a Pretty Young Thing
Not to reenact the lines but to go down memory lane
Michael, ten years my senior but like many of us we did our own two step to your music to entertain the grown ups at the age of three
You made us laugh, smile and shed a tear
Singing rhetorical verse then asking Will You Be There
As the world gathered to memorialize you
Reflect on how you entertained
The gift you were and will continue to be
Death brings to reality that you're gone but with the birth of your legacy
The consummate artist that not only raised but broke your own bar
Your album Dangerous is second to Thriller as the biggest selling album of all time
You became the first artist to generate seven top ten hits on one album with Thriller
Having been the first solo artist to generate four top ten hits on the Billboard charts on one album with Off the Wall
To date the only artist in history to generate five #1 hits from one album with Bad
Moonwalker, the top selling music video of all time
You were definitely The King of Pop
Providing inspiration, heart, and passion through song and your Dancing Machine
From a child singing I Want You Back to a man informing us that We Are the World
The significance of being that particular person begins with the Man in the Mirror
The King of Pop is laid to rest in your memory may we start with the Man in the Mirror and make a change within and for ourselves and others
Thank you Michael for "being the gift to us"
For having bridged the gap between R&B and Pop Music
You single handedly invented the short narrative we now call music videos
And who could ever forget Motown 25
"I love those old songs but love the new ones too"
Then came the beat of Billie Jean and you Moonwalking across our TV screen
One of many moments in your lifetime that you shared with the world
Michael, you have been and will always be the soundtrack of our lives
An ambassador for peace and an advocate for children with no pun intended
As it was said at your memorial "there was nothing strange about your daddy; what was strange is what he had to deal with"
In my lifetime I've been privileged to have seen some of the greatest black men in history in there own arena
Ali, Tiger, Michael Jordan, and the first African -American President, Barrack Obama
Facts and trivia can never tell a lie
So years from now when the question is asked who was one of the first black men to ever have a video on MTV
The answer will always be Michael Jackson
Thank you Mike, thank you readers for easing on down the road in memory of an icon
Michael Jackson The King of Pop
Copyright © 2009 Philip J. Curtis All Rights Reserved
