8/14/2019 TheSun 2009-06-29 Page18 the End of HIStory

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by Simon Price

LONDON: Late last Thursdaynight, amid the chaos and chatterof the midnight vigil which aroseon the internet as news of MichaelJacksons death began to break, Ibid the online world goodnightby pleading for a moments calm.My plea, directed at anyone whohappened to be reading, was, withthe greatest respect, to shut up fora moment. I begged them to mutethe television, put down the phone,stop typing, be still for a minute, and

just listen to something Id found onYouTube.

It was a vocal track of the youngMichael singing Ill Be There acapella, accompanied by footage ofThe Jackson 5 performing the song

onThe Jim Nabors Hour, an Ameri-can variety show, in 1970. Have alook: it may still be there, unlesssome joyless recording companydrone has had it removed.

Ill Be Thereis a song which, ineven the happiest of times, can sendshivers through your body. On anight like Thursday, as an oasis ofbeauty among all the ugliness andghoulishness, it had the power tospear through your skin, rip outyour heart and nail it to the wall.

At the age of nine, 10, 11, MichaelJackson had the uncanny ability todeliver vocal performances which

combined the purity of an infantwith the emotional experience ofan adult. At the turn of the 1970s,when The Jackson 5 were turningout single after killer single for theMotown label, nobody knew theprice hed already paid behind thescenes, sacrificing his childhoodin Gary, Indiana, at the hands of aharsh and abusive father.

And yet ... what utter joy TheJackson 5 produced in thoseearly years under the wing of TheCorporation team, with their owncartoon series to spread their popu-larity:ABC, The Love You Save, andevery DJs emergency floor-filler, IWant You Back. Michael, althoughthe youngest, had emerged as leadsinger. Berry Gordy knew the kidhas something special, and soon

he was a solo artist, putting downextraordinarily mature vocals oncuts such as the chart-topping Gotto Be There, Bill WithersAint NoSunshine, Stevie Wonders Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day, the gorgeousballad One Day in Your Life, andeven on trite trash such as RockinRobin and Ben (an improbablymoving paean to a pet rat).

In 1976, The Jacksons, nowmicrophone-headed teenagers,

jumped ship to CBS/Epic minusMotown loyalist Jermaine but plusRandy, leapt aboard the disco trainwith considerable success (Blame

inin memory MICHAEL JACKSON: Aug 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009MICHAEL JACKSON: Aug 29, 1958 - June 25, 200918 theSun | MONDAY JUNE 29 2009

The end ofHIStory

MICHAEL Jackson was born on Aug29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventhof nine children.

Five Jackson boys Jackie, Tito,Jermaine, Marlon and Michael firstperformed together at a talent showwhen Michael was six. They walked

off with first prize and went on to be-come a best-selling band, The Jackson5 (below).

Jackson made his first solo albumin 1972, and released Thriller in 1982,which became a smash hit that yieldedseven top 10 singles. The album sold

21 million copies in the UnitedStates and at least 27 millionworldwide.

The next year, he unveiledhis signature moonwalk dancemove, gliding across the stage andsetting off an instant trend, whileperforming Billie Jean during anNBC special.

But his personal life wastroubled. In 1993, Jackson wasaccused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy, but no charges werefiled against him and the matter wassettled out of court in 1994 with theboys family.

The same year, he announced hehad become addicted to painkillersand abruptly cancelled a world tour topromote his album, Dangerous.

In 1994, Jackson married ElvisPresleys only child, Lisa Marie, but the

marriage ended in divorce in 1996.Im so very sad and confusedwith every emotion possible. ... Thisis such a massive loss on so manylevels, words fail me, Presley said instatement.

Th estar then married Debbie

Rowe (above) the same year and hadtwo children, before splitting in 1999,and he later had another child with anunidentified surrogate mother.

He is survived by three chil-dren named Michael Joseph Jr,Paris Michael Katherine and BlanketPrince Michael II, known for his briefpublic appearance when his fatherheld him over the railing of a hotelbalcony, causing widespread criticism. Reuters

KING OF POP DIES ON THE EVE OF MAKING HIS

FINAL COMEBACK, BUT HE LIVES ON IN HIS MUSIC

From child to megastar

It on the Boogie, Shake Your BodyDown) and looked as if they werehaving all the fun in the world.

It wasnt long, though, beforeMichael embarked on a second solocareer. Off the Wall, produced byQuincy Jones (whom Jackson hadmet on The Wiz, Motowns ill-fatedWizard of Ozremake) with consid-erable songwriting assistance fromHeatwaves Rod Temperton, is one ofthe great disco albums, ranging fromthe effortlessly sublime soul swing ofRock with Youto the heartbreakingShes Out of My Life. Its impossiblyfunky title track is an anthem to thesocial liberation of the disco move-ment, and Michaels imperative toleave your 9 to 5 upon the shelf and

just enjoy yourself sounds remark-ably authentic coming from someone

who had never done a normal dayswork in his life.

But its the lead-off single thatreally stands out. Dont Stop Til YouGet Enoughbegins with the soundof Michael chatting away to himself,sotto voce, as though completelyunaware of the listeners intrusiveattentions, about how the force ...has got a lot of power ... and it makeshim feel like ... oooh!!! before thewhole thing erupts into mirrorballeuphoria, with Jacksons trademarkshrieks, whoops and chirrupsimitated so annoyingly by the likesof Avid Merrion. Dont Stop... is inwith a serious shout (and a scream,and a handclap, and a pirouette) ofbeing the greatest piece of pop musicever recorded.

The Michael of Off the Wallsounds, and looks, like a healthy,carefree, playful young man, and isunavoidably poignant in the light ofwhat we know would happen next.

With the Thrilleralbum of 1982,Michael Jackson didnt only becomethe biggest pop star in the world. Heredefined what bigness meant for apop star. He achieved this, to a largeextent, by being in the right place atthe right time. The video for paterni-ty-suit drama Billie Jeanarrived justwhen MTV was making it possiblefor a star to cover the globe withoutthe hard slog of touring, and at atime when globalisation of Americancapitalism made worldwide homo-geneity of markets a desirable thing.Corporations such as Pepsi needed aface who could appeal across racesand nations, and Michael Jacksonfitted the bill. Thrillermade himthe best-known black man sinceMuhammad Ali, and arguably the

most famous human on the planet.Which isnt to say that it isnt afine record on its own merits. Thepercussive epic Wanna Be StartinSomethingexudes sheer exuberance,and Human Nature is a beautifulpiece of sophisticated metropolitan