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Wich2 wrote:

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With respect, Buzz, I'd second Greg - I think Jackson's influence was the greatest on us 50ish folk. That's why you see Al Sharpton bogeying in his honor, not some 15 year old!

I think you're right about the 50ish folk. But Sharpton's just a publicity hound who leeches onto things and tries to insert himself everywhere with his agenda. I don't think we'd see him honoring, say, Donny Osmond along with MJ.

Michael Jackson -- I grew up with him too, I'm only a few years younger than he was. I started enjoying him as a kid with The Jackson 5, and I remember liking songs like "Ben" and his redo of "Rockin' Robin", in the early '70s. It was a pleasure to be dancing in clubs to OFF THE WALL's "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" and later, the hits "Beat It" and "Billie Jean", off THRILLER. As a Beatles fan I was sort of tickled that he got involved with Paul McCartney for "Say Say Say", and then did a triple take when he out-bid McCartney for the Beatles Catalog Rights. At the time I thought it was a slap in Paul's face.

Then, I don't know what happened. The guy could never match the hits he had with THRILLER, and he just got more and more plastic surgery and became more and more freakish and Peter Pan-like. Then the allegations of child molestation came along (and I still have my doubts about whether he was guilty).

I think Michael Jackson is worthy enough of this hoopla since he is iconic like Elvis and The Beatles, and Madonna will probably be the last of them all. But the thing which really puzzles me is that I just don't think he's had nearly as many musical classics as Presley or The Beatles. With Jackson, it's more his stature and presence than in the amount of actual song hits he had. Don't get me wrong; both with the Jacksons and solo, MJ has a fair amount of biggies; just not as many.