When I have blogged about the passing of other musical luminaries. I usually look back on their career and almost always I discover something about their musical legacy that I had not previously known. I knew this time that would not happen easily. I knew that, because from the inception of popular music in my life, Michael Jackson has always been there. He was the first artist I even remember being aware of; his music from the early Jackson Five days filled my house as a kid. My first album was  “Third Album” by the J5. My first concert was in 1971, at the age of five, when I got to see the Jackson Five, with my Mom and three of my friends. I always had the cool Mom..Thanks Mom!

I sort of returned the favor by taking my younger brother, sister and Mom, to see Michael during the “Bad” tour.. I am a concert veteran but I have to say that was the best concert experience I have ever had! The energy was palpable. I could even say it was, in a way magical. .

Michael Jackson had the ability to entertain you so thoroughly that you had to shed your cool and just be “in the moment”, release yourself to the groove..

He was music. More specifically, he embodied the beat of music; there for you to hear, yes, but also there for you to see! Yes, you could see the beat through Michael Jackson…Many performers danced but he made you “wanna dance” Even the coolest among us had a Michael moment or two where we mimicked his moves, while listening to his music..maybe in private but we had it.

Michael Jackson’s light shone so bright that he truly was a superstar. So often the term “superstar” is thrown around, and in some way it has sort of lost its power these days. But only a few truly deliver, or actually have that luminous presence that warrants the celestial reference.. and among these few, Michael Jackson was a SUPERNOVA the biggest and brightest star, of them all. I am thankful for his musical legacy…

I never really cared to listen to all the discussion and speculation about his private life. I’m sure in the next few weeks many will choose to focus on the negative rumors and other unproven hearsay. That’s just the way our world works; in fact anyone who rises to a certain level of notoriety always has to endure a certain level of torture by the press. But no one endured more than Michael Jackson. He was for many years the subject of wild rumors and unproven allegations but he never publicly showed any disdain or bitterness.

Instead he embraced the giddy fans that were in awe of meeting him.  I have seen countless encounters captured on video of folks just grabbing, and hugging him, even some knocking him down in their exuberance. But he seemed to take it all in stride, truly a special soul. So at this time while the vultures are circling and some are trying to grab their 15 minutes of fame off of his legacy, I’ll do what I have always done..Listen to the music!

His greatest musical gift to us might be that he was able to revolutionize popular music, he created something new, something we had never seen or heard before. His music has stood the test of time, never sounding old or outdated; it is both intricate and simple. You can hear the level of dedication that went into creating and crafting the sound, absolute perfection, a level of perfection that I wished existed in pop music today.

I don’t want this post to become a diatribe on the current state of Pop music or even more so RnB, but I hope that while right now, Michael Jackson’s catalog tops the charts, this rediscovering of his artistry inspires the public to ask and crave more from their music. I hope it will inspire today’s young artists to raise their game and really work to learn and perfect their craft, and hopefully create something new and interesting.

Michael Jackson’s music was pop, infused with funk, soul, hip-hop, rock, and even gospel.  In fact Michael Jackson’s music cannot be categorized, there is nothing else like it, that fact played a huge part in how he was able to transcend racial barriers and in a way, destroy those barriers between various cultures and make us see that our commonality was bigger than our differences. His medium was his music, but his message was one of acceptance and embracing of all cultures. I hope that message and his music endure as his legacy.