The Tragedy of Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson's life was a tragedy long before his death yesterday. Because of his enormous success, he was able to surround himself only with yes men--sychophants who never contradicted him and never had the power to save him from himself. He was so famous and so rich he could create an alternate reality for himself with his own rules.

For years, every time I heard a song by the Jackson Five, I felt sad thinking of the cute little boy he was and how far away that little boy was from the freak he had become. The freakish plastic surgery, the allegations of pedophilia, the incredible financial debts, odd mannerisms, the dangling baby, and the whole Jackson family's bizzarre tendency to put their psychological quirks into song, sadly now seem to overshadow his tremendous talent. As the news media now trots out the enablers he surrounded himself with, both famous and freakish themselves, (Liz Taylor, Madonna, Corey Feldman, Uri Geller), it's easy to forget now, 15 to 20 years after the peak of his popularity, what a gifted entertainer he was.

Before he was Jacko, he was the King of Pop. The clip above is from the Motown 25th anniversary show and it shows a Michael Jackson on the cusp of super stardom. Many people will remember it, as I do, as the first time they ever saw Jackson's signature Moonwalk. Forget the Michael Jackson weirdness for a few minutes and jump back into the mid-eighties to enjoy what was truly a landmark performance by one of the greatest entertainers of all time.