Remembering MJ....

June 25th, 2009- Where were you when you heard the news that The King of Pop died?

I, for one, remember exactly the moment I found out. I was at work at the time, when suddenly, my supervisor rushed over to tell some of my co-workers and I that ‘Michael Friggin’ Jackson’- without a doubt, the biggest superstar on the planet- is DEAD

So obviously, my first thought was that, this had to be some type of a hoax. After all, you can’t believe everything you hear! So, of course, I did what any “Self-Respecting, Fact-Seeking” person in this day and age would do….

I went to Google….

There it was, plastered all over the internet….The ambulances outside of MJ’s home; the reports of MJ’s untimely death. For whatever was left of the workday, whatever actual work duties were left to be done, none of it really mattered. We spent the majority of the day, going back and forth to Google to check for updates. If this were actually true, then this would mean the end of an era, not only for my generation, but particularly, the generation that came before- that actually grew up right alongside Michael and The Jackson 5. 

As always, TMZ.com was the first to report it (cause they have eyes EVERYWHERE!), and then all the other major media publications were soon to follow. It didn’t really sink in for me until they started reporting the time and cause of death. Then, I knew it had to be true. This was the first celebrity death that really hit me in a profound way. You have to understand, Michael was my first musical influence. Before anyone else, there was him. He was the reason why I wanted to get involved in music in the first place. As an 80’s baby, I grew up in the MTV generation. By the time I was old enough to really start paying attention, Thriller videos were still in heavy rotation, and the Bad album had just dropped in September of ’87. Hell, the very 1st tape I ever owned was, MJ’s “Off The Wall.” As you see, his music has been the soundtrack to my life for about as far back as I can remember. In fact, I don’t remember a time (pun intended) where I didn’t hear the music of Michael Jackson in some capacity.

As years progressed, we watched Michael soar “Off The Wall,” and become the show-stopping “Thriller” that he was always meant to be. We watched him progress from “Bad” to “Dangerous,” and make “History” in the process- proving that he was truly “Invincible” in both life and in death…..

Long Live The King of Pop....

Until Next Time……