The day the music died

I am writing this still in shock that Michael Jackson is dead. I was seriously hoping that it was one of his publicity stunts. It started to sink in when Jermaine released the statement.

It was only recently I featured on this blog the book about his trial and the "lost" duet with Freddie Mercury. I always had this optimism that he would rock our socks off at the O2 Arena and make the public remember what his life was truly about.

I was very fortunate to see Michael perform for both the "Bad" and "History" tours in Australia.
For someone who has seen him perform live I can honestly say that no one came close to the type of excitement he generated on stage.

I remember during the Dangerous tour seeing footage from Bangkok where for the first number (Jam) he enters the stage literally flying from underneath the stage through a door.
He stood still on stage for 15 mins only moving slightly while the crowd went completely nuts.
After seeing him live for the first time I was instantly a life long fan. I am just sad that we will never see his brilliance again.

I have had such a hard time trying to think of an appropriate song for today. Do I choose "Gone too soon" which he dedicated to Aids victim Ryan White? Do I choose "Childhood" his most autobiographical (and heartbreaking) song. Do I choose the most popular tracks like "Billie Jean" and "Thriller"? Do I link to my fav MJ song "Human Nature" even though there isn't an official clip?

Actually I am not going to show any of those rather a performance that not many people would have seen. He wrote this song for Sammy Davis Jr who was a friend of his and performed it at Sammy's tribute. Sammy died from cancer not too long after this.

If you ever want to read a book about MJ that is what I consider an accurate portrayal get your hands on a copy of J Randy Taraborrelli's "The Magic and the Madness".

Michael, Rest In Peace. Heaven is going to have one heck of a dancer.