Fare thee well to the King of Pop

There are two songs in my lifetime that literally exploded from the jukebox; Two songs that changed the history of American music and, no, neither is the tune that millions are playing today in the wake of Michael Jackson's death.

Yes, I'm old enough to remember the Beatles and if you're not, then you cannot begin to comprehend that first earth-shattering experience of "I Want To Hold Your Hand." There was, quite simply, nothing like hearing that sound for the first time. To properly place it in perspective, consider the Billboard #1 song in the country in the week before "I Want To Hold Your Hand" -- Bobby Vinton's "There I Said It Again." If that isn't a musical and cultural sea change, then I don't know what is.

Still, that second iconic tune of my lifetime wasn't "Billie Jean," but rather the song that started it all. I believe I was in Lincoln Jr. High school, maybe grabbing a soda and an ice cream sandwich from the cafeteria machines. And there was nothing to prepare any of us for that first piano riff of "I Want You Back."

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Who ARE these guys and how is that incredible sound coming from that pudgy little kid from Gary, Indiana?

He was little Michael Jackson then. He was also around my age, so I identified Michael as part of my generation. And like a lot of the music that came out in 1969, "I Want You Back" clearly was a message that the 60's were over and the new sound was here.

Back in those days, he was already becoming an American icon, even though it was still as "little" Michael Jackson. He mugged the camera and cracked wise on television as the Jackson 5 appeared on just every variety show of the era. There was a Jackson 5 cartoon show and even Donny Osmond wanted to be like Mike. (Take one listen to the Osmonds' "One Bad Apple" and tell me you can't see it!)

When "Off The Wall" was being released, I was a disco DJ at the Cardinal Bar and then in the business of finding the hottest new grooves to get folks to fill the dance floor. And when The Jacksons (renamed after a messy split with Motown) came to Milwaukee County Stadium later that summer as part of the annual Kool Jazz Festival, I got to see the man at his musical peak.

I remember coming back to rave about his performance - the moves, the songs and oh, that stage presence. People who hadn't yet seen his transformation from child star to American super-duper-star could only wonder, "do you mean 'little" Michael Jackson?" I could only reply, "well, he ain't so little no more."

Of course, this was before the cultural tsunami of "Thriller." While nobody can deny the incredible popular success of that album, many have forgotten the political importance of that moment in time.

You see, before "Billie Jean," MTV (Music Television) was a segregated affair. I know, it's impossible for you youngsters to understand - raised on the likes of 50 Cent and BET - but back then, MTV played a strictly white pop playlist. It was only after the meteoric success of "Billie Jean" (and Prince's "1999") that the network was forced to play black music and the rest, as they say, is history.

That's roughly the 1st Act of Michael Jackson's saga and now an entire generation has grown up with only the memory of his slide down the ladder - from the King of Pop to a suspected pedophile and international punchline. And yet, even as the tawdry embarrassments kept adding up, it was still impossible to hear that opening bass line from "Billie Jean" and not start shaking your booty.

In his own way, Michael Jackson was this colorful pastiche of Diana Ross, Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe. He didn't just want to be like Diana Ross, MJ wanted to BE Diana Ross - a diva in every sense of the word.

Like Sinatra before him, Michael Jackson began as a teen idol and became the world's preeminent entertainer. Most fans don't recall that Old Blue Eyes had his down period, too. In the early 1950's, there was a feeling that - through a series of personal setbacks and lack of popular or critical success - the musical world had passed Sinatra by. It was only after mounting his comeback that the Sinatra legacy we know today came into existence.

And that's perhaps the saddest part of this American tragedy. Michael Jackson never got his own Act Three, never got to resurrect his career and his image past that of a creepy, self-obsessed pedophile. Those Vegas appearances and upcoming worldwide tour never came to be; All of which makes Michael Jackson ultimately more like Marilyn Monroe than Sinatra. MJ never got see the fans love him all over again.

For a good chunk of the later 20th Century, Michael Jackson was simply the most important performer on the planet. There must be millions like me this morning - trying desperately to shove all those uncomfortable later images of the pale, emaciated Michael Jackson from our consciousness and trying instead to recall that most incredible moment when you first saw him dance. When the entire rock'n'roll world stopped to watch.

 So, while the rest of the world shakes their collective groove thang this morning to "Billie Jean," I am sadly trying to recapture that delicious moment of my childhood when I first heard the magic.

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Michael, this morning, I want you back.