 |
| Michael Jackson performing The Way You Make Me Feel in 1988 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Michael Jackson would have been 55 today. The ‘King of Pop’ died four years ago, but his music and legacy live on. Here’s a look at some of the best Post coverage of Jackson’s life and death, starting with a 1988 review of Jackson’s performance at the Capital Centre.
Michael In Motion: Jackson Dazzles, Surprises at Capital Centre, Oct. 14, 1988
Michael Jackson is the Body Electric.
At Capital Centre
last night, he proved so interesting to watch that he could have sounded
like Tiny Tim and nobody would have complained.Well, almost nobody, and
since he sounded just like Michael Jackson, it all worked out in the
end.
For all the good singing -- and there was plenty of that --
it always seems to come back to movement and emotion with Jackson. He is
a dancer beyond compare, the embodiment of the perpetual motion
principle, seemingly boneless, with lubricating oil in his veins. This
is a man with more moves in a night than Nationwide has in a year. You
could hate him, but you couldn't take your eyes off him.
Richard Harrington
Michael Jackson’s Musical Legacy Will Endure, June 26, 2009
Try, for a moment, to separate the art from the artist. Consider
Michael Jackson's entertainment proffer in a vacuum-sealed space.
In
that bubble, where Bubbles and all the peculiarities and plastic
surgeries matter not one whit, you will find a man -- and, if you go
back far enough into the archives, a child -- who was unquestionably one
of the most transcendent performers in popular music.
He was
Elvis with an androgynous tenor, Sinatra with a moonwalk and killer pop
instincts, Prince with more mass appeal, John, Paul, George and Ringo
with high-water pants, white socks and a single, sequined glove.
Jackson
was a singular talent, even if he was sometimes derivative. He sang
like Frankie Lymon by way of Smokey Robinson and Diana Ross, though his
soulful, ingratiating voice sounded original and distinctive; to this
day, it remains one of the most easily recognizable voices in the world.
J. Freedom du Lac
For Black America, Jackson Broke Barriers Long Before ‘Thriller’, June 26, 2009
He was but a 14-year-old child in 1972, and black mothers and
aunts and big sisters in the ghettos of the nation seemed to pull that
child to their bosoms. He was a little brother; he was a precious boy;
he was like the prodigy in your own church. There he was on "American
Bandstand" and on "Soul Train." The early '70s actually represented some
beautiful times in America -- freedom rising, integration building and
little Michael singing on the hand-held radio. Little Michael with the
prettiest and fluffiest Afro in the land.
Throughout the years,
he claimed covers of Ebony and Jet magazines. And even when his life had
begun to take on tawdry dimensions, black America refused to abandon
him. It was as if they knew the pain that had greeted so many child
performers, black or white.
No comments:
Post a Comment