Today is a sad day for Hollywood. In fact, it's a sad week for Hollywood. First Ed McMahon, then Farrah Fawcett, then Michael Jackson.
After hearing the news, I sat watching the reports on tv. I was shell-shocked, to say the least. They kept playing the video of Michael Jackson singing "ABC", and my mind started to wander. I was thinking of all those weird little memories, usually so distant, but today brought to the forefront.
My first real memory of hearing MJ was of elementary school. I must've been in 4th or 5th grade. Our music class was held in the cafeteria, and the teacher would play a variety of music - sometimes on an 8-track, but mostly on one of those portable record players. I can still remember the record player, very clearly. It was a white box with brass corners and a brass latch on the front. The top flipped open, and the inside was fabric lined; a brown fabric with a gold pattern. During lunch, some record or another played, usually a record brought in by a student. More often than not, the record being played was a full sized 33-RPM Michael Jackson album. For some reason, we all loved the song "ABC", and it was played over and over again while we all be-bopped our way through our peanut butter & jelly or bologna & cheese sandwiches, eaten out of our metal lunchboxes adorned with images of the Care Bears or Dukes of Hazzard or Star Wars or some other iconic image of the 70's. I'm also reminded of this image every time I watch Bill Cosby's "Himself", with his children dancing in their seats at the dinner table.
Some time later, in the mid-80's, I have another prevalent memory of Michael Jackson and his music. I was allowed to buy one thing during a trip to the store (possibly Jamesway?). At the time, there were two things that I desperately wanted to buy, and I stood in the music aisle while my mother shopped, trying to figure out which one I wanted more. I ended up buying the latest Prince album (on cassette) instead of the VHS copy of "Thriller" bundled with the vinyl album. My logic was that I could still watch "Thriller" on MTV - at least until I was allowed to buy something else. It was quite some time later that I was able to buy the vinyl album, and by then, the VHS was being sold seperately. I never did buy the video.
After that, I bought almost every album of his, usually on cassette. Sometimes, I would borrow someone else's CD, and I would record it onto a blank cassette for my own music library. Cheapskate, I know. In the early 90's, my fascination with MJ waned, as did most of the country's. The last album I "ripped" from someone else was "HIStory". Somewhere, in my pile of cassettes, I still have all of those albums. Unfortunately, my pile of vinyl albums disappeared, most likely during one of my many moves.
Even though I had lost all personal respect for the man, I still have the utmost respect for his music and entertainment abilities. I am saddened by his death, but I also feel a bit of relief. At least now there will be no more accusations, whether true or false, of child abuse. And now, his mental problems are finally over, and he's no longer in emotional pain.
As for Farrah Fawcett, I was never really a big fan, although every guy I know had a crush on her at some point in their life! I rarely watched "Charlie's Angels"; that just wasn't my cup of tea. But when she made the movie "The Burning Bed", I was absolutely in awe! I never thought she was a great actress, but I thought she at least had the potential to become a good actress, doing something other than made-for-tv or B movies.
What most impressed me about Farrah was her intellect, and her struggle with cancer. I would hope that anything I do, I can have the strength that she exhibited, especially towards the end.
Both will be sorely missed.
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