Wanna be Startin’ Somethin’…
It’s always been my nature to just keep moving forward - I’ve never been one to look back from whence I came, nor to slow down and reflect. Occasionally in moments of clarity I realize that these avenues are not mutually exclusive - that I can in fact slow down, look back, and keep moving (though preferably not all at the same time…)
I talk very little about my 30 years in the music and radio business. I had several lifetimes’-worth of amazing times over those years, and absolutely loved it. I have so mentally moved on from those days that it seems like another lifetime altogether, but much of it remains close to the surface - or at least bubbles up from time to time. One of the great opportunities that came my way was the privilege to work with Michael Jackson.
It has taken a few months since his death, and last week’s DVD release of the amazing “This Is It” rehearsal footage, for it all to sink in. Only Elvis and The Beatles were ever at his level in terms of worldwide superstardom and cultural impact (and of course Michael was obsessed with Elvis and The Beatles.) We are not likely to ever again see the complete entertainer that Michael was. At age 50, and not in shall we say robust health, he still looked the most captivating and compelling live performer one could ever imagine seeing. He was a genius on so many levels, and at the same time a strange, very very different human being. I, and I imagine history, will ultimately focus on the genius and his legacy of great songs and performances. Like nobody else on the planet, the guy just knew how to put on a show!
For a time I was the Sr. Director of National Promotion for Michael’s record company, Epic Records, and being part of the incredible world of Michael Jackson was nothing like anything I’ve ever experienced before or since. Just the pride and passion that we all took in knowing that we were working with the biggest artist in the world - it was an amazing feeling, and it permeated everything we did and drove us on to do more than we’d ever done before. It was just understood that Michael deserved, and in fact demanded it. It was an atmosphere of extreme pressure at times. It was never spoken, but we just knew that anything less than the best that had ever been achieved would be a failure. Pressure? What pressure…
I remember in excruciating detail the launch of Michael’s single “Black or White” in 1991. Never before in recorded history had every single major Top 40 radio station in America added the same record to each of their playlists in the same week. So, that became our goal. Somehow, we pulled it off. I will never forget getting the confirmation that the 214th out of 214 stations had indeed added the record on that Tuesday (for some bizarre reason, Tuesdays have always been the day radio stations report their new playlist additions for the week.) At any rate, it’s a record that still stands, as far as I know. The single went straight to #1 and stayed there for seven weeks. Though we didn’t know it at the time, this was probably the beginning of the end of his commercial peak.
I remember video (excuse me - “short films”) shoots where we did endless take after take after take - he was a total perfectionist, and always knew exactly what he wanted. He would never quit until he got exactly what he had in his mind. Sometimes it took a while for everyone else to understand exactly what that was - but no one ever seemed to get exasperated or impatient with him.
When I was the afternoon DJ on New York’s top-rated WHTZ/Z-100 in the mid-1980s - “Thriller” was at its peak and Michael-mania ruled the world. He was in New York, staying at the Helmsley Palace - and I remember his manager Frank DiLeo calling us and offering us the sheets off of Michael’s bed to give away in a contest. Michael signed the sheets with a Sharpie, and Frank brought them over to the station. This drew perhaps the biggest reaction to a radio contest I’ve ever seen - it got more action than giving away $25,000 cash! What exactly did the winner do with the sheets, I have always wondered…
Ultimately, we are left with an amazing body of music that has touched millions of lives. In the end, he was and is an inspiration. The stirring tribute to Michael on last night’s Grammy Awards telecast inspired me once again, and led me to sit down and share a few memories. I am blessed to have been a tiny part of that world.
February 2nd, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Very well said..I wish more of his fans could read your blog…you speak for most of us…I’ll never forget the night “Black and White” was released he called Epic records sadly crying that KIIS 102.7 radio in LA removed the rap segment. Now they play full songs containing rap lyrics that are repulsive.
The show in London would of been incredible
I must admit the lost of Michael still hurts…I thirst for new music from him..
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:22 am
Wow, just heard that MJ’s “personal physician” who still doesn’t think he gave Michael enough meds to kill him (Puleeze, I’m no MD, but even I would think that concoction of meds with a dose of an anesthetic, w.out any being monitored by an anesthesiologist monitoring vitals would be dangerous!), is ready to turn himself in today to the Los Angeles Police…
I’m not one to speak ill of the dead, and aside from the really bad plastic surgery choices he had, I have to wonder about his kids (financially we know they will be fine) but seeing them at their grammy appearance, (minus little Blanket…why can’t I remember that poor child’s name?)I have to wonder…aside from MJ raising them, were they really his kids? I don’t know, since I was as shocked as anyone else when I heard he died (though I think John Lennon had a bigger impact on me, but that’s me)…Well, to not say anything wrong, will just say, I liked songs like “Rock with You” and “P.Y.T” better than the stuff on “Thriller” (though most would disagree with me). And I’d love to be able to dance at all, let alone as well as MJ. It’s really sad that in some ways, he’s an example of someone who’s worth more in death than when he was alive. (Financially, like aren’t his brothers having a reality show?) That just seems wrong…just an opinion. Kudos on the excellent writing, Scott! Maybe a book on wine someday? (teaching the fans of wine, how to become more knowledgable, how to properly uncork wine…storing wine, myths and realities…) Just an idea!
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:25 am
Oops. found at least one typo…being a perfectionist, HATE THAT!
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:04 am
Hey Frankie - Thanks for the kind words. I’ll never forget your story about when Michael joined you in the hot-tub at Disney World! I remember that MJ was very upset about KIIS editing the single. That was a rough few days - Power 106 leaked the record over the weekend, and Patricia Bock and I had to go to Burbank and bang on their doors in the middle of the night to pull it off the air (and I was in the middle of doing something I would have preferred not to have left… !)
Marcia - I am writing a book, targeted for a fall 2011 release. It’s on the history of La Paulée, an amazing harvest celebration tradition in Burgundy…