Published: July 01, 2009 09:23 am      

Michael and the music

He was the man with the sparkling glove, the white socks with black loafers and heavily zippered leather jackets of the 80s.

He moonwalked across our TVs and he became a household name – Michael Jackson, the King of Pop.

Last week, news of Jackson’s death spread like wildfire on Internet so much so that Google and Twitter, both crashed.

Across the world, people mourned the loss of an icon.

Though at times he was surrounded by controversy, his music and his dance moves influenced several generations.

Justin Timberlake, who was heavily influenced by Jackson, said “He opened the minds of people about music. He opened the minds of people about culture. Even if it was this much in your conscious, he helped with segregation. His music did that and not a lot of people can say that. Michael was the baddest!”

Whether you liked him or not, his music had an infectious way of creeping into your mind and on to your playlist.

This weekend radio stations were jammed with Jackson and Jackson 5 tunes, my husband and I listened to the hits all the way home from Memphis.

Songs I hadn’t heard in years and still I sang along like I had heard them yesterday.

Not long after his death was confirmed by the media, I received a “tweet” that said, He will be mourned just like Prince Diana and Elvis.

So far, that has been true.

As a child of the 80s and a teen of the 90s, I have never known a time where there was no King of Pop but his music will last forever.

Now, let’s go for a moon walk.



Leslie N. Dees is the news editor of The Star-Herald. Email her at editor@starherald.net or follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lndees