Michael Jackson & Farrah Fawcett
It's been one hell of a week here. I grew up with Michael's music as background in my life. I remember Farrah and her incredible hair. My sister actually had that hair cut, I was lower maintenance myself. So where to start with my thoughts here.
You see I remember the Jackson Five appearing on the Ed Sullivan show and being riveted. I owned their first three albums on vinyl. I played them and I loved their music. I followed the Jacksons and listened to them pretty much on the radio but I always remembered their first releases as being something special. When Michael released 'Off the Wall' I was in the military and I heard it played at just about every damned party I went to and every club I hit in those days. Someone said on TV in an interview clip that Michael was the soundtrack of our lives and that makes sense. His presence was felt by all of us who came of age in the 70s and 80s.
Farrah had that TV show and tried to get a movie career going. The movie career never seemed to happen but her TV movies were definitely worth watching. 'The Burning Bed' was probably the movie that showed people she really was more than a pretty blonde. She really did get that role and it resonated. Another she did in the late 80s was 'Small Sacrifices' and it was awesomely done. I admired her as an actress taking those parts and delivering performances that still haunt. She took important parts and made them work.
I remember 'Thriller'. I remember wearing out two copies of the vinyl album. One I bought in Georgia, the other purchased in Germany. I had that last one until about 2002 when my son took one look at the vinyl collection and decided unilaterally that he could sell it. You can imagine I was not happy about that. I remember watching the premiere of the 'Thriller' video in San Francisco, in my Mom's livingroom with my parents, my sibs, their spouses and kids along with my own at the time. Same with 'We Are the World' where we all picked out the celebs we recognised.
I remember the tabloid stories about both Michael and Farrah. It seemed like their careers got overshadowed by those stories. I remember Michael's trial. I remember the drug busts of both Ryan O'Neil and Farah's son. I remember the bad things. I remember Michael's marriages to Lisa Marie and Debbie, and the divorces. And his kids. And the rumors of money issues for Jackson. A man who earned more money than most but couldn't seem to manage it.
What I want to remember is the talent of both of them. I want to remember how Michael owned any stage he appeared on. I want to remember that pretty blonde actress who could act. I want to remember the music of Michael and his brothers. I want that soundtrack in my life without remembering the odd stories about him and the selfmutilation by way of surgery that Michael did to himself.
You see I remember the Jackson Five appearing on the Ed Sullivan show and being riveted. I owned their first three albums on vinyl. I played them and I loved their music. I followed the Jacksons and listened to them pretty much on the radio but I always remembered their first releases as being something special. When Michael released 'Off the Wall' I was in the military and I heard it played at just about every damned party I went to and every club I hit in those days. Someone said on TV in an interview clip that Michael was the soundtrack of our lives and that makes sense. His presence was felt by all of us who came of age in the 70s and 80s.
Farrah had that TV show and tried to get a movie career going. The movie career never seemed to happen but her TV movies were definitely worth watching. 'The Burning Bed' was probably the movie that showed people she really was more than a pretty blonde. She really did get that role and it resonated. Another she did in the late 80s was 'Small Sacrifices' and it was awesomely done. I admired her as an actress taking those parts and delivering performances that still haunt. She took important parts and made them work.
I remember 'Thriller'. I remember wearing out two copies of the vinyl album. One I bought in Georgia, the other purchased in Germany. I had that last one until about 2002 when my son took one look at the vinyl collection and decided unilaterally that he could sell it. You can imagine I was not happy about that. I remember watching the premiere of the 'Thriller' video in San Francisco, in my Mom's livingroom with my parents, my sibs, their spouses and kids along with my own at the time. Same with 'We Are the World' where we all picked out the celebs we recognised.
I remember the tabloid stories about both Michael and Farrah. It seemed like their careers got overshadowed by those stories. I remember Michael's trial. I remember the drug busts of both Ryan O'Neil and Farah's son. I remember the bad things. I remember Michael's marriages to Lisa Marie and Debbie, and the divorces. And his kids. And the rumors of money issues for Jackson. A man who earned more money than most but couldn't seem to manage it.
What I want to remember is the talent of both of them. I want to remember how Michael owned any stage he appeared on. I want to remember that pretty blonde actress who could act. I want to remember the music of Michael and his brothers. I want that soundtrack in my life without remembering the odd stories about him and the selfmutilation by way of surgery that Michael did to himself.