The Day the Music Died...Again

Well, as my Mr. Big stated, "It's the end of an era!" Our King of Pop has left the building at the young age of 50. There has been an out pour of prayers and thoughts for the Jackson family from people all over the world via letters, text messages, facebook, myspace, tweets, and people showing up outside his home. He revolutionized the music industry from the minute he stepped out on a stage to begin his solo career with his white sequined glove and his provocative dance moves much like the King of Rock and Roll did. As I drove into work this morning listening to all the radio stations paying homage to Michael, I was saddened to think that he would never get to make his come back or sing on another stage. On twitter last night, there were many stars expressing their sadness and mourning the loss of such a visionary man. I know he had many transgressions and tons of negative publicity, but his music spoke loudly and to millions of fans worldwide. For those haters out there yesterday it was reported that his concert tour of 50 different stops were all sold out! I repeat 50 concerts were SOLD OUT! Most stars burn out within a short amount of time, but his career spanned over 40 years which was amazing to me that he constantly was able to reinvent himself to survive all of those hard times. Marketing, mixing, and performing music was changed forever while he just pursued his passion. Countless artists have proclaimed over the years that his style and charisma influenced their own music such as: Justin Timberlake, Akon, Britney Spears, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and his own younger sibling Janet. Personally, I feel like I cut my teeth on his music and many other artists from the 80's. My Momma used to turn the television to MTV and let it play on the weekends all day long. Of course this was back when I was young and when actual music was on MTV. His videos were beautiful, insightful, and almost always told a story of some controversy going on in our world. I will always remember my brother singing "Black or White" as a young kid and how I loved dancing along to "Bad". He was an artist that literally changed the face of how we hear, see, and consume music today. His presence will be missed by all who loved him. And for those of you out there that are questioning what all the hype is about, maybe you should just sit down, be quiet, and try to be respectful of the feelings of all the musicians and the family of a legend. Last night I tweeted that it was our generations version of "the day the music died" and I do feel that way. To the King of Pop, we will miss you and continue to play your music forever! Until next time, dust your old albums off and honor this generation's King!