Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted “King of Pop” who emerged from childhood superstardom to become the entertainment world’s most influential singer and dancer before his life and career deteriorated in a freakish series of scandals, died Thursday. He was 50.
The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper.
Jackson’s death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music’s premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.
From Invincible (2001): Whatever Happens
His 1982 album “Thriller” — which included the blockbuster hits “Beat It,” “Billie Jean” and “Thriller” — remains the biggest-selling album of all time, with more than 26 million copies.
He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched voice punctuated with squeals and titters.
His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks second only to his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance. As years went by, he became an increasingly freakish figure — a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grown-up life.
His skin became lighter and his nose narrower. He surrounded himself with children at his Neverland Ranch, often wore a germ mask while traveling and kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions.
In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him. The case took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble. Full Story
Watch my two favorite Michael Jackson videos: 1992 Remember the Time (with Eddie Murphy, Iman, and Magic Johnson) 2001 You Rock My World (with Chris Tucker, Michael Madsen, Billy Drago, and Marlon Brando)
The Four Tops deserve to be recognized both for their achievements and their longevity. On the latter count, the group performed for over four decades together without a single change in personnel - a record of constancy that is mind-boggling in the notoriously changeable world of popular music.
As for their accomplishments, the Four Tops cut some of Motown’s most memorable singles during the label’s creative zenith, including “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “I Can’t Help Myself,” “It’s the Same Old Song,” “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love” and “Bernadette.”
The Four Tops’ greatest records were recorded at Motown with the in-house songwriting and production team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland between 1964 and 1967.
The foursome arrived at Motown in 1963 as seasoned veterans, having already logged nearly a decade in show business. The Detroit-based vocal group - consisting of lead vocalist Levi Stubbs, first tenor Abdul “Duke” Fakir, second tenor Lawrence Payton and baritone Renaldo “Obie” Benson - began singing together as the Four Aims soon after graduating high school in 1954.
Modeling themselves on the Ink Spots, the Aims evolved into a versatile nightclub act. They recorded for the Chess, Red Top and Columbia labels before Motown founder Berry Gordy lured them to Motown. Stubbs’ bold, dramatic readings of some of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s choicest material set a high standard for contemporary soul in the mid-Sixties.
Subsequent to their glory days at Motown, the Four Tops remained an in-demand live act. Periodically, they found themselves back on the charts during the Seventies and Eighties with such hits as “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I Got)” and “When She Was My Girl.” After the death of Payton in 1997, the remaining members continue to perform as the Tops.” Timeline
"Years ago, I was fortunate to be in the Chicago production of the musical "Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope". I was a dancer in the 1970s; and like all of us at one time or other, I was in excellent shape.
The summer classes were the opportunity of a lifetime because I met people who would be instrumental in the direction my life took from then; like Carlton Smith from Chicago.
Carlton was studying at DTH that summer also, and asked me to be a guest teacher the following summer at his summer workshop in Chicago.
I took up his offer, and taught some classes while I stayed at his place, but I was not fulfilled with the student's potentials or with Carleton's payroll practices.
Luckily, there was also another dancer renting space from Carlton named Clayton Palmer. I didn't think much about Clayton's presence because I was depressed being stuck in Chicago for the summer.
*I'm second from the left, on page 81 in the November 22, 1973 issue of Jet Magazine.
It just so happened one day that Clayton told me of an "open-call" for one of the dancers in the "show" he was working in, and they need to fill the position quickly. Well, I though that it wouldn't hurt to audition. Since I was in a depressing, no-win situation teaching there in Chicago, I was willing to try anything.
The show was "Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope". While I was trained in classical ballet and modern dance, I was not aware of the latest Broadway hits, but I later found out that "Cope" was the biggest thing going at that time. Well, I auditioned for the part feeling confident with every "combination" (routine) they threw at me, and after a basic voice test I got the job.
The rest, as they say, is history; but I will never forget the fun I had with the entire cast: a truly professional bunch of singers and dancers that made each performance special and unique. They gave me courage, strength, and a feeling of camaraderie that I didn't have with Carlton's or in teaching dance because I had found my greatest joy: dancing!
Since "Cope", further projects of the other cast members include:
Nell Carter = Hair, Modern Problems, Gimme a Break, Bébé's Kids Christophe Pierre = Guys and Dolls Karole Selmon = A Piece of the Action, Apartment 206 Danny Beard = The Wiz, The Fifth Dimension
Clayton Palmer = Details Unknown Derrick Bell = The Wiz
Cornelia "Corkie" Dozier = Details Unknown Jim Cyrus = Night Chills, Tug Freda Vanterpool = Deathmaster, Hello Dolly, Guys and Dolls
The cast went back to their hometown of New York when "Cope" closed in 1974, all except for Corky Dozier and me. I don't know why Corky stayed in Chicago, but I went back to Dayton Ohio because a friend of the family promised me a steady job at General Motors. Well, that promise was unfulfilled, and I was stuck in Dayton for 5 years until I joined up with an Elvis impersonator. But, that's another story for a later time.
Thanks to my friend Wes Powell of Raider Legend fame for his suggestion that I write this. Now, I can trace back to an exciting period that I will cherish. Thanks also, to the technical geniuses behind Google Books because I have been immortalized."
I'm sure everyone remembers the first time they saw Aretha Franklin perform in person. I remember the day she sang "Ain't No Way" as an encore to a concert she did in Dayton, Ohio. I was on the front row with the rest of the screaming crowd at the now extinct Lakeview Palladium, and I will never forget how thrilled we all were to be there.
>From A Deeper Love (1992): A Deeper Love
Aretha has given us numerous hits through her nearly 50 years of recordings. Besides being the first woman ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she is the winner of more Grammy's than any other female vocalist: 18, with 8 wins in a row. Incidentally, Stevie Wonder has won 26 (one for Lifetime Achievement).
From So Damn Happy (2003): Wonderful
TRIVIA: Aretha was the first winner of the title "Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Female" in the R&B category in 1968. Prior to 1968, the R&B category pitted male against female singers, unlike the Pop category that had always treated male and female performance as separate divisions since it's inception in 1958.
First Coast News It's said there are no do-overs in life. Just try telling that to Aretha Franklin.
She will have another shot at something she did at Barack Obama's inauguration. And no, it has nothing to do with the hat she wore, the one that the Smithsonian wants to get its hands on.
Franklin has recorded what her people are calling a "preferred version" of "America." In a statement, Franklin said she was unable to give her "very best" because it was so cold that day. She says she wants her fans to be able to get the best possible version of her doing the song.
The single will be released this week and will be available online on iTunes, Rhapsody and other places.
Stevie Wonder is one of the most enduring musical talents of our time. His biography below reveals the many reasons he will always remain an icon of the music industry:
Born Steveland Morris in Saginaw, Michigan in 1950, Wonder enters his fifth decade as one of the most prolific artists in music history, delivering 35 U.S. albums - 28 major studio releases - with album sales totaling more than 72 million units. The singer/songwriter has scored more than 30 Top Ten Hits, 11 #1 Pop singles, winning 19 Grammys (and a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in '96) and a host of other awards, including, most recently, Billboard's 2004 Century Award.
His contribution to worldwide social and political change is just as impressive, with Wonder championing the effort to make Martin Luther King's birthday a national holiday, as well as becoming a driving force behind 1985's USA For Africa campaign. As one critic wrote about Wonder's ingenious musical techniques: "He was simply the best at humanizing synthesizers.'" His mind bending fusion of innovative beats and ear-to-the street lyrical sensibilities single-handedly revitalized American songwriting in the '70's.
Wonder forged his diverging styles into a trademark sound, putting his musical signature on an epic quartet of albums that would change music forever - 1972's Talking Book, 1973's Innervisions, 1974's Fullfillingness' First Finale, and 1976's Songs In The Key Of Life. By decade's end, Wonder had garnered a record 15 Grammys, as well as numerous other awards. He was now cited by critics and fans alike as, arguably, the most important songwriter of his generation.
The songs tethered during this era, from "Superstition," and "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life," to "Living In The City," from "Higher Ground," to "You Haven't Done Nothin'," from "Boogie On Reggae Woman," to "I Wish" and "Sir Duke," confirmed Wonder's status as a national treasure. He continued his hit making journey in the decades to follow, penning, among other classics, his 1982 collaboration with Paul McCartney, "Ebony And Ivory," which remained #1 for seven weeks in a row. 1984's The Woman In Red soundtrack produced the enduring classic "I Just Called To Say I Love You," yet another #1 hit that netted him an Academy Award.
In 1989 wonder was inducted into the Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame along side none other than the Rolling Stones. As if to prove even Wonder's rock roots had come full circle - the Stones were the only band he chose to tour with when debuting his breakthrough masterpiece, "Superstition" in 1972. The '90's brought exciting new opportunities for Wonder, with his influence on the new breed of hip hop artists evident when Coolio fused Wonder's "Pastime Paradise," for his 1995 smash "Gangsta's Paradise."
Countless more hip hop stars would pay homage to Wonder, including Public Enemy and Jay-Z, citing his tremendous influence over the genre, and morphing other Wonder nuggets into revamped hip hop gems. Two recent Stevie Wonder collections capture the depth of his amazing career, At The Close Of The Century, 1999's first authorized box set, a 4 CD, 70 song collection with additional bonus tracks. 2002 marked the release of The Definitive Collection, a 21 song CD, including 15 of Wonder's #1's.
The compilation includes songs from 1963-1985, and was universally hailed as one of the finer musical retrospectives ever released, capturing one of the most integral American artist's at the top of his game. The new millennium found music fans marveling at Wonder's incredible staying power, acknowledging the brilliance of his 40-plus year career with a slew of awards.
Inducted into the Songwriter's Hall Of Fame in 2002, he was the first African American to be awarded the Johnny Mercer Award in 2004, in recognition of a lifetime of outstanding creative works. At the end of the year he was presented with Billboard's highest honor for creative achievement, The Billboard Century Award, whose past honorees include George Harrison, Joni Mitchell, and John Mellencamp, among others.
In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine cited four Wonder albums in their list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time, including Innervisions (#23) and Songs In The Key Of Life (#56). As Wonder gets ready to add another album to his legacy, he muses about the mystery of creativity in a world hungering for a message. "Ever since Songs In The Key Of Life I feel it's been a blessing from God in giving me the titles, but ultimately, all songs must stand on their own.
I've always written about love, but the ones that spoke to me the loudest are the ones you'll find On A Time To Love." New songs including the first single, "So What The Fuss," "From The Bottom Of My Heart," and the aptly titled "Positivity," have Wonder enthusiasts already pegging the new disc as another leap in the singer/songwriter's incredible musical canon. "I'm asked all the time to talk about my work, but I don't ever compare one song against another," says Wonder. "I really do seek to create music that is timeless.
I love all kinds of music, all styles. The music today - whether it's mine or another artist - is as relevant and as significant as the music from yesterday. When I sit down to write, it's all an expression of energy, and the particular song that comes is the form I choose to adapt to that energy. Each project takes on its own life, and the songs from A Time To Love are the most appropriate for the statement I wanted to make." Fellow Motown artist, India.Arie, joins Wonder on the title song, "A Time To Love," co-writing the song with Stevie.
"I gave her the concept and some of the words, and she did what she always does, her usual masterful job with the lyric presentation." A Time To Love continues Wonder's dialogue with music fans who've come to rely on the singer/songwriter's spirited optimism. "The time is right again for this kind of conversation," says Stevie. "And we're talking about all forms of love. Love you have for a significant other. Love for a spouse, for your brother or sister, for humankind. The love of your faith. Whatever your passion is, this project was made with every level of love in mind." Source: MySpace
IMDb - Best known for her 1953 Christmas hit Santa Baby, as well as for her "puurtrayal" of Catwoman on the final season of the Batman television series, legendary singer and actress Eartha Mae Kitt succumbed to colon cancer on Christmas day in New York. She was 81.
Awarded a gold record for Santa Baby just this year, Kitt had been in high spirits and expected to make a full recovery from the cancer. Her publicist, Andrew Freedman, told Reuters today, "She came back strongly. She had been performing until two months ago. We had [music] dates booked through 2009."
Freedman went on to note Kitt loved cabaret performances - "if there was ever an opportunity to do a small intimate venue with about 150 people, that was always her preference."
He added, "She was never one to look back on her life. She was a true individual who believed that if you had a true belief in yourself, your talent was authentic."
From 45RPM (1955): Santa Baby
Survived by her eponymously named daughter, Kitt - whom she had with real estate developer Bill McDonald in 1962 - Eartha's previous romantic attachments included Orson Welles (who called her "the most exciting woman alive") and Arthur Leows Jr, heir to the Leows theatre chain. Kitt noted to the New York Times in April, "I would have liked [Arthur] to be the father of my child, but his mother said she would rather shoot him in the foot than let him marry a brown-skin woman."
Living long enough to see an African American president voted into office, Kitt went on to tell the Times, "[Obama] is mixed, as I am mixed. If he does by chance become president of the United States, that will show how far we have come in America."
She added, "I have never thought of myself as a race. I have always thought of myself as a communicator who has no race."
Michael Jackson's biographer is reporting that the pop star is in dire need of a lung transplant and is fighting for his life.
A spokesman for Michael Jackson released a statement on Monday denying as a “total fabrication” a report claiming that the former King of Pop needs a lung transplant due to a rare respiratory disease.
The statement, attributed to Jackson’s “official and sole spokesperson, Dr. Tohme Tohme” and issued by Los Angeles firm Scoop Marketing, cites an interview with writer Ian Halperin in British newspaper the Sunday Express in which Halperin said Jackson was suffering from Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency.
Halperin, who is at work on an unauthorized biography of the singer, also claims Jackson can barely speak, suffers from emphysema and internal bleeding, and has lost 95 percent of the vision in his left eye.
“Concerning this author’s allegations, we would hope in the future that legitimate media will not continue to be exploited by such an obvious attempt to promote this unauthorized ‘biography,’” said the statement attributed to Tohme.
“The writer’s wild allegations concerning Mr. Jackson’s health are a total fabrication,” the statement said. “Mr. Jackson is in fine health and finalizing negotiations with a major entertainment company and television network for both a world tour and a series of specials and appearances.”
Jackson, 50, one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, began his musical career with his siblings in the Motown group the Jackson 5 and went on release such hit solo albums as “Thriller.”
But the singer has been dogged since the 1990s by scandal and revelations about his eccentric lifestyle. He was tried and acquitted of child sex abuse charges in 2005.
"Tell Me Why" is one of my friend Narendra's favorites. I first watched the video on my iPhone tonight, but that wasn't enough for me. I couldn't wait to hear how the music sounded on my speakers at home; and I was not disappointed.
Declan reminds me of a young Michael Jackson, but you be the judge.
