The End of an Era

I am of a certain era and I love music. But when Michael Jackson died last week, I was amazed at how many people were moved. Granted, I'm a 60ish white male and my taste in music has always reflected my social status. I loved rock&roll from the day I heard "Rock Around the Clock" on the juke box in the Candy Kitchen in Plymouth, Indiana. I used to play air guitar to Elvis Presley before the sobriquet air guitar even existed. And at the tender age of 15, I ran away from home to be on American Bandstand even if for just a week.

I was the first kid in town (I believe) to buy Dylan's first album and the music of the ever evolving Beatles, Stevie Wonder, The Grateful Dead and the rest, albeit mostly white males like myself, was the music that carried me through into adulthood.

Anyway, back to MJ. There was a period just after graduating from college when I couldn't seem to find the kind of "white" music on the radio that I liked. It was the late 70's. The world was moving on, leaving behind the Age of Aquarius and moving toward the cocaine-fueled days of Studio 54 and disco. As a result I found myself listening to a lot of R&B; Lionel Ritchie, Teddy Pendergrass, Earth Wind and Fire and the great Barry White to name a few. But one album got to me and I played it over and over while I was living in a small basement apartment on a narrow little street in Greenwich Village. That album was Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall." Smooth, jazzy and poetical all at the same time. Man in the Mirror was speaking to me. What more can anyone ask from an album.

Then came "Thriller" which ushered in the MTV generation and the world of music left me in the dust.

I still wonder why "Off The Wall" doesn't get the critical recognition I think it deserves. It was in a very real sense a breakout album for Jackson. It sold well across many music markets and I think it must have made "Thriller" possible. But "Thriller" spoke eloquently to a younger generation, especially young black kids who desperately needed an idol of their own. Overnight Jackson became their hero, their savior, and his fans stuck with him through all the insanity that followed.

So the era of Michael Jackson is over now. As Lennon said, "Strange days indeed, mama. Strange days indeed."