The Genius in the Bubble

President Obama talks about living in the “bubble” and you get the sense that he doesn’t like it very much. However, he is mature enough to accept it because he knows it comes with the territory of being the leader of the free world. Michael Jackson was much younger when he got swallowed up in the bubble. He lived in the bubble most of his life. Even so, no one can deny he was a genius.

Like millions of people I was shocked to learn that Michael died at the young age of 50. Having watched all the media reports about MJ, one can’t help but to acknowledge how gifted he was in music. What struck me most was how he lived out his purpose. He was born to be an entertainer, no doubt about it. And as a result, Michael Jackson had a profound impact on the music industry and the world for that matter.  

Michael and I shared a couple of things in common. We were born the same year in Indiana; Michael in Gary while I was born in a small town several hundred miles south of Gary. When the Jackson 5 burst on the scene back in the 60′s  I became an instant fan. But so did millions of other people and it had absolutely nothing to do with having been born in the same state in the same year. The Jackson 5 were fun to watch and their music was really cool.

But getting back to Michael’s life in the bubble. Entertainment executive Suzanne de Passe worked for Motown founder Berry Gordy and gets the credit for introducing the Jacksons to Mr. Gordy. de Passe was featured in recent segment of ABC’s 20-20 and told the story of how the Jackson 5 arrived in Philadelphia for a concert back in the day and literally were mobbed at the airport. “And life was never the same,” she said.

Perhaps that was when the bubble started to take shape around young Michael Jackson. Imagine if you were 11 or 12 years old and throngs of people were reaching for you, screaming your name and going absolutely crazy over you. Sounds like fun, right? I mean, who wouldn’t want that kind of attention, especially an adolescent. But it also became the new reality for Michael Jackson. It’s no wonder he became reclusive as he grew older.

Michael Jackson's first solo album

Jackson used his talents to the max. He was known for being a perfectionist, especially when it came to producing his music and choreographing his show. Anyone who attended a Michael Jackson concert certainly got their money’s worth. He did not short-change his fans.

When Michael launched his solo career with the Off the Wall album, the world really got a chance to see this musical genius. Legendary producer, Quincy Jones worked with him on the solo album and even he admits in media reports how impressed he was with young Michael Jackson. I admire the relationship that Jones had with Michael. They both seemed to have a mutual respect and admiration for each other and that was evidenced when Michael asked Quincy Jones to produce the “We are the World”  to raise money for starving people in Africa. Who else could have told big stars like Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Dionne Warrick, Kenny Rogers, Bruce Springstein, Harry Belafonte, and others to “Check Your Ego @ the Door” and unite for one common cause? At one point in the video, Michael is holding hands with Diana Ross and you can just see the joy in his face. My God, that must have been truly a magical moment!

Michael began to change, I mean literally right before our eyes. First, the plastic surgeries then his complexion went from a medium brown to darn near white. I used to joke there was a whole generation of kids who never knew Michael Jackson used to be black. But I also believed that Michael Jackson was insecure with himself and perhaps rightfully so. Several people have commented on how shy he was and anyone could see that whenever he spoke in public. He was so innocent and again, it’s understandable given the kind of childhood he had. Most of us had a chance to grow out of our shyness, but Michael seemed to hang on to his and use it as a cocoon. In addition to being shy, he also appeared to be very sensitive and child-like. Again, most people thought he was strange but looking back on it in hindsight, it is conceivable that it was his way of coping with living in the bubble.

There were a lot of debates about Michael’s eccentric behavior. It led to some crazy accusations, including child molestation charges. However, according to a report I recently heard on CBS Radio’s The Osgood File, Jackson once admitted to a psychic while he was under hypnosis, that he was totally innocent of the charges.

One thing is for sure though, Michael had a passion for his work. He sold more records than any other recording artist. According to Wikipedia, Michael broke MTV’s self-imposed color barrier in 1983 when the cable music channel agreed to air his “Billie Jean” video. Prior to that, MTV had a light rotation of black artists like Tina Turner and disco queen Donna Summer. Even rocker David Bowie questioned MTV’s unwillingness to feature black artists.  

Now the whole world — and I mean the whole world — mourns the loss of Michael Jackson. As I am entering this blog, there are reports that he might have been addicted to pain killers prescribed by his personal physician. His ex-wife, Lisa Marie Presley claims in a post on her MySpace page that Jackson once predicted he would die like her father, Elvis Presley.

There’s no doubt the speculation surrounding Michael Jackson’s death will continue for weeks and months to come. One thing that is indisputable. Michael Jackson was a little kid who became a huge mega star, songwriter, producer, philanthropist, humanitarian, father and undeniably the best ever in show business!