Like most people, I’m still in shock and sad about the turn of events in the life of Michael Jackson (a fellow Hoosier). For the past 24 hours I’ve been glued to BBC and CNN International watching clips of him, for some reason MTV India sucks…oh wait they always suck.
I still get goose bumps when I see two clips, the one showing him doing the moonwalk during the Motown 25th anniversary special and the other is the Thriller video when he starts to sing “cause this is Thriller…” The guy was a musical genius and sadly most of us let him down.
I’m guilty, whenever I would hear his name over the past several years the first thing that would come to mind – alleged child molester, what a freak! Now, I feel like a total jacka!@$, because when he was alive I treated him like a leper and now that he is gone – a legend.
I personally could not have helped him, but what about his friends from the past – Quincy Jones, Jesse Jackson, Ron Burkle, etc… The more I read online, the more it appears his inner circle of handlers were rotten to the core and only looking out for themselves. It seems he had a revolving door of business managers, financial advisors and attorneys, I’m sure all were “yes” men.
The only person that should have gotten compenstated is the brains behind the acquistion of the Beatles music catalog. In 1985, MJ paid $47.5 million for ATV, which included the Beatles songs. MJ sold 50 percent of his interest to Sony for $90 million, creating a joint venture, Sony/ATV. Current estimates of the catalog’s value exceed $1 billion.
The legal battle for his kids and assets have only begun. I’m assuming he willed his estate to his kids and hence everyone will want to take care of the kids. The concerned parties will each have their take on why “it’s in the best interest of the kids to stay with xyz…”
Anyways, back to CNN International and remembering a living legend that is no more.
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