When I was a teenager, there was no cable. MTV had just launched and we saw it through recorded tapes shipped to Trinidad. My parents ran a video store, and one of the programs we got was Motown 25.
All the kids in the neighbourhood gathered at our house to see this. Prince and Michael Jackson were said to be performing. We waited anxiuosly for the show to proceed till it came to Michael Jackson.
We could hardly contain the excitment. Awe.....when he began to move.....awe. Yes the music was good, but the man moved like rubber in his legs and oil was on the floor. And then....WTH! He had just done the moonwalk...we were so stunned that it took a minute to come back to reality.
That entrancing Motown performance changed our lives momentarilty......the next few days we watched that tape ober and over again. We knew exactly the hour and min to fast forward it to, we copied that performance from top to bottom. Jerome Jeffrey, from next door, snagged many a girl with his talented Michael Jackson performance at every party for the next two years.........my brother and I could never get it that good.....
Michael Jackson, through his talent, challenged other artists to raise the bar of live performances, and music videos, and record sales. He is a legend in his own.
I blog this today in recognition of what he has contributed to the music industry.
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