 |
| Statue of Michael Jackson in Eindhoven, the Netherlands (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
It's better to burn out
Than to fade away
My my, hey hey.
~~Neil Young
Do you think that Michael Jackson's doctor was responsible for the death of the King of Pop? Was concert promoter AIG at fault? Can we blame the fans and the press who pervaded every aspect of his life? Or is Michael Jackson himself to blame? Maybe he isn't dead at all and has faded away into seclusion.
Michael Jackson was one of the greatest talents of the 20th century, but somehow something broke in his life. If he had played his life shrewdly he could have had the public in his power instead of becoming an object of spectacle to all and ridicule to many. Then again, maybe the man boy facade was his defense mechanism and he was just a puppet with strings pulled by others.
If Michael had lived but disappeared from public scrutiny to live a normal quiet life, would he eventually had been forgotten? After all, some celebrities have become bigger in death than they might have been if they had continued to live. It's doubtful that Michael Jackson could ever have attained normalcy and seclusion, but one might ponder what could have happened if his life had turned out differently.
I want your love
But I don't want to borrow
To have it today to give it back tomorrow
~~Walter Donaldson / Gus Kahn (from "Love Me or Leave Me)
You probably remember what happened to Ruth Etting. Oh-- "Who's she?" most of you are probably thinking. She made the song "Love Me or Leave Me" a smash hit back in the late 1920's. For a decade or so she was a huge star on Broadway, in the movies, on records, and on the radio. Then there was some scandal and she basically disappeared and faded away to die in Colorado Springs in 1978 at age 81. She was a darling to the public for a period and essentially a non-entity to most of us today.
Could something similar have happened to Michael Jackson if he'd lived?
The king is dead, the king is dead
Long live the king.
~~Elton John (via Traditional proclamation of succession of monarchies)
We've seen many idols fall over the years--James Dean, Elvis, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain. Every generation has its own fallen idols. Now many memories live on for the most part due to strong marketing and the legacy left behind on film and in recordings. There is money to made even after a celebrity passes on. Maybe more money than they would have made if they had lived. We can only speculate about the potential power these fallen idols could have wielded if they'd played the power game of their puppet masters.
There's more to the picture
Than meets the eye.
Hey hey, my my.
~~Neil Young
I'll admit I'm being a bit tricky in this post. The real point of all this is that it's part of the game I'm playing. Sure, I'm asking some legitimate questions and raising serious points, but this post is also a ruse to offer some clues for my upcoming Battle of the Bands post.
.jpeg)
My next Battle of the Bands post will appear this Saturday March 1st. That's a special posting day for this blog and I hope you'll all stop by to hear the song versions I'm competing. It's more fun when I have more voters. It's easy. I give you two versions of one song and you vote for your favorite.
Today's post is one giant clue to my song choice for the next Battle. A more specific clue is that none of the artists that I've mentioned or quoted in this current post have song versions in the battle. This is actually a very tough clue post that I would expect few to catch unless you're a fan of British music of the 60's and then you might just catch what I'm alluding to. More clues to come in my next post.
Who do you think is really most responsible for Michael Jackson's death? Do you think he was a victim of his fame? What entertainment celebrity who has died do you miss the most? Are you a Ruth Etting fan? Do you have any idea what song I've chosen for the next Battle?
