And as for dancers...
Posted on 06/30/2009 8:52:45 AM PDT by AJKauf
Am I the only person in the world not moved by or concerned with the death of Michael Jackson? Like all bereavements my heart goes out to his family and close friends.
But — a “genius”? “The greatest entertainer of all time”?
Why am I writing this article at all?
I believe it is important, especially for the young, to understand the true meaning of greatness and to appreciate the real essence of “genius.” This may sound like a sacrilege but, as I write, millions of youngsters are breakdancing to Jackson tunes and evidently thinking this is the be-all and end-all of life’s expectations. If I had a young child now I would want him or her to read books, go to orchestra concerts, and be exposed to selective media under my — and my partner’s — supervision. Whether or not the stars I am about to venerate grew up in such a rarefied atmosphere is debatable, but after hearing Al Sharpton’s pronouncements I would like to reflect on what true greatness entails.
The Rev. Sharpton said this week that Michael Jackson broke down a barrier: he made it acceptable for black entertainers to rise to the top in a white world. What is Al Sharpton talking about? ..
(Excerpt) Read more at pajamasmedia.com ...
It’s sort of humorous reading people here attempting to downplay Jackson’s standing in the entertainment industry. His accomplishments in the music industry speak for themselves, really.
And as for dancers...
You obviously have not learned your pop culture lessons yet. Sentence yourself to 100 hours of MSM watching until cured or insane, whichever comes first...
I hated Thriller. The only album I liked was Off the Wall made in 1979. After that I was praying for Judas Priest to kill Michael Jackson.
I agree that Sammy Davis Jr clearly had a lot more talent and broke more barriers than Michael Jackson.
I am glad to know that I am not the only one who did not care for his music at all. I think that deep down, he was one of the most unhappy people I have ever read about.
Huh? I'm confused.
No question that MJ was a marketing phenomenon.
Stevie Wonder, who really IS a genius, hasn't written a decent song in the last 10 years either.
Sammy Davis did this, back when there was REAL discrimination, when black people weren't even allowed to watch at the same Vegas shows as white people. He went from sleeping in segregated hotel rooms to sleeping in the main buildings with everybody else, and he did it 40 years ago in the face of actual violence and bigotry. By the time he was in his heyday and most popular, the hard-core bigotry in the US was history.
Bill Cosby went from small time venues to TV, to big theaters to being a multimillionaire who has the political capital to turn right around and lecture the "black community" that they need to stop blaming the Man and start condemning their own druggy ways and moral-less rap music, but of course, that never even blips on Sharpton's radar, because that is a call to work hard and gain respect of everyone not because of the color of your skin but because you make your own way in the world by your own hard work. And Sharpton lives off the dispair of others.
Both these men came though the hard times by showing us that black people were just...people. They destroyed the false gods of race hate by being the best they could be, not by rhyming fancy words and grabbing their crotch. They won fame by hard work, not by being flat out crazy and wearing one glove. They were performers; Micheal Jackson was far less...he was only a celebrity.
Do NOT get me started.
You're supposed to wipe your nose when you say that.
(Obscure Eddie Murphy "Delirious" reference)
Never bought a single record of his, and never even felt tempted to go to one of his concerts. I did enjoy watching the thriller video at the time though, and thought moon walking was a pretty neat invention of his (at least until I learned later that he just stole the technique from mimes and actors on stage)
I still think Richard Pryor did more for race relations, because he made whites and blacks laugh at each other, and with each other.
Here is Sammy Davis Jr. at his best.
It is funny, isn’t it? A lot of these posters are fueled by something other than a dislike for his music. Most of them are feeding the wrong wolf. For those of you who are in denial of his place in history a little investigation will reveal what I’m talking about.
Fred Astaire was pretty good for a white guy... The Nicholas Brothers were the very best!
Watch this to the end. It just keeps getting better as they continue dancing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBb9hTyLjfM&feature=related
To anyone other than blacks under 40, Hollywood types and those who were 12 year old girls when he peaked, Jacko is nothing but a bleached out pervert.
People who go on and on about his music breaking the race barrier must have never heard of Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Chuck Berry, The Mills Brothers, The Ink Spots, The Coasters, The Drifters, Ben E. King, Clyde McPhatter, Eartha Kitt, Laverene Baker, Barbara Lynn, Barbara Mason, Baby Washington, Barbara George, Barbara Lewis, Aretha Franklin, Dee Dee Sharp, Darlene Love, Chubby Checker, Hank Ballard, The Shirelles, James Brown, The Angels, The Crystals, and about 10,000,000 other black hitmakers and Doo Wop groups.
No probably about it - he was! Who else had a career spanning six decades and who could still pack them in? Whom else from the fifties and earlier, had pop and rock singers clamoring to perform with him? Frank, the skinny guinea from Hoboken, was a one-and-only!
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