Znani i mniej znani o MJu

[Maverick]

Jarvis Cocker żałuje swojego protestu podczas BRIT '96

Jarvis Cocker says he regrets protesting against Michael Jackson at the 1996 BRIT Awards because it took too much attention away from his music.

Jarvis Cocker regrets his Michael Jackson protest.
The former Pulp singer says he was uncomfortable with the attention he attracted when he invaded the stage during the 'Thriller' star's performance of 'Earth Song' at the 1996 BRIT Awards because it stopped people focussing on his music.

He told Spin magazine: "That one action transported me to a kind of tabloid fame, which I couldn't have imagined. My whole set of values had nothing to do with that kind of tabloidy thing. It took me a long time to work through.

"I just pushed it too far with that thing, because it wasn't, 'Jarvis Cocker played an amazing song at the BRIT Awards last night'. It was, 'Jarvis Cocker t**ted about at the BRIT Awards last night'.

"I had been in a band 15 years, and in 15 seconds, I became more well known. All that bloody work! Thrown away!"

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/ar ... et_1105178

[MJJ]

Na stronie Time.com znane osoby wspominają swoje spotkania i rozmowy z Michaelem.

Remembering Michael

Anjelica Huston
Actress Anjelica Huston met Michael Jackson working on Captain EO, Francis Ford Coppola's 3-D movie that was shown at Disney theme parks.
I met Michael on the first day of rehearsal, and I was stunned; even though, obviously, I knew his image very well; at how incredibly sweet and how modest and how innocent he was. And fragile too. In person you felt he was almost breakable. But then this thing happened when he would start to work: your heart would beat faster and the hair on your arms and the back of your neck would stick up as he literally took your breath away. I think he was the most electrifying performer I've ever seen.
I think it was very hard for Michael to express anger. He was, I have to say, one of the most polite people I have ever met in my life. I never heard Michael say a swear word, even when he was upset. He had the most beautiful manners. And I think music was really the only way in which his passion could come through unguarded. It was immense. He was on fire as a performer — I've never seen a talent like it. I think, actually, there was a lot of the otherworldly in Michael. He had this talent that I've never encountered before, and I've seen a lot of extraordinary people perform. He was, I think, very misunderstood. I never believed any of the allegations or insinuations against him. We had lunch together about a month ago, and he talked about his ordeal. He felt like he had really been put through the ringer. He said they wanted blood. I felt so bad for him, and I felt that he was really broken-hearted from what had been done. He was a meteor: his flame burned incredibly bright, and not for long but mightily.

Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy is the founder of Motown Records. He signed the Jackson 5 to his label in 1968.
I did not want any more kids' groups. I just wanted to concentrate on all of the other stars that we had. I had Stevie Wonder as a kids' group, and he had to have an entourage and tutors, and he could only work so many hours and there were so many restrictions. And that was enough. But my creative assistant, she insisted [on the Jackson 5].
And when I saw them come out and start performing, I was blown away, frankly. They did a Smokey song called "Who's Loving You" — I'm not sure if it was at the first audition or some subsequent day. But when Michael sang that song — it's a very passionate love song — he sang it like he had been living that song for 50 years. I remember the other members had the instruments and the guitars and stuff, and they would sing a song and it'd be great and have great precision. And once the song was over, everybody would relax, and I remember Michael staring at me to see what I was going to say, whether I liked it, whether I didn't. He was very serious. He was never out of focus with what I or other people around me were thinking and doing.
When you see someone with great precision like what Michael and his brothers had, you know a lot of work has to go into it. So we moved them from Gary, Ind., to Los Angeles with us. That's how important I thought they were. And we ended up having them live with us because where we were renting the place for them, they made too much noise in their rehearsals, and so they were sort of kicked out, so to speak. They moved in with me, and we then had all day and night to rehearse. There are a lot of debates about the early part of his life and his suffering, and I know that it wasn't a kid's life, but I disagree with most people, because he lived with me and I didn't see so much trauma in his life. I'm not saying he didn't have any. But I know when he lived with me, he was very normal.

Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof appeared with Michael Jackson on "We Are the World."
I remember when I presented him with an award at the Brits in London, and I was reading the script, and I just couldn't get through all the encomiums, so I stopped. And then he performed "Earth Song" and Jarvis Cocker got up and did his thing. Michael didn't understand why people had been laughing. He rang me at 3 in the morning to ask about it. I just told him "Go to bed; don't worry." "Earth Song" was a little hubristic, but it was still a cool song. He was a pop singer; he hadn't invented penicillin. But what do you expect when you have a kid who never went to school, and then he was thrust into this mad existence? My favorite track is "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," but the most important is "We Are the World." I was never that crazy about the song, but at the time most Americans didn't know where Africa was. I don't think Michael understood the issues, the politics and economics; it didn't interest him, but when he was asked to help, he did.

Carson Daly
Carson Daly is the host of NBC's Late Night with Carson Daly. He was the host of MTV's Total Request Live from 1998 to 2002.
I interviewed him once, when Invincible came out. It was crazy. I remember staying up late to write my questions like I always did, and I wrote a bunch of questions for Michael Jackson. I had to turn them in to the record company, and then the day of the interview, they basically regurgitated one question and gave it back to me and said, "Here — just ask him this." It was very well crafted, well worded. Something to the effect of: How does it feel to have a No. 1 album again in 13 countries? That just spoke to the team that was around him. I walked over across the street maybe an hour before we went live. It reminded me of a presidential process in the sense of the handlers and the route I was to walk: across Times Square and through Virgin Megastore, through the back door. I finally got in. I remember coming down the huge escalator at Virgin Megastore, and it was empty. And Michael was sitting in an aisle, flipping through records. The last handler sort of took me maybe 50 feet away, and I started walking down this aisle toward one of the greatest men ever. The first thing that struck me was how tall he was. Everybody I had met in Hollywood up until that point was disappointingly short and sort of underwhelming. I remember he made a bunch of very humble social gestures that just made me take a great liking to him. He took his glasses off — he was wearing gloves — he took his glove off, and I shook his hand. And he was gracious and, of course, famously soft-spoken. He said, "Very nice to meet you, Carson," and then we just sort of sat there for a minute and flipped through vinyl. We talked about music and how much he loved vinyl. It was just a very bizarre, amazing 20 minutes with Michael Jackson in the aisle of a record store talking about music.

Clive Davis
Grammy-winning producer Clive Davis would throw a party every year before the Grammys at the Beverly Hilton — and every year, Michael Jackson would be unable to come.
He would call and say, "I think I can come. I want to come this year; I know it's such a great night." He would call me and ask, "Who's coming this year?" And I'd tell him, you know, that I was going to bring on the O'Jays, because they were part of my earlier career. And he'd say, "Oh, you gotta make them sing 'Love Train,' " or "You gotta make them sing 'Back Stabbers'!" His enthusiasm for music was so palpable, and his familiarity with the music. Whether I was bringing on the younger generation or Johnny Mathis, he would say things like, "Oh God, what he did with 'Chances Are' " or "The Twelfth of Never." Those moments are very special to me. He never failed to immerse himself in the beauty and power of music. We'd speak for an hour, two hours. We were both convinced we'd have such a great night, but then, of course, it never did occur.

Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra is a medical doctor and author of several best-selling books on spirituality.
I met Michael more than 20 years ago; I went to teach him meditation at Neverland. He was very shy, very introverted, but very curious about consciousness and spirituality. You know, while the world called him weird, he wondered why the world was so weird. He'd ask me, Why do people go to war? Why is there genocide? What's happening in Sudan? Why have we killed the environment? Why is there racism and bigotry and hatred and prejudice? We talked about starving children in Mumbai, and he would start to cry. Or we'd start to talk about the trophy-hunting in Canada of the grizzly bear, and he would start to cry. In his mind, the world was psychotic.
Michael had a skin disease called leukoderma, which created huge patches of white. He had, as a result, a very, very poor image of his body. He was almost ashamed of it. That's why he would cover it up. Why do you think he wore a glove and all that stuff? He would not go into his swimming pool in his own house with his clothes off. He would just jump into the pool at the last moment, you know, take his robe off, but he was ashamed that people would look at all the blotches on his skin.
After his trial, he started getting these medical prescriptions from doctors and they were all for narcotics, and he asked me for a prescription, and that's when I became suspicious of what was going on. It was the drugs. Totally enabled by these Hollywood mafia drug-dealer doctors who have medical licenses and should be brought to justice. The same thing happened with Anna Nicole Smith, the same thing has happened over the years with — and I'm not going to mince my words — Elizabeth Taylor. I know these guys, and they should be in jail.

Donald Trump
Michael Jackson kept a home in one of Trump's buildings in New York City.
He was a very good friend of mine. He was an amazing guy, but beyond all else, he was the greatest entertainer I've ever known. He had magic. He was a genius. He was also a really good person, and when you got to know him, you realized how smart he was. He was brilliant. We were at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. There were thousands of people literally crushing us. We had 20 bodyguards, but it was really dangerous. He dropped to his knees and started crawling to the exit. He did it so routinely, I thought he fell. And I said, "Michael, is it always like this?" He goes, "Yeah, this is nothing. Japan is much worse."
Now, Michael wasn't the same Michael for the last 10 years. He was not well. He had a lot of problems, a lot of difficulties. But Michael in his prime — there's never been anybody like him. His life was different than anybody I've ever known. But he had a very rough 10 years. He was embarrassed by it. He was embarrassed by what was happening to him. But he's not going to be remembered for the last 10 years; he's going to be remembered for the first 35 years.


Za stroną http://www.Time.com

[Sussi483]

Bill Kaulitz o Michaelu Jacksonie

Bill: Po prostu super, co on w swojej karierze osiągnął!

Filmik
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtCD3TBiyY4

[MJJ]

Następna część wspomnień o Michaelu ze strony Time. Niektóre są zabawne i wzruszające.

Np. Kobe Bryant mówi o tym, że Michael zaproponował, żeby jego ślub odbył się w Neverland, Lenny Kravitz wspólnie spędzonym czasie z MJ podczas nagrywania wspólnej piosenki, a Sheryl Crow o tym jak MJ rzucał w nią winogronami i marchewką w przerwie koncertu.


Remembering Michael

Usher
R&B star Usher performed with Michael Jackson for the "Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special" concert video in 2001.
The first time I got a chance to meet Michael was onstage at Madison Square Garden. There were tons of people on the stage, and I just remember losing my mind. Like, Oh my God, that's Michael Jackson right there. I was just over his right shoulder. And then when I finally got a chance to get on the stage with him, I was just shut down. He had the type of magic that you just bowed to. I just said, "I love you, and I know you've heard it a million and one times from fans all over the world, but you've meant so much to me as an entertainer, and I love you, and I've admired you all these years." He said "Thank you" in a very calm, meek voice. He was like, "Thank you so much, Usher. What you do is great; you're great. What you do is not easy, the singing and dancing is not easy. Most performers can't do that, and you've been able to do it, and I'm very impressed by you."
I was shooting a Macy's commercial and me and Martha Stewart were standing side by side taking a picture, and I remember looking over to her and I said, "They said that Michael had an incident, a cardiac arrest," and she and I were both in denial — "No, that's just some fabricated story that they came up with." We kind of shrugged it off. I went and I turned on CNN, and they said he had experienced issues of cardiac arrest. And I knew this was very serious. I had an engagement in Paris, and as I boarded my plane, I didn't know what to think. By the time I landed, there was his family releasing a statement. Man, I lost it. I cried myself to sleep. This man, he meant so much to me as an entertainer; as an individual, he taught me so much, even though he didn't know it. Michael Jackson was the first African American to sing to a crossover audience. I do feel like without Michael Jackson, MTV would not be on the map. It would not be what it is today. This is bigger than the loss of Elvis.

Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson worked together on "We Are the World."
I first met Michael when I was in Detroit. He came to Motown, and they were talking about this boy from Gary, Ind., and the Jackson 5, and everyone was excited. He was a little boy then. He would always come into the studio curious about how I worked and what I did. "How do you do that?" "Why do you do that?" I think he understood clearly from seeing various people do the music scene that it definitely took work. He must have been around 9 or 10 then, and I definitely felt that he would be someone. You heard the voice, and all he could do was grow. And that's what he did.
I remember playing air hockey one time, and we were going back and forth. I play air hockey on the side as opposed to the end of the table because it's more accessible for me to really understand what's happening. He said, "Oh, you're cheating." And I said, "Aw, I'm not cheating, come on." And we went on and on for hours, just playing air hockey and being silly. He had a childlike heart. And that was very, very impressive to me. At the end of the day, we're all human beings, and for those who can't see that it is possible for a man who's an adult to have a childlike spirit, it doesn't mean that they're weird, it doesn't mean they're a freak or whatever ridiculous things people say. We have all kinds of people in the world. The most important thing is that your heart is in a good place.

Sheryl Crow
Crow was a backup singer for Jackson during his first solo tour, Bad, in 1987.
I have so many memories of him pranking me onstage. Our quick-change tents shared a side, and as we were rushing to change our wardrobe in between songs, invariably, a grape or a carrot would come rocketing over the top at me. I could always hear him giggling through the wall. He rented out amusement parks a lot. I remember riding a swinging-pirate-ship ride with him somewhere in Germany, and because we were the only ones on the ride, he wouldn't let the operator stop the ride, as I got sicker and sicker. He thought it was hilarious! When we were in Tokyo, I got a call from him at night inviting me to come to his hotel, where we watched Amos 'n' Andy shows. He laughed and threw popcorn the whole time. My most beloved memory, however, was watching him perform "Human Nature" every night from the side of the stage. There was something so genuinely vulnerable in his voice on that song, and watching the freedom with which he danced, doing the moves he invented only made me more keenly aware of the greatness I was blessed to be witnessing.

Quincy Jones
Grammy-winning producer, composer and arranger Quincy Jones produced some of Michael Jackson's biggest-selling albums, including Off the Wall and Thriller.
Michael's always had that intriguing and silent power inside of him, and so [while filming The Wiz] I was paying attention to him, almost out of everybody who was in the film. He'd get up four hours before everyone else to get these prosthetics on his face, and then he'd stand there, very, very diligently and disciplined. He knew everybody's lines, he knew all the songs, all the steps, everything. I mean I'd never seen so much focus in my life, and I started to watch him and I started to see things in him that I wasn't cognizant of before. And then they were rehearsing one day, and Sidney Lumet was blocking the principal characters, and Michael would pull these little pieces of paper from his chest and recite words from a powerful thinker — Socrates or Aristotle or Confucius or whatever — and then he'd say the name at the end. The last one he said, Blah blah blah — "So-crayts." And I said, "What is that?" And he said it a few times, and I realized what was going on. And because you get used to something when you're rehearsing like that, the second day I said to him, "Michael, it's Soc-ra-tees." And he said, "Really?" And the look he gave me then, it just prompted me to say, because I'd been impressed by all the things I saw in him during the rehearsal process, "I would love to take a shot at producing your album." And he went back and told the people at Epic Records, and they said, "No way — Quincy's too jazzy." Michael was persistent, and he and his managers went back and said, "Quincy's producing the album." And we proceeded to make Off the Wall. Ironically, that was one of the biggest black-selling albums at the time, and that album saved all the jobs of the people saying I was the wrong guy. That's the way it works.

Kobe Bryant
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is the 2009 NBA Finals MVP.
One of the things he always told me was, Don't be afraid to be different. In other words, when you have that desire, that drive, people are going to try to pull you away from that, and pull you closer to the pack to be "normal." And he was saying, It's O.K. to be that driven; it's O.K. to be obsessed with what you want to do. That's perfectly fine. Don't be afraid to not deviate from that. One of the books that he gave me that helped him communicate with me was Jonathan Livingston Seagull, which was about that.
Beyond the genius of what he was, he was just a genuinely, genuinely nice person. He got me hooked on movies that I would normally never watch. Fred Astaire movies. All the old classics. I would never, never watch those. I remember my fiancée and I telling him we were getting married, and him just being really excited and actually just offering up the ranch to have our wedding there, because privacy was going to be an issue. We wanted to get married in a church, so that's what we wound up doing. But he made the offer. He was just a genuinely nice person who was exceptionally bright, exceptionally bright, and driven and talented. You mix those things together, man, you have Michael Jackson.

Lenny Kravitz
Recording artist and producer Lenny Kravitz won four straight Grammy Awards for Best Male Vocal Performance from 1998-2001.
I saw the Jackson 5 at Madison Square Garden, which was the first concert I'd ever seen, and they were wearing these knicker pants with these boots that came up to the knees. So I would put these galoshes on and dance around the living room and pretend that I was Michael Jackson. We got together a few years ago and we decided to go into the studio together. I had written a song for him and actually produced the track before he showed up. I played all the instruments, got it ready. We recorded at Marvin Gaye's old studio, up on Sunset Boulevard. We did his vocals for about three days. He was a lot of fun. He stayed for hours. We'd sit on these little stools and eat together and talk. That's where I really got to know him.
His children were there. They were extremely well behaved. I grew up in an old-school West Indian family, where respect was paramount. And these kids were just like that, full of respect but not robotic. Really sweet. They drew pictures for me and signed them. They were making art all day while we were working. My daughter Zoe came in. We were all together. We played music, we drew, we talked, we ate, we laughed. [He was] extremely respectful toward the chef, the engineers, myself, the kids — just the same to everybody.
I was in Glasgow, coming off the stage before an encore, when I heard the news. I went back on, did the last two songs. Came off and they announced he had died. Coming off the stage like that, when you're amped up and on a high, and hearing that news and having to go downstairs and digest this — it was difficult. I came off stage and went right to my computer and played the track we had done. It was about his life and where he'd been. It's quite triumphant.


time.com

[nat88]

Margie Duncan z Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-JyLzWnRbM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0tGTp2Gtec

[kaem]

Kod: Zaznacz cały

One morning MJ came in with a new song he had written overnight. We called in a guitar player, and Michael sang every note of every chord to him. "here's the first chord first note, second note, third note. Here's the second chord first note, second note, third note", etc., etc. We then witnessed him giving the most heartfelt and profound vocal performance, live in the control room through an SM57.
He would sing us an entire string arrangement, every part. Steve Porcaro once told me he witnessed MJ doing that with the string section in the room. Had it all in his head, harmony and everything. Not just little eight bar loop ideas. he would actually sing the entire arrangement into a micro-cassette recorder complete with stops and fills.
At one point Michael was angry at one of the producers on the project because he was treating everyone terribly. Rather than create a scene or fire the guy, Michael called him to his office/lounge and one of the security guys threw a pie in his face. No further action was needed . . . . .
During the recording of "Smile" on HIStory, Bruce thought it would be great if Michael would sing live with the orchestra. But of course, we didn't tell the players that. We set him up in a vocal booth off to the side. They rehearsed a bit without vocals in, then during the first take Michael sang, just about knocked them out of their chairs.
His beatboxing was without parallel, and his time was ridiculous.
His sense of harmony was incredible. Never a bad note, no tuning, even his breathing was perfectly in time.
Once, while we were taking a break, I think we were actually watching the OJ chase on TV, there was a news program talking about him being in Europe with some little boy. I was sitting next to the guy while the news is making this crap up. He just looked at me and said this is what I have to deal with.
I spent close to 3 years working with him, and not once did I question his morals, or ever believe any of the allegations. I wasn't even a fan then. I saw him interact with his brothers kids, other people's children, and at one point my own girlfriend's kids. I got to spend a day at Neverland with them. A completely incredible human being, always looking for a way to make all children's lives better. Every weekend at Neverland was donated to a different children's group - children with AIDS, children cancer, etc., and most of the time he wasn't there.
He was simply living the childhood he never had. In many ways he never grew up.
I was assisting Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis while they recorded the background vocals for "Scream" with MJ and Janet. The two of them singing together was amazing. Super tight, no bad notes. One part after another. When they took a break they sang the showtunes they used to sing as kids. Again, perfect harmony. Mj refused to sing the "stop f*ckin' with me part" because he would NOT curse.
I was the tape op for the recording of the background vocals on "Stranger in Moscow". Scared the hell out me. Michael was dropping in and out on syllables, rearranging the notes and timing as he put it down. No Pro Tools at the time, just 2" tape, and my punches.
I erased a live keyboard overdub that he played one night. He came in the next morning, replaced it, and never uttered another word about it.
I was there when Lisa Marie was around. They acted like two kids in love. Held hands all the time, and she hung out at the studio for quite a while. I never questioned their love for each other.
We recorded a Christmas song during the summer of '94 that needed a children's choir. Michael insisted that the entire studio be decorated with xmas lights, tree, fake snow and a sled for their recording. And he bought presents for everyone.
The last weekend of recording on HIStory he came to me and Eddie Delena, and said "I'm sorry, but I don't think any of us are going to sleep this weekend. There's a lot to get done, and we have to go to Bernie on Monday morning". He stayed at the studio the entire time, singing, and mixing. I got to spend a couple quiet moments with him during that time. We talked about John Lennon one night as he was gearing up to sing the last vocal of the record - the huge ad libs at the end of "earth song". I told him the story of John singing "twist and shout" while being sick, and though most people think he was screaming for effect, it was actually his voice giving out. He loved it, and then went in to sing his heart out. . . .
Later that night, while mixing, everyone left the room so MJ could turn it up. This was a common occurrence during the mixes, and I was left in the room with ear plugs, and hands over my ears, in case he needed something. This particular night, all the lights were out and we noticed some blue flashes intermittently lighting up the room during playback. After a few moments we could see that one of the speakers (custom quad augspuergers) was shooting blue flames. Mj liked this and proceeded to push all the faders up . . . .
MJ liked hot water while he was singing. I mean really hot !!!!! It got to the point that I would melt plastic spoons to test it.
Bruce and I were talking about walking to the studio everyday in NYC, and what routes we took. Michael looked at us and said we were so lucky to be able to do that. He couldn't walk down the street without being harassed. It was a sad moment for all of us.
The studio crew got free tickets to the Janet show so we all went right from work one night. About halfway through the show we see this dude with a long beard, dressed in robes dancing in the aisle behind. I mean really dancing . . . it was Mj in disguise. Kind of like the costume Chevy Chase wears in Fletch while roller skating.
He got one of the first playstations from sony in his lounge . . . we snuck in late at night to play the games that hadn't been released yet.
A couple people on the session hadn't seen Jurassic Park while it was out, so MJ arranged a private screening for us at Sony.
He was a huge fan of Nine Inch Nails Downward Spiral . . . .
I was lucky enough over the course of 3 years to have access to the multitrack masters for tour prep, videos, and archive purposes. To be able to pull these tracks apart was a huge lesson in production, and songwriting. A chance to look into the minds of geniuses.
Of all the records I've worked on, MJJ was the only company to give platinum award records.
One day we just all sat in the studio listening to his catalog with him for inspiration. He loved the process, he loved the work."

Wspomnienia jednego ze współpracowników, ze studia przy pracy nad HIStory. Podobnie zapowiada się książka Bruce'a Swedien'a, anonsowana jeszcze wiosną tego roku. To będzie coś.

[Louie]

Tłumaczenie

Wspomnienia Roda Hoffmana, który pracował z MJ przy produkcji kilku płyt.
Kilka przypadkowo wybranych wspomnień:

Pewnego ranka MJ przyszedł [do studia] z nową piosenką, którą napisał przez noc. Zawołaliśmy gitarzystę i Michael wyśpiewał mu każdy akord. „To jest pierwsza nuta pierwszego akordu, druga nuta, trzecia nuta. To jest pierwsza nuta drugiego akordu, druga nuta, trzecia nuta”, etc. Etc. Potem byliśmy świadkami jak wykonał tę piosenkę w najgłębszy i płynący prosto z serca sposób, na żywo w pokoju kontrolnym przez SM57 (typ mikrofonu, Louie)

Mógłby nam zaśpiewać całą aranżację strunową, każdą część. Steve Porcaro powiedział mi raz, że był świadkiem tego jak MJ wykonywał sekcję strunową w pokoju. Wszystko to było w jego głowie, harmonia, wszystko. Nie tylko idea 8-taktowych powtórzeń. Mógł zaśpiewać całą aranżację i nagrać ją na mini-kasetę, wraz z przystankami i wstawkami.
Kiedyś Michael był zły na jednego z producentów ze względu na to, że źle wszystkich traktował (osoby pracujące przy danym projekcie, Louie). Zamiast zrobić mu awanturę czy wyrzucić go z pracy, Michael zawołał go do swojego biura/”kanciapy” i jeden z ochroniarzy rzucił mu ciastem w twarz. Inne działania nie były już potrzebne...

Podczas nagrywania “smile” do albumu “HIStory”, Bruce pomyślał, że byłoby wspaniale gdyby Michael zaśpiewał na żywo z orkiestrą. Oczywiście jednak nie powiedzieliśmy tego wykonawcom. Umieściliśmy go w kabinie wokalnej z boku. Orkiestra popróbowała trochę bez wokalu, a potem podczas pierwszego podejścia do wykonania utworu, Michael zaśpiewał na żywo z orkiestrą. Wykonawcy z wrażenia o mało nie pospadali z krzeseł.

Jego beatboxing (z kontekstu wynika, że chodzi o wyczucie rytmu, ale nie wiem czy tego słowa można użyć też w tym znaczeniu, Louie) i wyczucie czasu były bez porównania. Poczucie harmonii nie do pomyślenia. Żadnej nieczystej nuty, żadnego zgrywania, nawet oddechy były dokładnie o czasie.

Pewnego razu, podczas przerwy - wydaje mi się, że oglądaliśmy wtedy pościg OJ w TV – zostały wyemitowane wiadomości n.t. Michaela będącego w Europie z jakimś małym chłopcem. Siedziałem wtedy obok niego, podczas gdy wiadomości podawały ten stek bzdur. Spojrzał tylko na mnie i powiedział, że – to jest to z czym muszę sobie radzić.

Spędziłem blisko 3 lata współpracując z nim I ani razu nie zwątpiłem w jego moralność ani nie uwierzyłem w żadne zarzuty. Nie byłem wtedy nawet jego fanem. Widziałem w kontakcie z dziećmi jego braci, dziećmi innych osób, a w pewnym czasie nawet z dziećmi mojej dziewczyny. Wspaniała istota ludzka, która zawsze szukała sposobu by uczynić życie dzieci lepszym. Każdy weekend w Neverland był przeznaczony dla innej grupy dzieci – dzieci z AIDS, dzieci chore na raka,... przez większość czasu nie było go tam.

On po prostu żył dzieciństwem, którego nigdy nie miał. W wielu aspektach nigdy nie dorósł.

Towarzyszyłem Jimmiemu Jam I Terry Lewisowi podczas nagrań chórków do “Scream” wraz z MJ i Janet. Zapierającym w piersiach był widok ich obojga śpiewających razem. Super ściśle, żadnych fałszywych nut. Jedna część po drugiej. Podczas, gdy zrobili przerwę zaśpiewali piosenkę, którą śpiewali gdy byli dziećmi. Ponownie, perfekcyjna harmonia. MJ odmówił zaśpiewania fragmentu „stop f*ckin’ me” ponieważ nie chciał przeklinać.

Byłem operatorem taśmy podczas nagrań chórków do “Stranger in Moscow”. Przestraszył mnie. Michael re aranżował sylaby, nuty i czas podczas nagrywania. Żadne profesjonalne narzędzia do obróbki nie były wtedy potrzebne. Tylko 2 milimetrowa taśma i moje uderzenia (chodzi chyba o włączenia i wyłączenie taśmy, Louie)

Skasowałem pewnej nocy nagranie jego wokalu do podkładu keyboardowego. Przyszedł następnego ranka, zastąpił je i nigdy więcej o tym nie wspomniał.

Byłem obecny podczas nagrań, podczas gdy był związany z Lisą Marie. Zachowywali się jak dwa zakochane dzieciaki. Cały czas trzymali się za ręce, ona dość długo przesiadywała w studiu. Nigdy nie wątpiłem w ich wzajemną miłość.

Latem ’94 nagrywaliśmy piosenkę świąteczną, do której potrzebny był chór dziecięcy. Michael nalegał by udekorować całe studio lampkami, choinką, sztucznym śniegiem i sankami. Kupił też dla wszystkich prezenty.

Podczas ostatniego weekend nagrań do HIStory przyszedł do mnie I Eddie Deleny I powiedział “przepraszam, ale nie myślcie, że ktokolwiek z nas będzie spał w ten weekend. Jest bardzo dużo do zrobienia i musimy iść do Berniego w poniedziałek rano”. Siedział w studiu przez cały ten czas śpiewając i miksując. W tamtym czasie rozmawiałem z nim kilkukrotnie. Jednej nocy, gdy Michael zbierał się do nagrania ostatnich wokali - rozmawialiśmy o Johnie Lennonie. Opowiedziałem mu historię o tym jak John śpiewał „twist and stout” podczas gdy był chory. Pomimo, że wiele osób myślało, że był krzyczał celowo dla wywołania odpowiedniego efektu, tak naprawdę był to jego siadający głos. Michaelowi bardzo spodobała się ta historia. Potem poszedł i zaśpiewał z głębi serca...

Później tej nocy, podczas miksowania, wszyscy opuścili pokój, żeby MJ mógł podgłośnić muzykę. Zdarzało się to często podczas miksowania. Zostałem w pokoju z uszami zatkanymi zatyczkami i dłońmi, na wypadek gdyby czegoś potrzebował. Tej nocy wszystkie światła były zgaszone i zauważyliśmy jakieś niebieskie błyski rozświetlający pokój podczas odtwarzania. Po kilku chwilach mogliśmy zobaczyć, że jeden z głośników wystrzeliwał niebieskie płomienie. MJ podobał się to i nie przestawał podgłośniać...

MJ lubił gorącą wodę podczas śpiewania. Mam na myśli naprawdę gorącą wodę!!! Musiała być tak gorąca by topiły się w niej plastikowe łyżeczki.

Bruce i ja rozmawialiśmy o tym jak każdego dnia przychodzimy do studia w Nowym Yorku i którędy zazwyczaj chodzimy. Michael spojrzał na nas i powiedział, że jesteśmy wielkimi szczęściarzami, że możemy to robić. On nie mógł spokojnie iść ulicą nienapastowany przez nikogo. Był to dla nas wszystkich przykry moment.

Ekipa studyjna dostała darmowe bilety na show Janet. Poszliśmy tam zaraz po pracy. Mniej wiecej w połowie show zobaczyliśmy dziwnego człowieka z długą brodą tańczącego w przejściu z tyłu. Mam na myśli naprawdę tańczącego... To był MJ w przebraniu. Miał na sobie rodzaj kostiumu Chevy Chase’a we Fletch podczas jazdy na wrotkach.
Miał w swojej “kanciapie” pierwsze playstations... wkradaliśmy się tam późno w nocy by zagrać w gry, które jeszcze nie zostały wypuszczone na rynek.

Parę pracujących z nami osób nie widziało jeszcze Parku Jurajskiego, gdy wchodził na ekrany. W związku z tym MJ zorganizował dla nas prywatny pokaz w Sony.

Był wielki fanem “Downward Spiral” (album NIN, Louie) Nine Inch Nails)....
Miałam wiele szczęścia, że przez te 3 lata współpracy miałem dostęp do ścieżek służących podczas przygotowań do tras, nagrań video i zasobów archiwalnych. Możliwość zobaczenia tych elementów osobno dała mi wielką lekcję produkcji i procesu tworzenia piosenek. Była to szansa by zajrzeć wgłąb umysłów geniuszy.

Spośród wszystkich nagrań nad którymi pracowałem, jedynie współpraca z MJJ dała mi platynowe nagrania.

Pewnego dnia usiedliśmy w studiu słuchając jego katalogu by znaleźć inspirację. On kochał proces tworzenia, kochał tę pracę.

[BettyBlue1982]

http://www.onet.tv/chcial-dac-polsce-kl ... ,klip.html#

Wspomnienia o Michaelu w Polsce... "Chciał dać Polsce klasę i honor" :)

[MJJ]

Jeszcze jedna część wspomnień ze strony Time.com

Remembering Michael

Don Cornelius
Don Cornelius is the creator of the pioneering dance and music TV show Soul Train.
The word got around that these kids from Gary, Ind. — next door to Chicago, where I was working as an announcer — were amazing. A lot of the local recording artists were being told, "If these Jackson 5 kids are on the show that you're contemplating [doing], don't book the show because they will kick your ass." That's when Michael was 6 or 7. I got to know their father Joe Jackson accidentally — or I sought him out, I can't remember; it's been a long time. Most of the guys I worked with at the radio station did some moonlighting as stage-show promoters, and I found a venue and decided to do one. Joe was nice enough to give me the group. That's how I met them and first got to know Michael. He was about 8.
Michael epitomized the incredible lead singer that most major groups tend to have: the Miracles with Smokey Robinson, the Commodores with Lionel Richie, the Temptations with Eddie and Dennis. Joe Jackson had figured out that that was the formula: he had the spectacular lead singer who could do every step that James Brown ever demonstrated. Michael was just a killer onstage. That's the first thing you noticed. He knew his way around a stage; he commanded the whole operation.
He had a star quality, even as an 8-year-old. He was such a lovable individual. If you were backstage, you saw the women who happened to be on the same show, and they just kind of adopted Michael. They were always hugging and kissing and rubbing him — it went on and on, more than almost any other kid could possibly bear. I'm sure Michael got tired of it, but he never complained. They were all over him. As time went on, he sort of fell in love with Diana Ross —her music and her singing — and I think it was mutual. She fell in love with him also. He was still only 9 or 10.
With a guy who's that young, you don't try to project how good he's gonna be 'cause he's only 4 ft. tall. You're looking at a small person who can do anything he wants to do onstage — with his feet or his voice. To get to the level of people who can do that, you're talking about James Brown as a performer. You're talking about Aretha Franklin as a singer. Or Stevie Wonder or Donny Hathaway — people who were renowned for being able to do whatever they wanted to do with their voices. Michael was like that as a kid. As he began to evolve, you could hear Diana in his singing. You could hear Stevie Wonder. You could hear Marvin Gaye. You could hear Smokey. Once he put it all together, you wouldn't hear anybody imitating him, because he just had too much going for him as a singer. He was the man. The younger guys coming up used him as the standard. If there's anyone to use as the standard, to shoot at, to compare yourself with, it's Michael Jackson.

Ice-T
Rapper and actor Ice-T appears on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
I met him once. He was in New York at the Sony studios shooting a video, and I was there with one of my groups. And I was requested — Michael wanted to meet me. I went in the back, and he was sitting between two women and he shook my hand, and it was cool. Somebody like Michael Jackson — you don't even think they know you exist. You know, you're a rapper. And the fact that he was like, "Ice-T is here. I would like to meet Ice-T." And I shook his hand and it was a very cool moment. One of my friends said, No matter how tough you are, Michael Jackson will have the biggest gangster in the front row screaming like a bitch at his concert. That's about the best compliment you can give.
At the end of the day, his legacy to me is, he was original. That's one thing about Michael Jackson — you can't say any of his stuff was taken from anybody else. It was 100% original. All the new people who are going to mimic him — the little 'N Sync kid [Justin Timberlake] — they know they doing the Michael Jackson.


Frank Gaston Jr.
Director and choreographer Frank Gaston Jr. has worked with En Vogue, Toni Braxton and Destiny's Child. He currently coordinates routines for Beyoncé.
The first time I met Michael was when I danced in the video for "Smooth Criminal," and for some reason I remember his fingernails, because they were so well manicured. That was my first job in L.A. as a dancer. And it was the most amazing job — I made $10,000 because the job was for three months. Just the dance section. Isn't that something? There were, like, 40 dancers on the job. You know the scene in "Smooth Criminal" when he gets on the table? I'm standing right there because they wanted me to spot him, so if he fell, I would catch him. And he would never fall.
I had gone to see his show in Europe, where it was, like, 100,000 people and they don't have seats on the main floor of the stadium. They just stand up and they're like cattle shoulder to shoulder. And that was just amazing, seeing all the medics come in and out because people were fainting, people were crying. I can't explain it. It was like the Holy Ghost: if you ever go to a black Baptist church, people shout, ladies faint. That's the only thing I can describe that's like how it was. And Michael told me one thing too: When people would grab him when he was walking through from backstage, and they could grab him or something, he said it was like fire — because they would grab him and they would pull him. They didn't want to hurt him; it was that they just wanted a piece of him.
Most people, when they're rehearsing a dance movement, they don't do it full-out. Michael would always do everything to the fullest in rehearsal. He would do it like he was onstage, every time. And as a dancer, you would be like, Why is he doing it that hard? Every chromosome worked, the minute he moved. I don't know if you've ever seen when he was going to court [in 2005], he got on top of his car. Even in that moment, he didn't dance like he was on top of his car, he danced like he was onstage. He danced like every chromosome was working, right there, on top of a car. And when you really look at that tape, when he jumps on top of the car, he hurts his knees. He has to land on his knees when he jumps on the car from the ground. But even though his knees were in pain, he still gave everything he had. If you rewind it and look at it one day, you'll know what I mean.

Kim Carnes
Kim Carnes recorded the song "Bette Davis Eyes," which reached No. 1 in 1981, and sang with Michael Jackson on "We Are the World."
His music, in particular the Thriller album and on MTV, let the world finally see how gifted he really, truly was as a performer, not just on a record. The dancing, when you saw the whole package, was just brilliant. The way he danced and sang — I've never seen anything like it. He was so incredibly gifted.
I did try to moonwalk. I tried several times. Not recently, but everyone was so intrigued with that motion. As I watched, I would just sit there and say, How is a human being able do that? How is he capable of moving like that? It was mind-boggling.
When we did the "We Are the World" video, I was standing right beside him that entire evening. Most of the time we were singing, but in between, when we had breaks, he was charming and very gracious, and at the same time seemed so vulnerable. I'd never met him before and was very much in awe of his talent. He was very shy — except turn the camera on him and start the music, and suddenly there was this great transformation that blew everybody away. How could this human being in his personal life be so shy, and then be so completely the opposite, being the greatest performer ever? It's almost like he was two people.

John Mayer
John Mayer is a Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling recording artist.
People don't get upset when they talk about Michael Jackson dying; they get upset when they talk about how much a part of their life he was. I mean, what are the '80s? A Rubik's Cube, 3-D glasses and Michael Jackson. And that's the giant cornerstone that's gone. He's one of the few crossover artists that would make even the most radical white supremacists say, "Well, he's not black — he's Michael Jackson." He's not black, he's Barack Obama. He's not black, he's Jimi Hendrix. He's not black, he's Tiger Woods.
As a musician, the man was one of the purest substances ever in music. But it's frustrating, and somewhat pointless, to ever try and figure out how Michael Jackson arrived at an album like Thriller and how you could arrive at something like it. It's impossible. I mean, it's one of those things you actually don't want to bring up to musicians. They don't want to remember that that kind of greatness is achievable because it skews the bell curve completely.
Michael Jackson proves, in a really sort of perverse way, that maybe we're not as offended by behavior as we are entranced by music. And think about that. Think about what level of quality you must have to attain to have somebody say, "I know that you're accused of having molested children, but I can't hate you for that as much as I love you for your music." I'm not saying that's right or wrong; I'm saying that it's fascinating. That somebody could be that great. That somebody could have that much of a marriage with your emotions just through music.
There's just one Michael Jackson now. We don't have to reconcile the Michael Jackson we love with another Michael Jackson. In a way, he has returned to pristine condition in death. We can be free now for the rest of our lives to love the Michael Jackson we used to love.

Jeffrey Daniel
Dancer and singer Jeffrey Daniel was a member of the R&B group Shalamar and pioneered the dance move the backslide — which, after he taught it to Michael Jackson, became known as the moonwalk.
He would religiously work on dances every Sunday. And it was over a period of, I don't know, a few weeks because you're doing it just once a week for a couple of hours or so. It wasn't so regimented, like, O.K., here's this step and this step. It was like some of it was having fun, some of it was acting goofy, moving around like Charlie Chaplin and poking faces at each other. Some of it was, we were just gelling, you know, with the dances. And some of it was concentrating on a particular move, but a lot of it was two guys just having fun and showing dances. And then watching Fred Astaire films, watching Gene Kelly, watching the Nicholas Brothers, watching Sammy Davis Jr., getting inspiration. He could eat popcorn like nobody I knew, 'cause I could eat some popcorn. And we're sitting watching movies together and you can hear him scraping the bottom, and I'm just cracking up laughing. And he breaks out singing along with the movie. I was like, My God, he's just like anybody else you know. We first worked with him in 1980, but he did not do the moonwalk publicly until 1983 [on Motown's 25th-anniversary TV special]. And after he did it, he asked, "How was it?" And I said, "Why did you wait so long?" He said, "Well, it still didn't come out right." I'm like, Huh? This is the performance that totally blew everyone away — and he said something didn't come out right. Whatever was going on in his mind, we would never know it. We all know that it was a mind-blowing performance, and it just took him to another level.

JC Chasez
JC Chasez performed with Michael Jackson three times as a member of 'N Sync.
You were always used to seeing Michael Jackson onstage and performing; it was a very different experience to be sitting on a couch, having a relaxed conversation [with him]. The guy was incredibly nice, gracious, wanted to make sure everyone had everything they wanted or needed. A wonderful host. People didn't necessarily look at him as a person; they looked at him as an action figure. We talked about music, because that was our common ground, but he was more interested about how we felt about what we were going through. Being popular and carrying a heavy workload — you get to the point where you're doing shows five and six days a week with travel and press between that. It's a lot, and nobody knew that better than him, because he had been doing it since he was 6 years old.
It's always chaos outside, but backstage, he was so gracious. He was happy that we were there and able to perform with him. [Backstage, 'N Sync could hear Jackson doing vocal drills in the dressing room next door.] They sounded ridiculous. They were like, "Gee gee gee gee gee gee." To hear that but with Michael Jackson's tone on, that quick vibrato at the end of every note, that was so crazy. It was great for me, as an artist, to see that. He was doing vocal drills for an hour before he went out. [His voice was] not something that magically appeared out of him; the guy worked hard for it. Forty years old, and the guy is warming up for an hour before every show. He wanted to give that audience the best he had. There are plenty of people who just go out and sing and let the first two songs warm them up. But he cared. He cared about every note that came out of his mouth when he was onstage. That's saying something.

[Kingoosia]

http://kobieta.onet.pl/55,260,1564791,1 ... kiosk.html
Wspomnienia Davida Gesta...

Kod: Zaznacz cały

W wywiadzie na wyłączność dla „The Sun”, David Gest opowiedział o 40-letniej przyjaźni, jaka łączyła go z gwiazdorem. – Nikt nie znał Michaela tak dobrze jak – mówi 56-letni David. – Był tak niezwykle utalentowany, trudno mi uwierzyć, że już go nie ma.

– Michael miał drugie oblicze, którego większość ludzi nie znała. Dla przykładu, wszyscy myślą, że zawsze mówił tym cichym, wysokim głosem, ale to nieprawda – to był tylko taki wizerunek na pokaz. Do tej pory nie wiem, dlaczego to robił. Ten Michael, którego ja znałem, mówił jak prawdziwy mężczyzna, zachowywał się jak mężczyzna i podawał rękę jak prawdziwy facet.

David, który zarobił miliony jako promotor koncertów i osobowość telewizyjna, miał 16 lat, kiedy rodzina Jacksonów wprowadziła się do posiadłości niedaleko domu jego rodziców w Encino w Kalifornii. Michaela Jacksona poznał, kiedy umówił się na randkę z siostrą późniejszego gwiazdora La Toyą i przyszedł po nią do domu.

– To była szczenięca miłość, nic poważnego – wspomina David. – La Toya właśnie zachorowała na grypę, więc Michael, który miał wtedy 12 lat, poprosił, żebym zawiózł go na kiermasz memorabiliów. Ja wtedy nie miałem nawet pojęcia, co to są memorabilia.

Ten wspólny wypad okazał się początkiem długoletniej przyjaźni. Davida i Michaela połączyła pasja kolekcjonerska oraz zamiłowanie do zakupów i jadania w restauracjach fast food.  Mimo iż u szczytu swojej kariery Jackson był nieprawdopodobnie bogaty, David twierdzi, że gwiazdor zawsze chętnie kupował różne rzeczy po okazyjnych cenach.

– Uwielbiał targować się o cenę w sklepach. Jeśli coś kosztowało 4 tys. dolarów, bezczelnie oferował za to 200 dolarów. Umiał doskonale negocjować. Na ogół ludzie uznawali, że jest kompletnym świrem, ale czasami udawało mu się rzeczywiście coś wywalczyć.

David wspomina, że Jackson był niezwykle hojny dla swych przyjaciół. – Kiedyś z wyprawy do Disneylandu przywiózł mi unikatowe pamiątki warte 200 tys. dolarów; prawie tyle samo wydał na własne zakupy i musiał wynająć trzy limuzyny, żeby to wszystko przewieźć.

David i Jacko w młodości byli nierozłączni. – Byliśmy najlepszymi przyjaciółmi – ciągle przesiadywaliśmy u niego albo u mnie, spaliśmy w śpiworach, jeździliśmy razem na wycieczki. Obaj kochaliśmy muzykę i często graliśmy w grę polegającą na sprawdzaniu, czy pamiętamy, którzy wykonawcy śpiewali poszczególne utwory. Kiedy ja wygrywałem, mogłem zatrzymać któryś ze scenicznych kostiumów Michaela, jeśli wygrał on, dostawał kilka moich plakatów filmowych lub jakąś cenną pamiątkę, należącą kiedyś do Jima Morrisona lub Jimiego Hendrixa.

David, który nazywał Jacksona „M”, mówi, że gwiazdor uważnie śledził to wszystko, co działo się we współczesnej muzyce. Jego ulubionymi wykonawcami byli Beyonce, Eminem i Dr Dre, Black Eyed Peas i Kelly Rowland, w której nawet się podkochiwał. – Jednak jego ukochaną wokalistką wszech czasów była Whitney Houston. Michael zawsze mówił, że w jej wykonaniu nawet odśpiewana książka telefoniczna brzmiałaby fantastycznie.

Wielbicieli piosenkarza niewątpliwie zainteresuje wiadomość, że ulubionymi utworami Jacko z jego własnego repertuaru były „Man In The Mirror” i „Heal The World”.  – Z ballad natomiast najbardziej lubił „She’s Out Of My Life” i „One Day In Your Life” – dodaje David.

Pod koniec lat 70. David i jego przyjaciel odkryli kolejne wspólne hobby – chirurgię plastyczną. Gest, który stał się sławny w Wielkiej Brytanii dzięki udziałowi w programie telewizyjnym z 2006 roku „I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!”, wspomina: – Michael i ja zawsze mieliśmy kompleksy z powodu naszego wyglądu.

– Michael zaczął obsesyjnie myśleć o tym, żeby poddać się operacji plastycznej. Pewnego razu spytał mnie: „Nie chciałbyś zrobić czegoś, żeby lepiej wyglądać?”. Postanowiłem więc pójść na całość. Chociaż miałem bardzo rozbudowane ego, nigdy nie uważałem, że jestem przystojny; dlatego zoperowałem sobie nos, wstawiłem implanty kości policzkowych, potem poddałem się kolejnej operacji nosa i sprawiłem sobie jeszcze większe implanty. W końcu zacząłem wyglądać jak chomik.

– Po każdej operacji Michael przyjeżdżał do mojego apartamentu w Beverly Hills i opiekował się mną. Nastawiał mi muzykę, robił mi kanapki z masłem orzechowym i zawsze niemiłosiernie przypalał grzanki.

Na początku lat 80. David zaczął żałować, że poddał się operacjom, ale Michael wcale nie miał zamiaru rezygnować z dalszych modyfikacji. – Błagałem go, żeby już niczego więcej nie zmieniał. Mówiłem: „Twój nos jest doskonały”, ale nasz chirurg plastyczny namawiał go, żeby poddał się kolejnym operacjom. Przypuszczam, że nie chciał po prostu tracić takiego pacjenta jak Michael, ale nie był wobec niego uczciwy.

– Nawet rodzina Michaela próbowała go przekonać, że już wystarczy. Facet zbił fortunę na naszych nosach, moim, Michaela, Janet, La Toyi. Tito i Jackie byli na tyle rozsądni, że zostawili swoje nosy w spokoju.

David uważa, że tajemnica jego długoletniej przyjaźni z Jacksonem polegała na tym, że on zawsze traktował Michaela jak „normalnego” człowieka. – Kiedy wyjeżdżaliśmy gdzieś razem, na stacjach benzynowych zawsze kazałem mu wysiadać z samochodu i tankować benzynę. On protestował: „Kto tu jest gwiazdą?”, a ja odpowiadałem: „Kiedy jesteś ze mną, ja”.

– Często chodziliśmy do McDonalda – Michael uwielbiał frytki – albo do KFC. Bardzo lubił smażonego kurczaka, ale zawsze zdejmował z niego skórę, bo uważał, że dzięki temu staje się on bardziej dietetyczny. To mnie szalenie bawiło. Pamiętam, jak kiedyś pojechaliśmy do Disneylandu. Michael był w przebraniu. Poszliśmy obejrzeć „Kapitana EO”, trójwymiarowy film Disneya, w którym Michael grał główną rolę. Kiedy wyszliśmy z kina, powiedziałem: „Byłeś genialny”, a on odpowiedział: „Dzięki. Dopiero teraz to zauważyłeś?”. Potem pojechaliśmy do domu i tam, w mojej kuchni, poprosiłem go, żeby mi pokazał swój słynny krok księżycowy. Potem ja sam spróbowałem to zatańczyć i padłem na ziemię jak długi.

David zdradza również, że Jackson namiętnie czytał książki, zwłaszcza literaturę klasyczną. – Większość ludzi nie ma pojęcia o tym, że Michael ciągle coś czytał. Był bardzo inteligentnym człowiekiem. Jego ulubionym poetą był Robert Burns, fascynowały go też powieści Karola Dickensa. Odwiedzał antykwariaty w poszukiwaniu pierwszych wydań jego książek.

– Uwielbiał Szekspira i mnie również zaraził tą pasją. Był też zafascynowany historią Anglii, zwłaszcza epoką Henryka VIII, kolekcjonował nawet stroje z tego okresu. David dodaje, że tę miłość do książek Jackson przekazał swoim dzieciom: 12-letniemu Prince’owi Michaelowi, 11-letniej Paris i 7-letniemu Prince’owi Michaelowi II.

– Jego dzieci uczyły się w domu, a on zawsze kazał im czytać ambitne książki. Był wspaniałym ojcem, choć dość wymagającym. Starał się nauczyć dzieci dobrych manier, szacunku dla starszych i właściwego zachowania. Michael doskonale czuł się w roli ojca, powinien był dużo wcześniej postarać się o potomstwo.

David zaprzecza jakoby dzieci stawały się nerwowe w obecności ojca, jak twierdzi ich była niania Grace Rwaramba. Zdaniem Davida, „kochały Michaela całym sercem”. David uważa, że teraz, kiedy zabrakło Michaela, to jego matka, Katherine – której przyznano tymczasową opiekę nad dziećmi – powinna dalej je wychowywać. – Katherine ma wrodzony talent macierzyński. Wychowała już mnóstwo dzieci – nawet dla mnie była jak matka.

– Michael kochał ją bardziej niż kogokolwiek na świecie i na pewno chciałby, żeby to ona wychowywała jego dzieci. Właśnie ze względu na ich dobro mam nadzieję, że była żona Michaela, Debbie Rowe nie będzie próbowała ich jej odebrać.

Wiadomo jednak, że relacja Jacksona z ojcem, Joe nie układała się już tak harmonijnie. David zauważył to już wtedy, gdy bywał w domu Jacksonów jako młody chłopak. – Michael bał się ojca. Często organizowaliśmy długie wypady, tylko po to, żeby być z dala od niego. Joe bywał bardzo wymagający, ale to nie był zły człowiek – po prostu źle się zabrał do rzeczy. W rzeczywistości chciał jedynie, żeby jego dzieci miały w życiu lepiej niż on sam. – Joe w końcu złagodniał, a Michael wcale nie miał do niego takiego żalu, jak sądzi większość ludzi. Potem, z biegiem czasu poznali się lepiej i pogodzili – zapewnia przyjaciel.

Zarówno David, jak i cała rodzina Michaela, stali za nim twardo, kiedy gwiazdor po raz drugi został oskarżony o molestowanie nieletniego w 2005 roku przez 15-letniego Gavina Arvizo. Po trwającym cztery miesiące procesie piosenkarz został uznany za niewinnego. – Podczas procesu serce ściskało mi się z żalu. Wiedziałem, że był niewinny – wspomina David.

– Michael uwielbiał przebywać z dziećmi, bo one niczego od niego nie chciały. Zarzuty zawsze wysuwali ich rodzice. Michael lubił otaczać się dziećmi pewnie dlatego, że sam był pozbawiony dzieciństwa. Zdaniem Davida Jackson nigdy nie doszedł do siebie po tym procesie, zarówno emocjonalnie, jak i finansowo. – Michael nigdy już nie był taki jak przedtem. To był potworne, że oskarżono go o coś takiego, zwłaszcza, że prokurator postawił sobie za punkt honoru udowodnić, że piosenkarz jest winny. Niektórzy z jego przyjaciół – nie będę tu wymieniał nazwisk – odwrócili się wtedy od Michaela. Pomyślałem sobie wtedy: „Co za dupki!”.

Chociaż Davidowi trudno zapomnieć ten trudny okres z życia Michaela, jednak zaznacza, że wspaniałych chwil, które spędzili razem, było znacznie więcej. – Ten Michael Jackson, którego ja pamiętam, był inteligentny, szczery i zabawny. Jego śmierć jest dla mnie straszliwym szokiem, ale jednocześnie przywodzi na myśl tak wiele cudownych wspomnień. 

– Nigdy nie zapomnę, jak wybraliśmy się na występ The Four Tops na Sunset Strip, a potem późnym wieczorem, poszliśmy do baru na placki. Kelnerka miała ponad 70 lat i nie miała pojęcia, kim jest Michael. Zacząłem mówić z udawanym cudzoziemskim akcentem, a Michael roześmiał się. Wtedy ona podeszła, uderzyła go w twarz i zbeształa za to, że niegrzecznie traktuje cudzoziemców. Nikt nigdy tak się wobec niego nie zachował.

Michael był świadkiem na ślubie Davida z jego dziś już byłą żoną, piosenkarką Lizą Minelli. – Na zdjęciach ze ślubu Michael, Liza, Elizabeth Taylor i ja wyglądamy jak jakaś dziwaczna rodzina Adamsów – żartuje David. – Te zdjęcia są naprawdę przerażające, ale Michael wygłosił wtedy bardzo wzruszający toast.

Całe londyńskie mieszkanie Davida świadczy o jego pasji kolekcjonerskiej. A pamiątki po Jacksonie, z których wiele jest podpisanych, zajmują czołowe miejsce w tym zbiorze o wartości około 10 milionów funtów. Na jednym ze zdjęć widnieje odręcznie napisana dedykacja: „Dla Davida Gesta. Pamiętaj, nieśmiertelność należy do ciebie, musisz ją tylko stworzyć. Michael Jackson, 1998”.

– Nigdy nie będzie drugiego Michaela Jacksona – mówi David. – On był niezwykłym, rewolucyjnym muzykiem, wspaniałym tancerzem i wszystkim, czym tylko chcecie. Był też fantastycznym przyjacielem. 

[MJJ]

Spike Lee w wywiadzie dla Time.



In 1996, Spike Lee — director of films from Do the Right Thing to Malcolm X to the recent documentary Kobe Doin' Work — traveled to Brazil with Michael Jackson to produce the music video for his controversial song "They Don't Care About Us." He talked to TIME about his experiences, Michael Jackson's legacy and having the Gloved One as a houseguest.


What's your favorite Michael Jackson song?
I was born in 1957; he was born in 1958. And so I grew up, literally, with Michael Jackson. We both reached adolescence at the same time. And I had a big Afro like he did, and I hoped that the girls would like me the way they liked Michael — but that wasn't happening. And you know, I loved him as a solo artist, but I have a special place in my heart for the stuff he did with the Jackson 5: "I'll Be There."

Do you remember the first time you heard it?
No. My memory's shot. I'm in Cannes, France, for a conference; I left dinner last night, got home, I turned on CNN and there it was — him being rushed to the hospital. I didn't go to bed the whole night. I just kept watching CNN. So it's a big, big, big, big loss for the world. And I'd like to make this comment: I've seen too many people talking about Michael like they knew exactly what he did. Let's celebrate his genius, his musicality, his gift, his talent, and leave the other stuff at least till he gets buried. Let's celebrate his life now. That's the way I feel.

I can hear Michael Jackson in the background right now.
Yeah, my friend is driving me to Monaco for dinner, and I went out to this store and bought Michael Jackson's greatest hits. So, as we got in the car I said, "This is our driving music!" Going from Cannes to Monaco, listening to the greatest hits of Michael.

What was he like when you worked with him on the video for "They Don't Care About Us?"
Michael was great. He had a sense of humor. He worked hard. People talk about how hard Kobe Bryant works; he didn't work harder than Michael Jackson. This is what I've come to learn. You know, I did a documentary on Kobe, I know him; Michael Jordan, I worked with him a little; Michael Jackson — when you love what you do that much, it's not work. So you can go longer and harder and faster and quicker because it's not a burden. You love what you're doing.

And did you talk to him on the set? Was he accessible?
Oh yeah! Michael was a citizen of the world. I said, "Mike, let's go to Brazil to do this." And he said, "Let's go, Spike!" And it's great when you work with people who say stuff like that — it's not a matter of budget. He wanted to do it? We were going!

Had you met him previous to that?
Yeah, I met him at dinners and stuff like that, but that was the most intimate time I had been with him. Can I tell you a quick story? Michael Jackson called me up and said, "Spike, I want meet you, I'm coming to New York." I said, "Well where you want to meet?" He says, "I want to come to your house." I live in Brooklyn! He wants to come to my house! So, Michael Jackson came to my house in Brooklyn, New York — this was when I was living in Fort Greene. And he said, I want you to direct a video for me. My new album's coming out, pick a song. So we listened to all the songs and I picked "Stranger in Moscow." And he said, I don't want you to do that one. And I said, "Michael, just tell me which one you want me to do! Why ask me to pick one?" And he laughed and he said he wanted me to do "They Don't Care About Us." That's how it happened.

How did he like Brooklyn?
Well, I dunno if he'd ever been there before. We spent like two or three hours just talking. I mean, we're the same age. I'm less than a year older than him. To be honest, I dominated the conversation, because I was trying to really tell him how much impact he had on my life. And I could just not believe that Michael Jackson was sitting in my living room in Brooklyn, New York. It was amazing.

I just want to get back quickly to "I'll Be There." What sort of associations did you have with that song? What did it mean to you?
I just remember being young, loving that song, starting to get interested in girls; it was just that period of time. And here's the thing that I remember: growing up, as far as girls, everybody didn't like Michael. They liked Tito, they liked Jackie, they liked Jermaine — it was like the Beatles, the girls had their favorites. It was not always Michael, Michael, Michael.

Was he always your favorite Jackson?
Oh yeah. But I wasn't a girl though.

[_Errata_]

W 1996 roku Spike Lee - reżyser filmów takich jak "Do The Right Thing", "Malcolm X" i ostatniego dokumentu "Kobe Doin' Work" - podróżował do Brazylii z Michaelem Jacksonem w celu realizacji teledysku do jego kontrowersyjnej piosenki "They Don't Care About Us". Rozmawiał z Time o swoich doświadczenaich, dziedzictwie Michaela Jacksona i byciu jego gospodarzem.

Jaka jest Twoja ulubiona piosenka Michaela Jacksona?
- Urodziłem się w 1957 roku, on urodził się w 1958. Więc dosłownie z nim dorastałem. Oboje osiągnęliśmy dojrzałość w tym samym czasie. I miałem wielkie afro, tak jak i on, i miałem nadzieję, że dziewczyny będą mnie lubić tak, jak lubiły Michaela - ale tak się nie działo. I wiesz, kochałem go jako artystę solowego, ale specjalne miejsce w moim sercu mam dla tego, co tworzył w Jackson 5: "I'll Be There".

Czy pamiętasz kiedy usłyszałeś po raz pierwszy o jego śmierci?
- Nie. Mam kiepską pamięć. Jestem w Cannes, we Francji, na konferencji. Wyszedłem na kolację ostatniego wieczora, wróciłem do domu, włączyłem CNN i tam to było - on wieziony do szpitala. Nie poszedłem spać przez całą noc. Ciągle oglądałem CNN. To taka ogromna, ogromna, przeogromna strata dla świata. I chciałbym to skomentować: widziałem zbyt wielu ludzi mówiących o Michaelu tak jakby dokładnie wiedzieli co robił. Uczcijmy jego geniusz, muzykalność, jego dar, jego talent, ale zostawny inne rzeczy przynajmniej dopóki nie odbędzie się pogrzeb. Uczcijmy teraz jego życie. Tak właśnie czuję.

Teraz słyszę w tle Michaela Jacksona.
- Tak, mój przyjaciel wiezie mnie do Monako na kolację i weszliśmy do sklepu i kupiliśmy największye hity Michaela. Więc, kiedy wsiedliśmy do samochodu powiedziałem "To nasza muzyka do jazdy!". Jadziemy z Cannes do Monaco słuchając największych hitów Michaela.

Jaki był, kiedy pracowałeś z nim przy teledysku do TDCAU?
- Michael był świetny. Miał poczucie humoru. Ludzie mówili o tym, jak ciężko pracował Kobe Bryant, a on nie pracował ciężej niż Michael Jackson. Tego się nauczyłem. Wiesz, robiłem dokument o Kobe'm, znam go; pracowałem trochę z Michaelem Jordanem, Michael Jackon - jeśli kochasz to co robisz tak bardzo, to nie praca. Możesz wtedy pracować dłużej, ciężej, szybciej, ale to nie jest ciężar. Kochasz, to co robisz.

I o czym z nim rozmawiałeś na planie? Był dostępny?
- O tak! Michael był obywatelem świata. Powiedziałem "Michael, jedźmy do Brazylii to zrobić.". A on na to "Jedziemy, Spike!". To cudowne pracować z ludźmi, którzy mówią takie rzeczy - to nie kwestia pieniędzy. Chciałby to zrobić? Jedziemy!

Spotkałeś go przedtem wcześniej?
- Tak, spotykałem go na kolacjach i tak dalej, ale to był najbardziej osobisty kontakt jaki z nim miałem. Mogę opowiedzieć krótką historyjkę? Michael Jackson zadzwonił do mnie i powiedział "Spike, chciałbym się z Tobą spotkać, jadę do Nowego Jorku.". Powiedziałem "Michael, gdzie chciałbyś się spotkać?". On na to "Chciałbym przyjechać do Ciebie do domu.". Mieszkam na Brooklynie! On chce przyjechac do mnie do domu! Więc Michael Jackson przyjechał do mnie do domu, na Brooklynie w Nowym Jorku - wtedy mieskzałem w Fort Green. I powiedział, że chce abym wyreżyserował dla niego teledysk. Mój album wychodzi wkórtce, wybierz jakąś piosenkę. Wiec posłuchaliśmy wszystkich jego piosenek i wybrałem "Stranger in Moscow". A on powiedział, nie chcę abyś reżyserował tą. I powiedziałem mu "Michael, po prostu mi powiedz czego oczekujesz. Po co prosiłeś, żebym wybrał pisoenkę?". A on zaśmiał się i powiedział, że chce abym reżyserował TDCAU. Tak się też stało.

Podobał mu się Brooklyn?
- W sumie nie wiem, czy był tam kiedykolwiek wcześniej. Spędziliśmy ze dwie czy trzy godziny po prostu rozmawiając. Wiesz, byliśmy w tym samym wieku. Jestem o mniej niż rok starszy od niego. Szczerze mówiąc, zdominowałem rozmowę, bo chciałem mu powiedzieć jak wielki wpływ miał na moje życie. I nie mogłem uwierzyć, że Michael Jackson siedział w moim salonie na Brooklynie, w Nowym Jorku. To było niesamowite.

Wrćmy na chwilę do "I'll Be There". Jaki stosunek masz do tej piosenki? Co dla Ciebie oznacza?
- Pamiętam jak byłem młody, kochałem tę piosenkę, zaczynałem się interesować dziewczynami właśnie w tym okresie. I tą rzecz pamiętam: dorastanie, nikt nie lubił Michaela. Wszyscy lubili Tito, Jackie, Jermaine'a - to było jak The Beatles, dziewczyny miały swoich faworytów. Nie zawsze był to tylko Michael, Michael, Michael.

Zawsze był Twoim ulubionym Jacksonem?
- O tak. Ale nie byłem dziewczyną.

[cicha]

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/8007/67899975.jpg

+++

Michael Jackson’s Two Legacies

Michael Jackson’s longtime friend, Miko Brando, says Tuesday’s memorial service for the King of Pop was “really emotional” and the setting was in a perfect location.

Brando says, “It was important to have the memorial on the same stage he had been practicing on. He was a perfectionist … Michael would have been very pleased” with the service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Brando says both outside the memorial service and inside the arena, there was a concert like atmosphere. “It was just like the day we drove in for the last rehearsal. People were screaming out his name.”

Tuesday’s memorial service drew a U.S. television audience of over 31 million people according to Nielsen Media Research. By contrast, President Obama’s inauguration had an audience of almost 38 million people. Princess Diana’s funeral had 33 million viewers.

Brando thinks Jackson would have loved to see the world-wide outpouring of support from fans during Tuesday’s memorial. “It’s too bad this isn’t three weeks ago, so Michael could see how everyone is reacting.” Brando explains, “He was an entertainer, he was powerful, his thoughts and creations will last forever.”

For most fans, Jackson’s legacy will be his music, performance, and dance style. No doubt, some will choose to remember the controversial stories that plagued him in the final years of his career.

So what would Michael Jackson want his legacy to be? There are two very different legacies Jackson would like to have according Brando. On the one hand, Brando says Michael would want his fans to know how much he truly appreciated them. “He loved his fans, he never met a stranger. In the streets, if he saw a pan-handler, he would always want to pull over and see if he could help them.”

On the other hand, Brando says Jackson would want his legacy to be that of a good father. The memorial service gave the public a brief glimpse into the private life of the legendary entertainer. Brando says Jackson was “…the best father in the world.” Until Tuesday’s memorial service, Jackson’s children rarely had been seen. The occasional paparazzi photograph of the children wearing bizarre masks and veils only added to the mystery. When Jackson’s daughter Paris took the stage, she deeply moved millions with her tearful farewell to her father. Video Watch her emotional goodbye » Her unscripted remarks, reportedly not planned by event organizers, would have made her father proud, according to Brando. Brando adds, “They are smart kids who will do their father proud … They’re strong, good kids. Michael raised his kids right. He had an impact on her just as he had an impact on all of us.” He also says Jackson’s children, Paris, Prince Michael, and Blanket are “trying to cope and grieve like all of us are.”

There was a private gathering for the Jackson family and close friends at a Beverly Hills hotel after the televised memorial service, Brando says the mood there was somber.

As for the hastily planned public event, Brando credits the concert promoters for Jackson’s upcoming tour with pulling off the well executed and touching memorial service, adding, “We shared as much as we could with the fans around the world.

Larry King live blog

[MJJ]

Artykuł z Los Angeles Times autorstwa Quincy Jones'a.

Quincy Jones on Michael Jackson: 'We made history together'.
The man who produced 'Off the Wall' and 'Thriller' remembers his protege

By Quincy Jones
June 30, 2009

Like the world, last week I was devastated by the news that Michael Jackson had suddenly left the room. This blessed artist commanded the stage with the grace of an antelope, shattered recording industry records and broke down cultural boundaries around the world, yet remained the gentlest of souls.

Michael Jackson was a different kind of entertainer. A man-child in many ways, he was beyond professional and dedicated. Evoking Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis Jr. and James Brown all at once, he'd work for hours, perfecting every kick, gesture and movement so that they came together precisely the way they were intended to. Together we shared the '80s, achieving heights that I can humbly say may never be reached again and reshaped the music business forever.

For some reason I have had the honor of meeting young performers when they reach the age of 12. There was Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Tevin Campbell and, of course, Michael Jackson. I was fully aware of Michael and impressed by the achievements that he'd reached with the Jackson Five, but it never crossed my mind that we would eventually work together. But as is always the case, divinity interceded into the process.

In 1978, Sidney Lumet pulled me kicking and screaming into doing the music for "The Wiz," and in hindsight I'm so glad he did. As the scarecrow, Michael dove into the filming of "The Wiz" with everything that he had, not only learning his lines but those of everyone in the cast. Prior to filming, Michael and I were working at my home and he asked if I could help find him a producer to work with him on his first solo album from Epic.

At rehearsals with the cast, during the part where the scarecrow is pulling proverbs from his stuffing, Michael kept saying "So-Crates" instead of "Socrates." After about the third time, I pulled him aside and told him the correct pronunciation. He looked at me with these big wide eyes and said, "Really?" and it was at that moment that I said, "Michael, I'd like to produce your album."

It was that wonderment that I saw in his eyes that locked me in. I knew that we could go into completely unexplored territory, a place that as a jazz musician gave me goose bumps.

I pulled my "A-team" crew together, anchored by Rod Temperton, one of the best songwriters who has ever lived, and we embarked on making "Off the Wall." I simply loved working with Michael. He was so shy he'd sit down and sing behind the couch with his back to me while I sat there with my hands over my eyes with the lights off. We tried all kinds of tricks that I'd learned over the years to help him with his artistic growth, like dropping keys just a minor third to give him flexibility and a more mature range in the upper and lower registers, and more than a few tempo changes.

I also tried to steer him to songs with more depth, some of them about real relationships -- we weren't going to make it with ballads to rodents (i.e. "Ben"). And Seth Riggs, a leading vocal coach, gave him vigorous warm-up exercises to expand his top and bottom range by at least a fourth, which I desperately needed to get the vocal drama going. We approached that record like we were going into battle. "Off the Wall" would sell 10 million copies.

Anyone who tells you that they knew a record was going to be a big hit is a flat-out liar. We had no idea "Off the Wall" was going to be as successful as it was, but we were thrilled. Michael had moved from the realm of bubble-gum pop and planted his flag square in the heart of the musical pulse of the '80s, but what came next, I don't think any of us were ready for.

The 'Thriller' saga

The drama surrounding "Thriller" seemed to never end. As we were recording the album, Steven Spielberg asked me to do a storybook song with Michael for "E.T." We were already behind schedule on "Thriller," but great, no problem. The movie was a big hit, we loved Steven, and so, off to work we went with Rod Temperton and Marilyn and Alan Bergman writing the song. Naturally, of course, this would evolve into Steven wanting us to do an "E.T." album.

Four months to complete "Thriller," already behind schedule, no problem. Off to work we went. In any event, it all worked out . . . Michael and I won Grammys for the album, and it became a collector's item.

With two months to get "Thriller" done, we dug in and really hit it. Michael, Rod, the great engineer Bruce Swedien and I had all spent so much time together by now that we had a shorthand, so moving quickly wasn't a problem. I told Michael that we needed a black rock 'n' roll tune -- a black "My Sharona" -- and a begging tune for the album. He came back with "Beat It" and Rod came back with "The Lady in My Life."

Rod also brought in "Thriller" and Michael sang his heart out on it. At one point during the session the right speaker burst into flames, which none of us had ever seen before. How's that for a sign?

We finished the album at 9 a.m. the morning we needed to deliver the reference copy. We had three studios going all night long. Michael in one putting final touches on "Billie Jean," Bruce in another, and Eddie Van Halen, who I brought in, in yet another recording his parts for "Beat It."

We all gathered in Studio A to listen to the test pressing with this enormous anticipation. This was it, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to "Off the Wall." And it sounded . . . terrible. After all of that great work we were doing, it wasn't there. There was total silence in the studio, and one by one we walked across the hall for some alone time. We'd put too much material on the record. Michael was in tears.

We took two days off, and in the next eight days, we set about reshaping the album, mixing just one song a day. Rod cut a verse from "The Lady in My Life," and we shortened the long, long intro to "Billie Jean," something Michael hated to do because he said the intro "made him want to dance."

MTV breakthrough

We delivered the album and watched "Billie Jean" -- thanks to Michael's debut performance of the moonwalk on the 25th anniversary of Motown special -- "Beat It" and "Thriller" just explode, fueled in part by heavy video rotation on MTV. Prior to "Billie Jean," MTV wasn't playing videos with black artists. "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and "Thriller" took us straight to the stratosphere. After those three videos, virtually every video on MTV was trying to emulate their style.

Michael, the music and MTV all went to the mountaintop. It was the perfect convergence of forces. In the music business, every decade you have a phenomenon. In the '40s you had Sinatra, in the '50s Elvis, in the '60s the Beatles, in the '70s the innovation of Dolby, despite the best efforts of Stevie Wonder and Elton John. In the '80s you had Michael Jackson. For everyone from 8 to 80, he was the biggest entertainer on the planet. Followed up with "Bad" and the collective on "We Are the World," we all made history together. We owned the '80s and our souls would be connected forever.

Shortly after "Thriller" came out and simply chewed up everything in its way, I went to see Count Basie at the Palladium with Benny Carter and Ed Eckstine. Basie was like a father to me, having kind of adopted me when I was 13, and he wasn't in the greatest shape. He was in a wheelchair and when he saw me, he said with a sense of pride, "Man, [what] you and Michael did, me and Duke would never even dream about nothin' that big. We wouldn't even dare to dream about it." You can't imagine how proud I felt, hearing that from one of my idols, not realizing that it would be the last time that I'd see him alive.

There will be a lot written about what came next in Michael's life, but for me all of that is just noise. I promise you in 50, 75, 100 years, what will be remembered is the music. It's no accident that almost three decades later, no matter where I go in the world, in every club and karaoke bar, like clockwork, you hear "Billie Jean," "Beat It," "Wanna Be Starting Something," "Rock With You" and "Thriller."

In every language on the planet, from prison yards in Thailand to Thrilltheworld.com, that will be the beautiful, grand legacy of Michael Jackson.

[ZAQ84]

Dzięki stronce mjtunes natrafiłem dziś na dwa ciekawe artykuły.
Są dosyć długie, więc podaje linki.

1. Bill Bottrell wspomina pracę nad utworem "Black or White".
Artykuł ma już parę lat, ale dopiero dziś go odkryłem.
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug04/a ... tracks.htm

2. Teddy Riley wspomina Michaela
http://hiphopwired.com/2830/when-heaven ... l-jackson/