A look back at Michael Jackson's death and its impact
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E-mail CNTV, June 26, 2013
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Four years ago the world was stunned to learn that Michael Jackson had died in Los Angeles. More than any other icon, he left a complicated legacy. |
"Everybody wants to be Michael Jackson. He opened the minds of the world. All right people, let's give it up to one of the greatest artists the world has ever known Michael Jackson. Long live the king."
As one of the few artists, able to put an effect on millions of fans, Michael Jackson also affected the music industry in incalculable ways. The loss of Michael Jackson cannot be easily measured. We met up with JoJo Wright, a popular music radio personality in Los Angeles. He was so inspired by Jackson that he has a tattoo of the moonwalker logo on his arm. We asked JoJo about the loss the industry has suffered during the past 4 years.
Jojo Wright, American radio personality, said, "The loss the music industry has and still has after Michael's death is I guess he was that one guy that everybody tried to be. Not that anyone ever succeeded in becoming him but he was the goal. In a way, the music industry hasn't lost that because he's still the goal in a lot of ways. One of the sad things is more people appreciate him now after his death than they did before he passed away."
We also talked to Larry Klein, the long-time executive producer of the American Music Awards, who knew Michael off stage. To Larry, what he has lost is not only a legendary performer but also a good friend.
Larry Klein, executive producer, AMA, said, "I really liked spending time with Michael in person almost more so than on stage. In person, we watched cartoons -- he loved cartoons. We watched Fred Astaire movies, Gene Kelly movies. We talked about music and cars, all sorts of things. And he had a great sense of humor. I really enjoyed being around him an awful lot and that's why I think we remained friends for so many years."
After working with generations of pop super stars, Larry Klein feels even now the loss of Michael Jackson is still not replaceable in the music industry.
"My job, my living is working with all these names; that their music is heard all over the world – they're global names, they're huge hits, they're gigantic artists. But, not everybody turns out to be a Michael Jackson. You can get people to have number one records, you can get people that sell tickets all over the world but there are not many that are like a Michael Jackson that grab the world in its hands and they accepted him and he accepted them. It's hard to replace that."
It's hard to believe a world without Michael Jackson. But as one fan put it, though Michael Jackson is dead, his music will live on.
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