There are few moments we remember two and a half decades later. If you are over the age of 55, you can probably tell me where were you were when you heard Kennedy was killed. If you’re in your 30’s you remember when the Challenger exploded and your teachers turned on the TV’s in your classroom. I remember hearing some guy named Elvis had died, but having no concept of what it meant; it was explained by a parent as a “big deal.” Ditto Reagan and Lennon.

These moments aren’t always negative and sometimes change our lives. On a Halloween night in 1978, I wandered into a room to see 4 characters flying across the TV screen. I queried my sis, “who’s THAT guy?!” The reply, “that’s Gene Simmons. He spits blood and breathes fire.” My well-planned assessment, “ ok. That’s what I’m gonna do when I grow up.”

Michael Jackson’s performance of Billy Jean on Motown 25 was another of these moments for me. I have many thoughts about MJ, but today I figure it’s best to let his work speak. I’ll delve more into it this loss later this week. Promise. For brief context as it relates here, I was 8 years old. It was March 25, 1983. Even on a 13-inch black and white set tucked under a kitchen cabinet the moment was magic. I didn’t know I wanted to make this business my life at the time, but remembering the sense of wonderment it brought me, it’s no surprise this is where I ended up. I spent hours spent trying to moonwalk on the linoleum, but never quite got it. Nobody did it better.

Reminisce with me for a bit, won’t you?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7mEQVWQgRA

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 25th, 2009 at 8:15 pm and is filed under Just Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.