Michael Jackson: A Remembrance

Michael Jackson: A Remembrance

On a Half Century of Unparalleled American Genius and Freakery

by David Schmader

Jason Huntley

"BREAKFAST IN NEVERLAND"

There can be no denying Michael Jackson’s musical genius. For those who need a primer: Blessed with an amazingly expressive voice, Michael Jackson is one of the all-time great American singers. He was also an amazingly accomplished dancer—both physically and musically, his understanding of rhythm was supernatural. (He grew up studying James Brown, with his own eyes.) As a songwriter he composed classics: “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough,” “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Black or White.”

There can also be no denying Michael Jackson’s high-octane freakery, from the kinda cute (dating a chimp) to the possibly criminal (dating children). So how do you memorialize a one-of-a-kind musical genius who went crazy, morphed his race and gender, slept with kids, was repeatedly acquitted of child-molestation charges, and then died, alone and $400 million in debt? You’ll find our answers to this question in the collection of pieces to the right. (Much like the man’s life, it gets fucked up toward the end.)