The Day the Music Died for a new generation

Today on the way to Encore rehearsal, someone sent me a text that read, "It's official. Michael Jackson is dead." I felt for sure that it had to be a hoax. I didn't recognize the phone number, and, besides, Michael Jackson is only 50. Eric switched on the radio. The sounds of "Thriller" immediately blared out of the speakers. I've never heard "Thriller" on the radio, except on Halloween; it's almost six minutes long. Eric turned to another of our programmed stations, and we heard "Bad." The next station played "Beat It." I kept switching from station to station to station thinking, "It can't be a coincidence." I cried thinking about how his music affected the entertainment industry and pop culture as a whole, about how, at the peak of his career--and even after his popularity waned--he was such an incredible performer, entertainer, innovator. Eccentric public personality aside, Michael Jackson was undoubtedly an icon in the industry; he embodied his nickname "The King of Pop."

There is no question that, as a public figure, Michael Jackson was misunderstood. Thinking about about his image today reminded me of one of my favorite compositions of his, a lesser-known song called "Childhood." It was written in 1995--when rock and hip-hop ruled over pop--for the sequel to Free Willy, but the lyrics unmistakably reflect Jackson's life. He was exposed to grown-up experiences before he was ready, and as a result, he lived a maladjusted and idiosyncratic adult life. Below are the words to a song that sheds light on the strangeness of Jackson's adulthood, a time during which his celebrity and outlandishness overshadowed the part of him for which he should be remembered: his musical contributions.

Listen to "Childhood"

Have you seen my childhood?
I'm searching for the world that I come from
'Cause I've been looking around
In the lost and found of my heart

No one understands me
They view it as such strange eccentricities
'Cause I keep kidding around
Like a child, but pardon me

People say I'm not okay
'Cause I love such elementary things
It's been my fate to compensate
For the childhood I've never known

Have you seen my childhood?
I'm searching for that wonder in my youth
Like pirates in adventurous dreams
Of conquest and kings on the throne

Before you judge me, try hard to love me
Look within your heart then ask
Have you seen my childhood?

People say I'm strange that way
'Cause I love such elementary things
It's been my fate to compensate
For the childhood I've never known

Have you seen my childhood?
I'm searching for that wonder in my youth
Like fantastical stories to share
But the dreams I would dare, watch me fly

Before you judge me, try hard to love me
The painful youth I've had
Have you seen my Childhood?