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Major Passings: Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson (June 26, 2009)It's not everyday that those of us in the latter Boomer generation loses not one, but two of the biggest icons of the past 40 years.
Charlie's Angels - The Complete First Season Earlier Thursday, we lost Farrah Fawcett, whose flip do hairstyle was copied in various forms to other celebrities like Valerie Bertinelli, Kristy McNichol, Debralee Scott, and Heather Locklear. What's wilder is that she was ahead of her time with the big hair. As the MTV metal 80s kicked into high gear in 1984, bands like Twisted Sister, Cinderella, Whitesnake, Van Halen, David Lee Roth, and other bands seemed to keep that Farrah hair spirit going. I'm not sure if Eddie's do was a blend of Farrah's or his then-wife Valerie's. "Charlie's Angels" was the first show to star three females as leads, as opposed to supporting roles. Other copycat shows with female leads like "Flying High", "Sugar Time", and "3 Girls 3" tried but bombed, but other shows since then such as "Charmed" lasted far longer. Those Farrah posters were huge back in the mid 70s, around the time of my teenage years. Before that, Farrah was the first guest on the debut of the variety show "Donny and Marie." Funny was that I thought she looked like Olivia Newton John, who I also had a crush on that time. Farrah didn't sing, act, or dance too well, but so what? People liked her. That was all that mattered. What put Farrah over being typecast was her TV movie role in "The Burning Bed", which changed the critics perception on what she was limited to doing acting wise. Farrah may be gone, but her big hair styles live on. To commemorate Farrah Fawcett, who passed away on June 25, SIRIUS XMÆs SIRIUS XM Stars channel will broadcast an interview between Farrah Fawcett and Barbara Walters from 1980 and 1984
Michael Jackson 25th Anniversary Radio tributes to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, were all over the FM dial. 92.5 was taking phone calls and playing many Jackson tracks, as well as a special 5pm mix of seven of his famous songs. 93.3 and 94.1 picked up a Fox News feed for the first hour before reverting to local with phone calls from callers and playing some of his music. Walrus FM played a few of his songs. FM 94/9 at 4pm played three of the early Jackson 5ive hits when they were starting out, because Halloran the deejay reasoned that it's better to remember Jackson when he was just beginning rather than when he was near the end. At 8pm, 94/9 played the entire 1979 album of his, "Off The Wall." 92.5 is playing Jackson songs all weekend long. Morning shows on Friday will be talking about Jackson for sure. Jackson was all over the radio back in the 70s when he fronted The Jackson 5ive. KCBQ and KGB-AM played their hits as part of their Top 40 music formats back then. The group spawned a Rankin-Bass produced Saturday morning cartoon show from 1971-73 on ABC. In elementary school, there was a kid named Jeffrey Jackson who we sometimes called "Jackson 6." The group, who changed their name to The Jacksons, had a short-lived variety show on CBS in early 1977. Ironicaly, the 1976-77 season when their show aired was also the only season in which Farrah Fawcett starred in her show. Michael Jackson had a solo hit back in 1972 called "Ben", about a pet rat.
Off The Wall It wasn't until Aug 5, 1979, when he, then 20, released his breakout second solo album "Off The Wall", which had a totally different sound than what was being heard on the radio. It got played on disco stations, yet it was more of a rock beat, but belonged on R&B, and had minimal hints of disco, because it wasn't designed to be disco, which was on the decline in 1979. Jackson's album was a major smash. 13K was just launched playing top 40 music, as was disco-turned-top 40 KITT 105.3. Both played songs from Jackson, naturally, as did The Mighty 690 later on when that was launched in 1980. Gary Cocker, who died this week, was a deejay on 13K, and he played some of the Jackson tunes.
Thriller MTV came into existance in 1981 playing videos of rock and new wave songs, but never played any black artists for some reason. In 1983, after pressure from their listeners, MTV finally gave in on March 31, and played "Billie Jean", which had a line that I thought sounded like "but, the chair is not my son." Huh? Jackson's Motown variety special that year, which featured his famous Moonwalk, also helped propell him into superstar status, as well as his third solo album, "Thriller", which spawned eight top 40 hits including two as a duo with Paul McCartney, "Beat It", "PYT, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and the title track. In December 1983, MTV played Jackson's 14-minute video "Thriller" most every chance it can get away with when it first came out. It premiered on the 2nd of that month. Eddie Van Halen provided the rock guitar solo in Jackson's hit song "Beat It." Says Eddie from the TMZ.com website: "I am really shocked; as I'm sure the world is, to hear the news. I had the pleasure of working with Michael on 'Beat It' back in '83 -- one of my fondest memories in my career. Michael will be missed and may he rest in peace." "Weird Al" Yankovic did not one, but two parodies of Jackson's songs upon his approval. In 1984, he came out with "Eat It", which was a parody of "Beat It."
Bad Even Worse "Weird Al" Yankovic / 1988  Please Click the Cart for More Information  In 1988, Yankovic did it again with the design of his latest album at the time, "Even Worse", a parody of the design of Jackson's third album, "Bad." Yankovic turned "Bad" into "Fat." The Rich Brothers from B100 fame also included a track "Michael Jackson Language Tape" fearing the four deejays taking lessons from a taped Jackson himself. That track was featued on the Cara Knott benefit album released in late 1988. Dr. Demento played that track on one of his February 1989 shows. Sept. 12, 1986: Jackson's 3-D musical film "Captain Eo" (directed by Francis Ford Coppola) premieres at Epcot's Journey Into Imagination. In 1987, I went with a work crew to Disneyland and saw Jackson's 3-D film "Captain EO", now surely would be brought back in demand.
Number Ones Jackson seemed to have trouble in the past decade as far as making the charts was concerned. It wasn't just the changing of the times, but selling of CDs were being replaced with music downloads. Jackson should be remembered as a showman who did what he loved to do, which was to entertain, and to enlighten, inspire, and make people think about what he's saying in his music. What the press did in the 90s and 00s was to take him apart piece by piece. Didn't they ever listen to his songs "Stop Pressuring Me" and "Leave Me Alone"? Over the past 40 years, Jackson touched multiple generations of his music. His passing has hit everyone as hard as the time back in 1980 when we learned during "Monday Night Football" that someone shot and killed John Lennon.
HIStory: Past, Present, and Future Quincy Jones, who produced Jacksons' albums "Wall", "Thriller", and "Bad", will be on the Jeff and Jer Showgram on Star 94.1 Friday morning via phone. Quoting Jones from Seattle P.I.: "I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news. For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words. Divinity brought our souls together on The Wiz and allowed us to do what we were able to throughout the '80s. To this day, the music we created together on Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad is played in every corner of the world and the reason for that is because he had it all... talent, grace, professionalism and dedication. He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him." September 1986: The National Enquirer publishes a photo of Jackson in what appears to be a hyperbaric chamber, or oxygen tent. The singer says it's part of program to extend his life beyond its natural span.
Dangerous Some deaths that stunned me in my lifetime before Jackson: Elvis Presley, John Lennon, John Belushi, Peter Sellers, Gilda Radner, Debralee Scott, Kurt Cobain, Logan Whitehurst, Frank Zappa, Phil Hartman, Princess Diana, Lani O'Grady, and Freddie Prinze. I just didn't see their times ending that soon. Tune in to the following Michael Jackson tributes: TV Guide Network will air Michael Jackson: The Life and Times of the King of Pop, a one-hour special, Friday at 8 pm/ET. ABC News will broadcast a special edition of 20/20: The Life and Death of Michael Jackson (Thursday, 9 pm/ET, ABC). Immediately following will be a second special edition of 20/20 titled Farrah Fawcett: Her Life, Her Loves, Her Legacy (Thursday, 10 pm/ET, ABC). CBS will present CBS News: The Life and Death of Michael Jackson (Thursday, 10 pm, ET).
BEAT IT PYT DON'T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH BILLIE JEAN SHAKE YOUR BODY DOWN TO THE GROUND ROCK WITH YOU REMEMBER THE TIME DANCING MACHINE Sirius XM Michael Jackson Tributes (June 26, 2009)SIRIUS XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) announced today that it will commemorate the life of Michael Jackson with special programming across a wide range of its music channels.SIRIUS XM's music channels will celebrate the life and career of Michael Jackson who passed away on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50. Numerous of its 100% commercial-free music channels will devote special features to the "King of Pop" with tributes, personal memories, favorite songs and more. Former MTV VJs and SIRIUS XM hosts Alan Hunter and Nina Blackwood will host a Michael Jackson special on SIRIUS XM's '80s on 8 channel, SIRIUS and XM channel 8, on Friday, June 26 at 7:00 pm ET. Listeners will also hear a live tribute of Michael Jackson hosted by '80s on 8 host Rick Stacy on Friday, June 26 from 7:00 am -12:00 pm ET. SIRIUS XM's '70s on 7 channel, SIRIUS and XM channel 7, will feature on-air personality Magic Matt Alan taking a special look at the life of Michael Jackson on Friday, June 26 at 12:00 pm ET. SIRIUS XM's The Morning Mash Up! on SIRIUS XM Hits 1, SIRIUS channel 1, and XM 20 on 20, XM channel 20, will play music from the iconic artist's catalog and share stories about his music and career on Friday, June 26 from 6:00 am - 12:00 pm ET. SIRIUS XM's The Groove, XM channel 64; Heart & Soul, SIRIUS channel 51 and XM channel 62; Hip-Hop Nation, SIRIUS channel 40 and XM channel 67, will play Michael Jackson songs at the top of each hour all day Friday, June 26. Heart & Soul will also air a Michael Jackson tribute featuring some of Jackson's most upbeat music on Friday, June 26 at 9:00 am ET. The Groove will air "The Thriller 25th Anniversary" special showcasing classic Michael Jackson music and an interview with Quincy Jones recorded in 2007 on Friday, June 26 at 5:00 pm ET. DJ Premier will dedicate his entire show Live from HeadQuarters on Hip-Hop Nation to Michael Jackson on Friday, June 26 at 10:00 pm ET. Listeners will hear SIRIUS XM host and music journalist Dave Marsh host a tribute honoring Jackson every hour on Classic Vinyl, SIRIUS channel 14 and XM channel 46, Classic Rewind, SIRIUS channel 15 and XM channel 49, Alt-Nation SIRIUS channel 21 and XM channel 47, The Spectrum, SIRIUS channel 18 and XM channel 45, and The Loft, SIRIUS channel 29 and XM channel 50. For more information, please visit www.sirius.com or www.xmradio.com.
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