His shockingly abrupt death has become one of those where-were-you-when events. When I first heard the news that Michael Jackson had passed (I’d been stuck in traffic on a Pittsburgh bridge in sweltering June heat, on my way to meet a friend for dinner), I scoffed at the chaotic and somewhat conflicting reports coming out of Los Angeles that afternoon a year ago from sources like TMZ, known more for celebrity gossip than they are journalism. After all, Jackson had made his fair share of sensational headlines over the years and had been declared at death's door more than once. Surely the media were blowing things out of proportion and whatever was going on out there in sunny California, Jackson would prevail. He was a survivor. This is what I was telling myself as I slipped quarters into the parking meter and dashed off to hook up with my friend. But by the time the waiter had brought our drinks, the entire restaurant was abuzz with the incredulous news. The King of Pop was indeed gone.
Mocked and maligned for much of his adult life, Michael Jackson was as famous for his ever-changing appearance and puer aeternus nature as he was his music. Although he’s sold an estimated 800 million records worldwide over his four-decade long career, the embattled icon was over a half billion dollars in debt due in part to his various legal entanglements, exorbitant spending habits, and from having repeatedly surrounded himself with opportunists. At the time of his death, Jackson hadn’t enough money for a proper burial.
Michael Jackson had spent many tormented years as a vagabond after having been acquitted of his second charge of child molestation in 2005, wandering the globe with his three children in search of a place to put down roots. He was facing foreclosure on his beloved Neverland Ranch when he agreed to play a series of 50 elaborately staged shows in London’s O2 arena, which were set to begin last July. The "This Is It" tour, as he called it, was being billed as the 50-year-old singer's final round of concert dates, and although he stood to make a killing from the London shows, it was the chance to redeem himself--to be known for his work again and not his lifestyle--that motivated him. He put in long hours of songwriting and rehearsed to the point of perfection the show that was going to change it all. For Michael Jackson it was, and always had been, about the music, the wow factor, about making jaws hit the ground with each and every performance. He intended to stage the mother of all concerts, his very own Greatest Show on Earth, an event that would leave fans awestruck, silence his detractors, and show his children what their old man was made of. After many years of flying under the radar, Michael Jackson was ready to step into the white hot spotlight again.
Three weeks before the concerts were to kick off, Jackson ran through a six-hour dress rehearsal of the upcoming show. Those who were present all agree that he was in his element and happier than they'd seen him in years. The rehearsal ended around midnight and Jackson headed home, complaining of fatigue, but when he couldn't sleep, he was administered a round of sedatives throughout the night that included Valium and multiple doses of both lorazepam and midazolam before propofol, a general anesthetic used to sedate patients for surgery and available only to medical personnel, was added to his saline drip. Minutes later, he stopped breathing.
Despite repeated resuscitative efforts, both at his home and at a nearby hospital, Michael Jackson was pronounced dead on June 25, 2009, at 2:26 PM, leaving the world forever on the precipice of what might've been.
Over the past year, Jackson's vast empire has generated an estimated $756 million in deals including one with Sony Corporation worth $250 million. The global outpouring of grief that followed his untimely passing resulted in a spike in Jackson's music that sent sales of his records through the roof. Stores everywhere were sold out of all Jackson and Jackson 5 CDs within minutes of the news of his demise. The demand for his albums surpassed that for both Elvis and John Lennon after their sudden deaths. By the end of 2009, a mere six months after he'd died, Michael Jackson had sold 31 million albums worldwide and had generated $90 million, landing him at #3 on Forbes magazine's annual "Top-Earning Dead Celebrities" List, where he beat out Elvis at $55 million.
In addition to his records, rehearsal footage in preparation for the O2 shows was released as a film in October 2009. This Is It played to sold-out theaters worldwide and grossed over $260 million during its theatrical run. The film has since become the highest grossing documentary or concert movie in the history of cinema.
This past March Jackson's estate signed a new contract with Sony that gives them the rights to sell Jackson's back catalog and draw from a large vault of unheard recordings--which is expected to yield about 10 recordings through 2017--with an especially high royalty rate for sales worldwide. There's also talk about using Jackson's music for films, television and stage shows in the future as well as various lines of memorabilia.
More significant than Michael Jackson being back in the black though is that he is once again back in the world's good graces. His once tarnished image has been restored to its prior luster in the public consciousness. Perhaps it's our reluctance to speak ill of the dead, but Jackson has transformed from the freakish pariah known as "Wacko Jacko" to a man remembered and celebrated as the beloved, musical genius and extraordinary entertainer that he was.
As irony would have it, Michael Jackson pulled off in death the comeback he so dearly desired in life. If only he was around to take a well-deserved bow.
So, where were you when you heard the news?
