Wow!! Are you serious?? I still can’t believe it.  I am driving home and I hear that Michael Jackson was admitted to the hospital with cardiac arrest.  Next thing I know I am getting text messages from my buddy “Lefty” saying that Michael Jackson was dead.  I was still driving and checking my phone to verify if this was the least bit true.  I checked Yahoo! and they said that he was in a coma.  I keep driving down the road and finally make it home.  Only to discover that Michael Jackson has died at the age of 50!

Now lets put aside the “alleged scandals” against Jackson and lets remember him for being one of the greatest musicians ever!  I know that growing up as a kid that I use to hear a Michael Jackson song.  Soon as you hear his music, it just makes you want to dance like Michael.  Who am I kidding, I find myself doing that today.  Michael Jackson has influenced many musicians today!  His music was loved by all people.  You could be in East Bum and still know who Michael Jackson is.  I remember growing up and listening to great songs like Billie Jean, Thriller, Wanna Be Startin Something, Bad, and I could go on and on.  Even before my time people were adoring Michael when he was with the Jackson 5.  I just can’t believe that he has died!  I have so many things racing in my mind that I would like to say.  But I can’t because I just am shocked and speechless.

I wanted to share some of his accolades as a musician.

• Jackson has nine platinum singles in the United States, trailing only Elvis Presley (27) and Mariah Carey (10). Rihanna also has 9 platinum singles, which are only calculated by the RIAA for a fee, upon request.
• Jackson has 16 gold singles in the United States, behind only Elvis Presley (54), Madonna (26), The Beatles (24), Mariah Carey (23), Janet Jackson (21), Whitney Houston (18),Elton John (17) and The Temptations (17). Beyonce also has 16 gold singles, which are only calculated for a fee, upon request.
• Jackson’s Thriller remained at number one for thirty-seven weeks, the longest-ever stay by a non-soundtrack album and second only to West Side Story.^[1]
• Thriller spent a record 80 consecutive weeks, more than a year and a half, in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. It was the first of only three albums to remain on the Top 10 for more than a year (along with Alanis Morissette‘s Jagged Little Pill and Celine Dion‘s Falling into You).
• “Thriller” is the second-best-selling album in U.S. history, at 28 million. Only a greatest hits compilation by The Eagles has sold more.
• Thriller is the only album in the United States to have sold more copies than any other in two separate years, topping the sales charts in 1983 and 1984.
• Four of Jackson’s albums, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory, and Invincible, debuted at number one in the United States.
• Jackson was the first artist to have four top-ten singles from one album (Off the Wall).
• Jackson was the first artist to have seven Top 10 singles from one album (Thriller), a feat matched only by his sister Janet and Bruce Springsteen.
• Jackson was the first artist to simultaneously have the number-one album and number-one single on Billboard’s Pop Charts and Black Charts.
• Jackson was the first artist in the 1980s to have two simultaneous top-five hits (“Beat It” and “Billie Jean” on April 16, 1983).
• Jackson is the only artist to have five number-one hits from one LP, Bad (“Bad“, “The Way You Make Me Feel“, “Man in the Mirror“, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You“, and “Dirty Diana“).
• Jackson had nine number one singles in the 1980s, more than any other artist during the decade.
• Jackson was the first artist to have a song debut as high as #5 on the Hot 100 (“Scream” in 1995).
• Jackson was the first artist to ever have a song debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (“You Are Not Alone“).^[1]
• Jackson’s album Bad remained in the top five of the Billboard 200 for thirty-eight weeks, longer than any other album to date.
• Jackson has had thirteen number-one singles on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles charts, trailing only The Beatles (20), Mariah Carey (18) and Elvis Presley (18 or 17, depending on source).
• Jackson had 28 top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, trailing only The beatles (29), Elvis Presley (36) and Madonna (37).
• Jackson had 37 top 40 hits on the Hot 100.

So I ask my fellow readers to find a Michael Jackson song and put it on and remember his legacy.  I still can’t believe this.  This day will certainly go down in history!

R.I.P Michael “King of Pop” Jackson!

p.s. I would love to hear your favorite Michael Jackson moment and or song!