Moonwalk: A Memorial for MJ Pt. II

Piece Description

I created and broadcast this show one week after Michael Jackson's death. Like most people I was in shock for almost two days. I was overrun with E-mail before and after the broadcast. Most people wanted to know when it would be re-broadcast, because they had missed it. Some people just wanted to tell someone else, how Michael Jackson affected their lives. I don’t think any of us knew how important Michael Jackson was to most people of all ages, races, nationality and religion all over the world.

This variety show highlights the career of Michael Jackson from 1966 / 1967 until the present. We only focused on his musical history. We highlight some of the recordings from the Jackson Five’s Steel Town Record (of Gary Indiana) period circa 1966 through 1968. They only achieved a local regional hit at the time which was called Big Boy. The years in-between 1969 and 1976 were the group’s Motown period, plus the debut of Michael Jackson’s solo career. We highlight most of these recordings on this show. In 1976 the group left Motown and Joined Epic Records. The Sound of Philadelphia’s song writing team of Gamble & Huff were assigned to the new Jacksons group. They were backed up by MFSB and more hits continued. One of their biggest hits during this period was Enjoy Yourself.  By 1979 Michael Jackson released his ground breaking Off The Wall album, preceding Thriller, Bad, Dangerous and the rest.

In this three hour broadcast, I cover the high level of Michael Jackson’s career. Because of time constraints and the vastness of the Jackson Five and Michael Jackson discography, I could not include any Jermaine Jackson or Janet Jackson solo music. I hope that you will enjoy my tribute to one of the true geniuses of our life time.

Howard Burchette

http://thefunkshow.com/