Don't cry for Michael

Yes, by the end he had become a freak, perhaps even a monster, a caricature of his younger self. But in 1983, when I was in high school, he really was the king of pop.

I remember how revolutionary MTV and music videos were for kids everywhere, especially in small towns and in states like Iowa.

I caught Michael's famous Motown 25 live performance (below) on television. My brother and I spent hours goofing around trying to figure out how to moonwalk. I was never a huge fan, but you couldn't deny the power of his music or the electricity he generated.



Considering his trajectory in later life, perhaps it was better to go out at 50. Strangely, a song by another departed pop icon comes to mind. Yes, Michael was an odd one, a brother from another planet, a stranger in a strange land. But give him his due -- he did it His Way!

My Way (audio, Frank Sinatra)

And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I'll say it clear,
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.

I've lived a life thats full.
I've traveled each and evry highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Regrets, I've had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.

I've loved, I've laughed and cried.
I've had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
No, oh no not me,
I did it my way.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!