My tribute to my favourite artist - Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson passed away a couple of days ago.
The reaction from me was shock, disbelief and surprisingly grief.
Yes, I was sad that he died... by now, most of the messy stories about his plastic surgeries, his ex-nanny's quotes, the will etc have been out.
But, my post is more personal, its about MJ, The King of Pop and Me.
I first heard MJ in 1987, the first song was BAD. Thriller and the other older ones were heard later.BAD is also my all time favorite and it holds a special place in my heart. Here, I was all of 7 yrs old, uprooted from my school, grandpa, friends and placed in an alien land where no one understood me and I definitely didn't understand them!
My dad got me my first radio at this very juncture where I was lonely and missing home.
The first I recall vividly hearing on it is BAD.I could relate to him, I could dance in my room to his music!! :)'

He drove the loneliness away with his awesome songs...

I remember being glued to the radio when one of his concerts was aired live over the radio then.

I fit in because I loved Michael Jackson and his music.

After returning back to India, to again unfamiliar surroundings and weird prudish atmosphere in India the one thing I missed was listening to MJ frequently on the Radio.

English music, if I remember correctly was termed as "bad" and people who listened to it were "bad" as well!

Somehow the information leaked in class that I enjoyed listening to his music and also considered MJ to be "Sexy".

Now, "sexy" was a bad bad term to be used in 5th std apparently and suddenly because of jealous classmates, I was the class tramp! I was the class tramp for 2 yrs.
I struggled with loneliness, rumours, bad friends and bad grades. I had rumours spread about me by a teacher!!
I was miserable, truly unhappy and extremely insecure till I reached 7th.
With no MJ to keep me company, I was truly miserable!
In 7th, things changed, my best friend then, P gave me the confidence and the love I craved for from a friend.
We were inseparable till 10th. He boosted my morale, let me listen to MJ over and over again - he had cassettes, and then he had the VCR at home... :)
MJ was in my life again and the new album - Dangerous (I think) was out with the song "Leave Me Alone" (I think I'm right on the song title, not sure - need to cross check on this)
After 10th std, his songs also brought me joy, let me experiment on my dance moves.
He helped me learn the moon walk.Michael Jackson, with his music turned a miserable pre-teen into a happy teenager. Actually, I was "Cool" in college because I had all his songs! :)

My friend in Post-Graduate had his CDs. All of them! And I was so thrilled! Literally!!!
I remember bringing them all home and recording them. I remember dancing to his tunes with my mom.
The volume was so loud that the Speaker fell on the phone and the phone was damaged beyond repair!
LOL!

His music has been my companion thru out my growing up years. His music helped me pass thru the most difficult phases of my life. He made me happy when I was sad.
The tears were forgotten and the misery melted away when I danced to his tunes...

In the recent past, less has been spoken about his transcending music and more about his weird life.
Now again, in his death, his music has united people all over the world.
He is truly the King of Pop.

Rest In Peace MJ! You will be missed, for your music and your complete entertainment.