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aaronk Admin Group
Joined: 16 January 2005 Location: United States
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Posted: 25 June 2009 at 3:36pm | IP Logged
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I know we don't usually cover music news on this board, but it has to be one of the most shocking moments in music history. RIP, MJ.
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Yah Shure MusicFan
Joined: 11 December 2007 Location: United States
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Posted: 25 June 2009 at 6:21pm | IP Logged
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Yes, it certainly came as a shock. While thumbing through some of the Jacksons' 45s this afternoon, the first one I came across was "Forever Came Today" from 1975. It instantly reminded me of hearing the Supremes' original version of the song on the radio within minutes after the news broke of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination in 1968. Even after all these years, hearing that song takes me back to that exact moment.
MJ was truly one of greatest in entertainment history. His talent is already sorely missed.
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Brian W. MusicFan
Joined: 13 October 2004 Location: United States
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Posted: 25 June 2009 at 7:14pm | IP Logged
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I'm not ashamed to admit I cried a little. The whole thing is really shocking.
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eriejwg MusicFan
Joined: 10 June 2007 Location: United States
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Posted: 25 June 2009 at 9:58pm | IP Logged
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Whether we heard his music on the radio, or for some of us, have played his music on the radio...from vinyl 45's to CD to digital files, the music of Michael Jackson has crossed several generations. He really was a music genius.
While music these days may only chart for weeks, Michael Jackson's music is enjoyed by people from 18-80. There's not a wedding DJ in the world who hasn't PACKED a dance floor with "Billie Jean", "Thriller", "P.Y.T." (endless amount of MJ music) or countless Jackson 5 tracks.
R.I.P. Michael.
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TomDiehl1 MusicFan
Joined: 13 January 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: 25 June 2009 at 10:14pm | IP Logged
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I don't know a single person that doesn't at least smirk a little when "ABC" gets played!
Edited by TomDiehl1 on 26 June 2009 at 8:17am
__________________ Live in stereo.
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Brian W. MusicFan
Joined: 13 October 2004 Location: United States
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Posted: 25 June 2009 at 10:45pm | IP Logged
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No surprise, but several of Michael's classic songs are racing up the iTunes top 100. Thriller is up to #12 at the moment, with "Man in the Mirror," "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "The Way You Make Me Feel," and "Billie Jean" all in the top twenty.
They're not eligible to chart on the Hot 100, since they're considered "catalog," but it will be interesting to see the digital totals for them on next week's chart.
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Santi Paradoa MusicFan
Joined: 17 February 2009 Location: United States
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Posted: 26 June 2009 at 5:58am | IP Logged
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My favorites are four ballads Michael recorded as a teenager while still on Motown: "Music And Me," "One Day In Your Life," "With A Child's Heart" and "Happy" (Love Theme from "Lady Sings The Blues").
By the way, Hip-OSelect has a 3-disc set to be released in July titled "Hello World-The Complete Motown Solo Collection" with all of Michael's Motown solo recordings.
Edited by Santi Paradoa on 26 June 2009 at 6:22am
__________________ Santi Paradoa
Miami, Florida
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Brian W. MusicFan
Joined: 13 October 2004 Location: United States
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Posted: 26 June 2009 at 8:34am | IP Logged
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Wow... at the moment, THIRTY-EIGHT of the top 100 selling song on iTunes are Michael Jackson songs. Five are in the top ten... "Man in the Mirror" is currently #2.
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EdisonLite MusicFan
Joined: 18 October 2004 Location: United States
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Posted: 26 June 2009 at 8:46am | IP Logged
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Santi Paradoa wrote:
My favorites are four ballads Michael recorded as a teenager while still on Motown: "Music And Me," "One Day In Your Life," |
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My favorite is "One Day In Your Life". Just a real beautiful ballad.
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aaronk Admin Group
Joined: 16 January 2005 Location: United States
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Posted: 26 June 2009 at 9:03am | IP Logged
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The top 15 best selling albums on amazon.com right now are all MJ/J5 albums. Looking at the top 50 amazon.com bestsellers in music, 32 albums are MJ/J5.
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Brian W. MusicFan
Joined: 13 October 2004 Location: United States
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Posted: 26 June 2009 at 9:56am | IP Logged
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Santi Paradoa wrote:
By the way, Hip-OSelect has a 3-disc set to be released in July titled "Hello World-The Complete Motown Solo Collection" with all of Michael's Motown solo recordings. |
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Yeah, I wasn't planning on getting that, but I'm probably going to now.
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torcan MusicFan
Joined: 23 June 2006 Location: Canada
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Posted: 26 June 2009 at 10:13am | IP Logged
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"Thriller" is still one of my favorite albums. You can't think of the great music of 1983 without thinking about it. I've got every album from "Off the Wall" to "Invincible" and think he continued to make great music well into the '90s. RIP.
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eriejwg MusicFan
Joined: 10 June 2007 Location: United States
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Posted: 26 June 2009 at 11:12am | IP Logged
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Heard last night that "Billie jean" almost didn't make the cut on Thriller.
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RichM921 MusicFan
Joined: 30 October 2007
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Posted: 26 June 2009 at 12:11pm | IP Logged
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As we all know, Thriller produced 7 huge singles out of the 9 tracks. At that time he was so hot that just about anything he put out could sell a million copies. I'm wondering why Epic didn't release the other two songs as singles as they were sure to have been Top 10 singles too. After "Thriller" was leaving the Top 40, I recall Q105 in Tampa playing "The Lady In My Life" which wasn't released as a commercial single, but was it released as a promo single? Maybe Q105 started spinning the song as a hunch that it might the next single.
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budaniel MusicFan
Joined: 12 October 2004 Location: United States
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Posted: 26 June 2009 at 12:40pm | IP Logged
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I don't know if Billie Jean was going to be removed from the record completely at one point, but I remember a report that both Billie Jean and Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' were both big problems because they both ran over 6 minutes long and Quincy Jones told Michael they had to be shortened to fit on a regular vinyl record with all the other tracks. Michael was devastated because he felt cutting them would take away from how he meant them to be, but he was finally convinced to edit them down because he was reassured that the full length versions could be released on 12" single. So there really isn't a 12" mix of Billie Jean, it's actually the full length recording. And ironically, I think the long version of Wanna Be is only like 30 seconds longer than the album length. Can't wait to listen to them both tonight after work.
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Brian W. MusicFan
Joined: 13 October 2004 Location: United States
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Posted: 26 June 2009 at 1:20pm | IP Logged
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budaniel wrote:
I don't know if Billie Jean was going to be removed from the record completely at one point, but I remember a report that both Billie Jean and Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' were both big problems because they both ran over 6 minutes long and Quincy Jones told Michael they had to be shortened to fit on a regular vinyl record with all the other tracks. Michael was devastated because he felt cutting them would take away from how he meant them to be, but he was finally convinced to edit them down because he was reassured that the full length versions could be released on 12" single. So there really isn't a 12" mix of Billie Jean, it's actually the full length recording. And ironically, I think the long version of Wanna Be is only like 30 seconds longer than the album length. Can't wait to listen to them both tonight after work. |
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I've always speculated that, that the "extended" versions of "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be" were actually the original "album versions." Where did you hear this?
Edited by Brian W. on 26 June 2009 at 1:21pm
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Brian W. MusicFan
Joined: 13 October 2004 Location: United States
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Posted: 26 June 2009 at 1:27pm | IP Logged
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Lisa Marie Presley just posted this on her MySpace page:
Lisa Marie wrote:
He Knew.
Years ago Michael and I were having a deep conversation about life in general.
I can't recall the exact subject matter but he may have been questioning me about the circumstances of my Fathers Death.
At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and he stated with an almost calm certainty, "I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did."
I promptly tried to deter him from the idea, at which point he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded almost matter of fact as if to let me know, he knew what he knew and that was kind of that.
14 years later I am sitting here watching on the news an ambulance leaves the driveway of his home, the big gates, the crowds outside the gates, the coverage, the crowds outside the hospital, the Cause of death and what may have led up to it and the memory of this conversation hit me, as did the unstoppable tears.
A predicted ending by him, by loved ones and by me, but what I didn't predict was how much it was going to hurt when it finally happened.
The person I failed to help is being transferred right now to the LA County Coroners office for his Autopsy.
All of my indifference and detachment that I worked so hard to achieve over the years has just gone into the bowels of hell and right now I am gutted.
I am going to say now what I have never said before because I want the truth out there for once.
Our relationship was not "a sham" as is being reported in the press. It was an unusual relationship yes, where two unusual people who did not live or know a "Normal life" found a connection, perhaps with some suspect timing on his part. Nonetheless, I do believe he loved me as much as he could love anyone and I loved him very much.
I wanted to "save him" I wanted to save him from the inevitable which is what has just happened.
His family and his loved ones also wanted to save him from this as well but didn't know how and this was 14 years ago. We all worried that this would be the outcome then.
At that time, In trying to save him, I almost lost myself.
He was an incredibly dynamic force and power that was not to be underestimated.
When he used it for something good, It was the best and when he used it for something bad, It was really, REALLY bad.
Mediocrity was not a concept that would even for a second enter Michael Jackson's being or actions.
I became very ill and emotionally/ spiritually exhausted in my quest to save him from certain self-destructive behavior and from the awful vampires and leeches he would always manage to magnetize around him.
I was in over my head while trying.
I had my children to care for, I had to make a decision.
The hardest decision I have ever had to make, which was to walk away and let his fate have him, even though I desperately loved him and tried to stop or reverse it somehow.
After the Divorce, I spent a few years obsessing about him and what I could have done different, in regret.
Then I spent some angry years at the whole situation.
At some point, I truly became Indifferent, until now.
As I sit here overwhelmed with sadness, reflection and confusion at what was my biggest failure to date, watching on the news almost play by play The exact Scenario I saw happen on August 16th, 1977 happening again right now with Michael (A sight I never wanted to see again) just as he predicted, I am truly, truly gutted.
Any ill experience or words I have felt towards him in the past has just died inside of me along with him.
He was an amazing person and I am lucky to have gotten as close to him as I did and to have had the many experiences and years that we had together.
I desperately hope that he can be relieved from his pain, pressure and turmoil now.
He deserves to be free from all of that and I hope he is in a better place or will be.
I also hope that anyone else who feels they have failed to help him can be set free because he hopefully finally is.
The World is in shock but somehow he knew exactly how his fate would be played out some day more than anyone else knew, and he was right.
I really needed to say this right now, thanks for listening.
~LMP
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Edited by Brian W. on 26 June 2009 at 1:27pm
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budaniel MusicFan
Joined: 12 October 2004 Location: United States
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Posted: 26 June 2009 at 2:17pm | IP Logged
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Actually, I heard it years ago, and I think it was even from Quincy Jones' very mouth. It may have been some documentary show or something. Either that or I read it in the liner notes of one of the various "special edition" reissues of Thriller? To this day, I'm surprised that the long versions of Billie Jean and Wanna Be were not included as bonus tracks on any of the reissues.
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eric_a MusicFan
Joined: 29 June 2005 Location: United States
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Posted: 26 June 2009 at 2:53pm | IP Logged
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I've heard a variation on that story -- I think it's in the Billboard Book of #1 Albums (or maybe #1 Singles).
The story goes that MJ and Quincy Jones had already completed the album and were previewing an acetate test pressing with too much time squeezed onto each side. MJ was devastated by the lousy sound, and after a good cry, they went back to the studio the next day to start cutting. Based on this story, the edits didn't take much persuasion on Jones' part.
Edited by eric_a on 26 June 2009 at 6:01pm
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budaniel MusicFan
Joined: 12 October 2004 Location: United States
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Posted: 26 June 2009 at 3:51pm | IP Logged
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YES! The story I remember also said Michael was actually crying. and there was definitely mention of the fairly new format called the 12" single being a damper on the problem. In fact, I believe on the ORIGINAL 12" for Billie Jean it was called the LONG version, not the club mix, extended mix, or anything like that. And the long version definitely has vocal parts NOT on the original album version, which makes it pretty obvious the song was at least recorded in a longer length, even if it was never meant to be on the album.
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