The Station Break series took a bit of an unexpected hiatus over the last few weeks, while we worked on some backend things with the site (the fruits of which many of you should have noticed  and enjoyed by now.)  The good news is we are reviving the series today!

Now, in getting ready to bring back the Station Break series, I was all set to discuss some CDs which I received for my birthday last week.  In fact, I had a post all but written in my head…until yesterday.  June 25, 2009, was pretty much the day a large piece of my childhood died.  And all my plans for this article were turned upside down.

The day started in the morning with the news that Farrah Fawcett died.  Now, many of you younger readers may have simply dismissed Farrah Fawcett as a sort of whacky actress or just another vacuous blonde who seemed to find new and interesting ways to generate bizarre controversies, but offered little of substance.  Older (and I use that term lightly) readers, however, will recall the glamorously flocked star of the hit ‘70s show, “Charlie’s Angels”.  More importantly, however, was her famous “red bathing suit” pose, which adorned the walls of just about every male growing up in the United States in the ‘70s and ‘80s.  I know I had one…right next to my Cindy Crawford poster.  a friend of mine told me that over 12 million copies of the above poster were printed and sold.  That seemed low to me…

Well, as if the death of that childhood memory was not enough, later in the day, the CNN News alerts started going crazy with unconfirmed reports that MIchael Jackson had alternatively: had a cardiac arrest, entered into a coma, or died.  By 7:30, the truth was revealed as CNN confirmed that Michael Jackson had, indeed, passed away at the age of 50.

It is unfortunate that in order to get back to his true artistic talent, you have to travel through the haze of the 1990’s, a time in which he was plagued by controversy, litigation, bankruptcy, and generally bizarre and reclusive behavior.  But once you get passed that, and you see Michael Jackson as we saw him early in his career, it is impossible not to respect his artistic genius.

He began performing with his family band, The Jackson Five, at the young age of five, and his remained a prominent fixture in the spotlight of fame ever since.  When he began his solo career in the early 1970’s, it quickly became apparent that this family of nine siblings consisted pretty much of Michael and those other eight kids.

During the course of the ensuing 20 years, he did not just revolutionize a genre of music, but the music industry itself.  He became a pioneer of the music video with Thriller, the title song off of his Thriller album, which quickly became the best selling album of all time (with a Guinness World Record over 100 million sales).  A whopping seven of the nine tracks on the album were released as singles, and all of those reached the Top 10 list.

Not only did he revolutionize the world of music and video, but he also brought such memorable icons of a generation as the red leather “zipper” jacket, the single sequined glove, and…of course, the Moonwalk.  It is his legacy as a dancer, as much as a singer that is readily apparent on today’s generation of performers.

Among his other accomplishments :

Five of Jackson’s solo albums – “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” “Bad,” “Dangerous” and “HIStory,” all with Epic Records, a Sony Music label – are among the top-sellers of all time. During his extraordinary career, he sold an estimated 750 million records worldwide, released 13 No.1 singles and became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Jackson as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time and “Thriller” as the Biggest Selling Album of All Time. Jackson won 13 Grammy Awards and received the American Music Award’s Artist of the Century Award.

– From a Statement by Sony on the Passing of Michael Jackson

You can check out all of Michael Jackson’s videos at the official Michael Jackson YouTube page or at Michael Jackson.com.

Rest In Peace, Michael Jackson (and Farrah Fawcett).