The Celebrity Complex

Dear Blog Visitors:

For the past few weeks, we have been saturated with news about Michael Jackson.  Like many around the world, I mourned his passing and I extend my sympathies to all the family members, friends and fans he left behind.

While I was not a big fan of Michael Jackson, I did in fact recognize the fact that he was a musical genious.  I recall from my days as a part-time disk jockey at a nightclub in the late senveties and early eighties, that patrons would often request tunes by Michael Jackson, and I was more than happy to honor their requests.As controversies surrounding Mr. Jackson continue to infiltrate the news, I hope in the final analysis, he will be remembered for his talent.  Being a genious can often have tragic consequences, and we saw that with Michael.  He was not alone. 

The gift of creativity can be both a blessing and a curse.  As a person who favors classical music, my heroes include persons who were indeed geniouses, but at the same time, had experienced multiple traumas in their personal lives.  For example, when we look at the lives of Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaichovsky, we see musical triumph mixed with emotions of despair and the pressures of society in general.

In a more contemporary mode, I had huge respect for the late Frank Sinatra. Like Michael Jackson, many stories saturated media outlets following his death. I admired Mr. Sinatra for his multiple talents and his charitable generosity. I was personally bothered by all the attention the media paid to a few of his controversial friendships. In the final analysis, I recognized Frank as a genious and I was very honored to have been able to correspond with him on a couple occasions and get personal responses.

The autographed photo above from Frank Sinatra was in response to the tribute I paid to him on a nightly basis when I worked as a part-time disk jockey. I closed each night's music by playing some of his biggest hits. It became a tradition over several years, and Mr. Sinatra kindly thanked me with this photo. (You will need to click onto the photo to get an enlarged image.)

As we remember Michael Jackson, and all the celebrities who preceded him in death, let us try to see the good in their lives, as opposed to focusing on their faults. After all, none of us are perfect.

Peace to all,
Ray