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Robbie Fulks Remembers Michael Jackson

Robbie Fulks' comments were provided at my request via e-mail. I knew that he has long been a fan of Jackson's music. In fact, he has for years been working on putting out a tribute album to Jackson and has released mp3s of several covers.

Michael Jackson hugged the peak for what constituted, in pop-culture-years, an eon: about 1970 to 1990. For all that time he was on his best game, and for more than a little of it (the Quincy Jones years) he was sprinting out at a safe, superior distance from all competitors. On those terms -- maintenance of superabundant talent and visionary innovation -- he compares to the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Sinatra...and hardly anyone else in popular music, actually.

That child abuse (perpetrated on and by him), self-mutilation, psychotic narcissism, and God knows what other grotesqueries should have so thoroughly interpenetrated this American success story is a dismal reflection on a number of things. Celebrity-besotted America, naturally. The satraps and sleazy ten-percenters who abetted in sealing off any exit doors from the singer's delusional happyland. And -- not to be too grandiose -- even our democratic ideals are tarnished by Mr. Jackson's untimely death: any poor kid in America can grow up to be president, or, if he's abysmally unlucky, multimillionaire superstar.

You can listen to his sweet, sincere, hair-raising treatment of "I'll Be There," or any of four dozen others from the early 1970s, and be moved again and again by the spectacular natural force of his voice. Moved enough to forget, if you like, that a lot of these performances were, whether in a vaguely internalized or a sickeningly specific sense, coerced.

Robbie Fulks
June 25, 2009

Comment by Egon Danielson on June 26, 2009 at 6:20am: I saw MJ like some sort of exotic creature that was captured and sold to a circus. He eventually took over the circus, but his road was forever twisted by early exploitation. The guy had an enormous talent, and his live performances were truly amazing. Too bad he couldn't have had a little "normal" for balance.

Comment by Jack Murray on June 30, 2009 at 6:40am: A fine tribute, Mr. Fulks. Some of us are lucky to be able to retreat to the illusion of "normal" now and then. Michael never had that option -or any clue what normal might be. Seeing Daddy Joe using the pulpit of the death of his own son to promote his new record label confirms our darkest suspicions. Sickening and sad. After all the blowhards get their public say -let's let Michael's music have the last word. It will anyway.

Comment by John Greiner-Ferris on June 30, 2009 at 7:04am: saw robbie perform the next night after mj died at club passim in cambridge, mass...as a tribute he did billie jean and i liked his version better than jackson's...

Comment by Jim Stringer on June 30, 2009 at 8:53am: I've long suspected that something was done to Michael to prevent his high tenor from becomming something that would not be worth as much money. That he was odd is not at all surprising. At its best, his music is what pop music should aspire to be.

Comment by Michael McCARTHY on June 30, 2009 at 11:23am: I can't beleive you think Michael's over-the-top formulaic pap rivals Elvis and the Beatles, but you deride Ryan Adams. To say you're opinion is of no significance is an understatement.

Comment by Uriah Rose II on July 1, 2009 at 2:34pm: My favourite thing Michael ever did was Eddie's guitar solo on Beat It. Oh, and back in the day Jennifer Batten could play when they let her. too bad Zappa didn't live long enough to see what Jackson had become. I was listening to mostly Heavy Metal and Bluegrass (and John Prine...) back then so I kinda misssed most of the pop stuff.