06/26/09 - Madison County
It was a true shock to the world
when the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, 50, passed away, Thursday afternoon.
The cardiac arrest and following death of Jackson
has many mourning the loss of the pop icon. "You just
always see Michael vibrant, alive, dancing and happy. It's
just shocking that he died so suddenly," said radio disc
jockey Kimberly Kaye from KIX 96.
Jackson's talent and
influence are still as strong as ever, as famous music videos
and classic pictures tell the stories of so many of our
eyes. Star 107 deejay Julie Cook said, "I think people of
my generation probably know his magnitude. They felt it. We
were there when all that was going on and things unfolded
that were just completely incredible that we'd never seen
before. Especially a tremendous amount of African American
artists who he opened doors for."
The son of Carl Perkins, Stan
Perkins, has one vivid memory of a time when Michael Jackson
actually called his own father. "He hung the phone up and he
turned and he said you'll never guess who I was just talking
to. I said, 'I have no idea.' He said, 'Michael Jackson.' I
said, 'What was Michael Jackson calling you for?!'"
According to Perkins, Jackson wanted to buy the publishing
rights to Perkins' song "Blue Suede Shoes" as a gift for his
then-wife, Lisa Marie Presley.
Perkins believes the King of Pop
was truly in a league of his own. "Elvis was huge, don't get
me wrong, and the Beatles were huge, but this guy was
definitely on a plateau by himself."
Kaye agreed, "You have so many good artists. [There is] Usher, Chris Brown and Justin and all his dance moves. But there's only one Michael Jackson."
Kaye agreed, "You have so many good artists. [There is] Usher, Chris Brown and Justin and all his dance moves. But there's only one Michael Jackson."