File under: Conrad

Check out this website I found at board.okayplayer.com

here's some of my faves:

• He would sing us an entire string arrangement, every part. Steve Porcaro once told me he witnessed MJ doing that with the string section in the room. Had it all in his head, harmony and everything. Not just little eight bar loop ideas. he would actually sing the entire arrangement into a micro-cassette recorder complete with stops and fills.
• During the recording of "Smile" on HIStory, Bruce thought it would be great if Michael would sing live with the orchestra. But of course, we didn't tell the players that. We set him up in a vocal booth off to the side. They rehearsed a bit without vocals in, then during the first take Michael sang, just about knocked them out of their chairs.
• I was assisting Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis while they recorded the background vocals for "Scream" with MJ and Janet. The two of them singing together was amazing. Super tight, no bad notes. One part after another. When they took a break they sang the showtunes they used to sing as kids. Again, perfect harmony. Mj refused to sing the "stop f*ckin' with me part" because he would NOT curse.
• We recorded a Christmas song during the summer of '94 that needed a children's choir. Michael insisted that the entire studio be decorated with xmas lights, tree, fake snow and a sled for their recording. And he bought presents for everyone.

There are plenty more but you'll have to link to it to read!

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I'm up early and I'm watching Mike and Mike on the Deuce and they bring up Magic's eulogy at Michael Jackson's Memorial. And his story stood out so much because we, as the fans, got to see MJ as a human. That mental image of one of the top 5 basketball players to ever live, IMHO, and the King of Pop, sitting on the floor eating a bucket of KFC just brought that level of "humanity". You have to stop and ask that, "Michael is like me?" and then quickly realize that it was Michael's CHEF that brought out the bucket, as well as his CHEF ask Magic what he wanted. As Golic put it, "I never went to any of my friends' homes and had anyone's chef ask me what I wanted to eat." Pho realz though!
 
It's sad to think that the millions and millions of people who regard ourselves as fans to be dumbstruck at this level of humanity from Michael. It's sad that I have put MJ on this pedestal to even think that a bucket of fried chicken was beyond him. Yet, this tub of Original or Extra Crispy, puts us on the same level fascinates and at the same time humbles me. Douche (Donny Deutch) says that it was wrong for the American public to deify him, and in this respect, I have to agree. Don't get me wrong, I think Douche is an ASSHOLE, albeit a misguided asshole, for slamming MJ at this hour, but he has that point right. I put MJ on a level where I felt nothing can touch him based on his ability to not only change the world through his humanitarian efforts but for always touching me with his music. Michael's music hit the nerve of the soul which sustains me. Every dance move he hit and every note he sang changed a part of my life. Put on Off the Wall or Human Nature, and I lose it. Workin' Day and Night and Another Part of Me doesn't provide escape - it makes the world around me a better place to live in. That's where I differ GREATLY with Mr. Deutch's comment. Music can change lives. Music effects the soul on so many levels that it can't help but change lives which in turn spreads the love of its creator to many more people. Music changes lives. And no one has ever changed my life as Michael Jackson has on that level.
 
Magic's story made me realize that this man, who changed my life through music, is, at the end, just a man. And on that level, I can empathize with his family cuz that's how they remember him. My pain of his death pales in comparison, because I personally know how it is to lose a member of a family when they pass unexpectedly. The feeling of death which submerges into the soul like a knife and withdraws the source of life - breath. I've felt that. I know that feeling of being physically huddled around each other as a group to cry over the loss of a brother. My heart goes out to them and his kids. C'mon, Paris' "my daddy..." puts everything in perspective. And that bucket of KFC made me realize the pain the family and those who knew him on that level must be going through.

Rest in Paradise, Michael. You deserve it.

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