Michael Jackson 1958 - 2009

Like many people all over the world, I was quite surprised to learn of the untimely death of singer Michael Jackson. I got first indication of his death after reading an alert on my Google RSS reader. Shortly after news of his death was on the radio, TV and elsewhere on the internet.

Michael Jackson was not my favorite music artist. Still, he was one of the biggest icons in the music business. He made his mark not only in music, but also in dance, showmanship and video. He was the child star and lead vocalist of The Jackson 5, the music group put together by his parents and consisting of his brothers Jackie, Marlon, Tito and Jermaine. Their origins in the city of Gary, Indiana to hit making machine in the early to mid 1970s for Motown Records are legendary.

Michael Jackson became bigger than life well into his solo career. In 1979 his album Off The Wall became a dance floor favorite in the waning days of the disco era. I was there as a weekend DJ spinning cuts from this record that kept dancers happy and on their feet with the likes of "Don't Stop Til' You Get Enough," "Rock With You", and "Working Day & Night".

When Thriller came out in late 1982, the album became a phenomenal success. I was still there during my last year as part-time dance floor DJ spinning nearly all of its tracks... "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Wanna Be Starting Something" and more.

Thriller broke new ground for Jackson and popular music. "Billie Jean" was the first song by a black artist to get regular airtime on MTV. The title track became a hugely successful long-form video utilizing the talents of top notch dancers, movie director John Landis and a rap by actor Vincent Price. Marvelous stuff!

Thriller became the biggest selling record album of all time and still is. Sales figures vary, but estimates put it somewhere between 65 to 107 million copies sold worldwide.

Michael Jackson's career progressed well beyond Thriller, though he was never able to match the success of that album. Now with his sudden death, Michael Jackson's music sales and memorabilia have spiked. All of his major studio albums and many singles are re-appearing on best seller charts. People are rediscovering his music and perhaps commerce has been handed a new industry.

Certainly Michael Jackson was not perfect. He had his personal, legal and financial problems. It is not in the scope of this blog to cover any of these, but only mention them in passing. In the long term, the scandals and problems will fade and only the music will live on.

Rest in Peace Michael Jackson. We'll all be listening to your music for many years to come.

TOP 20 FAVORITE SONGS BY MICHAEL JACKSON

1. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
2. Beat It - Michael Jackson
3. Rock With You - Michael Jackson
4. Don't Stop Til' You Get Enough - Michael Jackson
5. Thriller - Michael Jackson
6. Shake Your Body Down to the Ground - The Jacksons
7. We Are The World - USA For Africa
8. I'll Be There - The Jackson Five
9. Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson
10. Dancing Machine - The Jackson Five
11. The Love You Save - The Jackson Five
12. Man in the Mirror - Michael Jackson
13. Who's Lovin' You - The Jackson Five
14. Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' - Jermaine Jackson (with Michael Jackson)
15. Say Say Say - Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
16. Black or White - Michael Jackson
17. Girlfriend - Michael Jackson
18. Ben - Michael Jackson
19. Got to Be There - Michael Jackson
20. The Girl is Mine - Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney

MICHAEL JACKSON - "Billie Jean" (1983)




Photo composite: Center is the Honolulu Star Bulletin front page that appeared on June 26, 2009 one day after Michael Jackson's death. The albums depicted on the composite are "Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5" from 1969; Michael Jackson albums "Off the Wall," "Bad" and "Thriller: 25th Anniversary Edition". The red 45 is a collector's pressing I got some years ago at Jellys' Honolulu. At top right is a headline from U.S.A. Today.

Black Eyed Peas Tops Chart

Black Eyed Peas reaches number 1 on the Weekly Top 20 this week. Their track "I Gotta Feeling" off their latest album debut @ #7 last week and this week it's #1. The group is also headed for Hawaii this summer to play at the Bayfest concert on August 15.

Mel's Weekly Top 20
For the week of June 21, 2009.| Website



This Week - Song Title - Artist - Last Week

1. I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas - 7
2. 1, 2, 3, 4 - Plain White T's - 3
3. 99 Times - Kate Voegele - 4
4. Know Your Enemy - Green Day - 1
5. Major Tom - Shiny Toy Guns - 2
6. I'm Just Here for the Music - Paula Abdul - 6
7. What's So Bad (About Feeling Good)? - Ben Lee - 8
8. Two Hands - Jars of Clay - 10
9. California - Shannon Hurley - 5
10. Free To Be Me - Francesca Battistelli - 11
11. Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas - 12
12. I'm Not Over - Carolina Liar - 9
13. Failure - Operation Aloha - 13
14. I Just Want You Around - Anuhea - 14
15. Goodbye - Kristinia DeBarge - 18
16. Ain't No Rest for the Wicked - Cage the Elephant - 15
17. French Navy - Camera Obscura - new
18. Poker Face - Lady GaGa - 16
19. Electricity - Elton John - new
20. Led To The Sea - Jenny Owen Youngs - new


Mel's Top 10 Oldies of the Week
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30

1. Revolution - The Beatles
2. Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
3. Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep - Middle of the Road
4. Jennifer Eccles - The Hollies
5. Pretty Lady - Lighthouse
6. Too Much Time on My Hands - Styx
7. Don't Ever Leave Me - Connie Francis
8. Sad Sweet Dreamer - Sweet Sensation
9. Birds of a Feather - The Raiders
10. I'm Stone in Love With You - The Stylistics

Charts for This Week

Fergie at Kiis FM's Wango Tango 09, originally uploaded by pistolcreative.

Photo: Black Eyed Peas' "Fergie".

Nothing significantly new except that on my Weekly Top 20 we got the Black Eyed Peas making some serious inroads into the chart. Their latest track "I Gotta Feeling" makes its debut at position #7. This is the highest debut position of any song to the weekly top 20 since I brought the chart back in 2006. Their earlier hit "Boom Boom Pow" is a late addition to the chart climbing to #12 this week. Both were #1 tracks on other charts such as iTunes, Amazon.com and maybe even Billboard. I'm not that big on this group, but they do have their moments.

Back at #1 is Green Day with "Know Your Enemy." It was #1 2 weeks ago before being replaced by Shiny Toy Guns' cover of "Major Tom" for the time.

Here are the charts....

MEL'S WEEKLY TOP 20 | June 14, 2009.

This Week Song Title Artist Last Week

1. Know Your Enemy (2nd week @ #1!) - Green Day - 2
2. Major Tom - Shiny Toy Guns - 1
3. 1, 2, 3, 4 - Plain White T's - 4
4. 99 Times - Kate Voegele - 5
5. California - Shannon Hurley - 3
6. I'm Just Here for the Music - Paula Abdul - 7
7. I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas - new
8. What's So Bad (About Feeling Good)? - Ben Lee - 9
9 . I'm Not Over - Carolina Liar - 6
10. Two Hands - Jars of Clay - 12
11. Free To Be Me - Francesca Battistelli - 13
12. Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas - 18
13. Failure - Operation Aloha - 15
14. I Just Want You Around - Anuhea - 17
15. Ain't No Rest for the Wicked - Cage the Elephant - 16
16. Poker Face - Lady GaGa - 14
17. Halo - Beyonce - 8
18. Goodbye - Kristinia DeBarge - new
19. Focus - Cyndi Harvell - 10
20. Show Me What I'm Looking for - Carolina Liar - 11

My 10 Top Oldies for June 18, 2009
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30

1. Revolution - The Beatles
2. Jennifer Eccles - The Hollies
3. Don't Ever Leave Me - Connie Francis
4. Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep - Middle of the Road
5. Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
6. Pretty Lady - Lighthouse
7. Too Much Time on My Hands - Styx
8. Arms of Mary - Sutherland Brothers & Quiver
9. The Story in Your Eyes - The Moody Blues
10. Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash

And here's another golden oldie, an old Radio Free Hawaii chart from my old RFH Chart Archive site. This is music that was played on the original Radio Free Hawaii at 102.7 FM in the early to mid 1990s. Thirty six songs in all, they're here as an extra today.



RADIO FREE HAWAII 102.7 KDEO FM
THE 106TH PRESENTATION OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLAND MUSIC REPORT
The Top 36 Most Wanted To Be Heard Songs In Hawaii as
determined by listener voting for the Week of June 13, 1993.

TW TITLE / ARTIST

1. WHAT'S UP (4 Non-Blondes)
2. DREAMS (Cranberries)
3. PLUSH (Stone Temple Pilots)
4. PETS (Porno For Pyros)
5. REGRET (New Order)
6. COME UNDONE (Duran Duran)
7. I'M GONNA BE (The Proclaimers)
8. LOVE & HONESTY (Hawaiian Style Band)
9. CURSED FEMALE (Porno For Pyros)
10. CREEP (Radiohead)
11. CANDY EVERYBODY WANTS (10,000 Maniacs)
12. OH CAROLINA (Shaggy)
13. MY NAME IS MUD (Primus)
14. EASY (Faith No More)
15. LOVE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH (The The)
16. DAZZY DUKS (Duice)
17. IT WAS A GOOD DAY (Ice Cube)
18. HEALING RAIN (Pagan Babies)
19. SLOW DOG (Belly)
20. PUSHIN LIL' DAISIES (Ween)
21. CANON IN D (Pachelbel)
22. ONE CARESS (Depeche Mode)
23. LUCKY GUY (The Muffs)
24. ROOSTER (Alice in Chains)
25. ARE YOU GONNA GO MY WAY (Lenny Kravitz)
26. NO RAIN (Blind Melon)
27. DRE DAY (Dr. Dre)
28. FEED THE TREE (Belly)
29. SWIM (Papa's Culture)
30. HOUSE OF EXILE (Lucky Dube)
31. CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE (UB-40)
32. CREEP (Stone Temple Pilots)
33. HEY JEALOUSY (Gin Blossoms)
34. FIELDS OF GOLD (Sting)
35. HARRY'S GAME (Clannad)
36. OCEAN FRONT (Too Down)

SONG DISCOVERY OF THE WEEK:
SEX GOD MISSY (Tad)

Mel's Weekly Top 20 June 11, 2000

I was just going through an old zip disc of mine when I found a bunch of charts I published several years ago. Here is one from June 11, 2000.

Mel's Weekly Top 20 and Music Votes Website 
Votes For The Week of June 11 - 18, 2000. 

LW    TW      Title of Song             Artist

 2     1. TELLING STORIES               Tracy Chapman
 3     2. SOUR GIRL                     Stone Temple Pilots
 1     2. MARIA MARIA                   Santana f/the Product
 4     4. SIMPLE KIND OF LIFE           No Doubt
 7     5. BROADWAY                      Goo Goo Dolls
 8     6. I TRY                         Macy Gray
 5     7. OTHERSIDE                     Red Hot Chili Peppers
11     8. BENT                          Matchbox 20
 9     9. EVERYTHING YOU WANT           Vertical Horizon
10    10. NEVER LET YOU GO              Third Eye Blind
---------------------------------------------------------------
13    11. ADAM'S SONG                   Blink 182
14    12. ANOTHER DUMB BLONDE           Hoku
 6    13. STAND INSIDE YOUR LOVE        Smashing Pumpkins
15    14. NOTHING AS IT SEEMS           Pearl Jam
19    15. ABRACADABRA                   Sugar Ray
---------------------------------------------------------------
18    16. ONLY GOD KNOWS WHY            Kid Rock
12    17. BREATHE                       Sixpence None the Richer
--    18. CRASH AND BURN                Savage Garden
--    19. SPARKS ARE GONNA FLY          Catherine Wheel
--    20. OOPS I DID IT AGAIN           Britney Spears

This Week's Top Hits

Here are the charts for this week.

MEL's WEEKLY TOP 20 - June 7, 2009

This Week Song Title Artist Last Week

1. Major Tom (2nd week @ #1!) - Shiny Toy Guns - 1
2. Know Your Enemy - Green Day - 2
3. California - Shannon Hurley - 3
4. 1, 2, 3, 4 - Plain White T's - 6
5. 99 Times - Kate Voegele - 8
6. I'm Not Over - Carolina Liar - 4
7. I'm Just Here for the Music - Paula Abdul - 10
8. Halo - Beyonce - 5
9. What's So Bad (About Feeling Good)? - Ben Lee - 12
10. Focus - Cyndi Harvell - 11
11. Show Me What I'm Looking for - Carolina Liar - 7
12. Two Hands - Jars of Clay - 14
13. Free To Be Me - Francesca Battistelli - 17
14. Poker Face - Lady GaGa - 9
15. Failure - Operation Aloha - 18
16. Ain't No Rest for the Wicked - Cage the Elephant - 19
17. I Just Want You Around - Anuhea - 20
18. Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas - new
19. Lucky - Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat - 13
20. People Got a Lotta Nerve - Neko Case - 15



MEL's TOP 10 OLDIES - June 11, 2009
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30.

1. Revolution - The Beatles
2. Jennifer Eccles - The Hollies
3. Sad Sweet Dreamer - Sweet Sensation
4. Arms of Mary - Sutherland Brothers & Quiver
5. Pretty Lady - Lighthouse
6. Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
7. Too Much Time on My Hands - Styx
8. The Story in Your Eyes - The Moody Blues
9. Don't Ever Leave Me - Connie Francis
10. I.O.I.O. - The Bee Gees

Shiny Toy Guns on top with Major Tom

Shiny Toy Guns tops Mel's Weekly Top 20 with "Major Tom", a good remake of Peter Schilling 's 1980s era hit. This is the song that has been featured in a Lincoln-Mercury MKS ad (see video clip two posts below). Shiny Toy Guns have been around since at least 2002 and have issued two albums. Samples of their music can be heard at The Sixty-One.com and also on their website.

Here are this week's most popular singles as played on my iTunes and iPods.

MEL'S WEEKLY TOP | May 31, 2009

This Week Song Title Artist Last Week

1. Major Tom - Shiny Toy Guns - 2
2. Know Your Enemy - Green Day - 1
3. California - Shannon Hurley - 3
4. I'm Not Over - Carolina Liar - 4
5. Halo - Beyonce - 6
6. 1, 2, 3, 4 - Plain White T's - 8
7. Show Me What I'm Looking for - Carolina Liar - 7
8. 99 Times - Kate Voegele - 9
9. Poker Face - Lady GaGa - 5
10. I'm Just Here for the Music - Paula Abdul - 11
11. Focus - Cyndi Harvell - 12
12. What's So Bad (About Feeling Good)? - Ben Lee - 13
13. Lucky - Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat - 14
14. Two Hands - Jars of Clay - 15
15. People Got a Lotta Nerve - Neko Case - 10
16. The Great Defector - Bell X1 - 18
17. Free To Be Me - Francesca Battistelli - 19
18. Failure - Operation Aloha - 20
19. Ain't No Rest for the Wicked - Cage the Elephant - new
20. I Just Want You Around - Anuhea - new

TOP 10 OLDIES | June 4, 2009
As submitted to Plannine's Classic Top 30

1. Revolution - The Beatles
2. The Story in Your Eyes - The Moody Blues
3. Jennifer Eccles - The Hollies
4. Arms of Mary - Sutherland Brothers & Quiver
5. Sad Sweetdreamer - Sweet Sensation
6. Don't Ever Leave Me - Connie Francis
7. Pretty Lady - Lighthouse
8. Too Much Time on My Hands - Styx
9. Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep - Middle of the Road
10. Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin

For your listening pleasure I'm tossing in the following tracks from TheSixty-One.com. Enjoy!