“If he wouldn’t have had his fans, it would have been almost impossible for him to find a further meaning of life. If he felt bad and down we cheered him up with fan gifts and letters. And he loved it from his very heart. First and foremost the paintings. Not only in those hard times, but always. No matter where we’ve been – if fans were around and he saw drawings and paintings, he always said: ‘Get me the pictures, get me those pictures!' The fans meant everything to him. They were his family. They were his crutch and they gave him strength. More than any other thing. And he loved them above all things for that. And he told this to his children too. Every time, in any place where we stayed in hotels he showed his fans to his kids and explained to them what the fans mean to him and how much they love him. His family were there and it was good that way. But Michael’s strength and comfort came clearly from the fans. He loved them beyond words … this closeness and love – it came rather from the fans" ~ Dieter Weisner (efter 2005-rättegången)

 

Michael Jackson's timeless, multi-generational appeal has to do with the purity of his artistrey. There was just something about this guy. If you cut through all the life [stuff] and just watch what he does, he had a tremendous power. He had a joy, an innocence, a commitment to performance that was really unique. Elvis wasn' that. The Beatles aren't that. It was something different." ~ Nelson George

 

Här talar två om vad Teddy Riley har berättat om sitt arbete under Dangerous tillsammans med Michael Jackson. Jag tycker det var kul att killen till höger hade Off the wall som sitt favoritalbum, eftersom det albumet är på riktigt så underskattat. Visste ni att Off the wall är även Jay-Zs favoritalbum?

 

Lyssna när Lady Gaga talar om Michael efter att 55 minuter har gått. Jag blev, liksom Lady Gaga, ledsen när Michaels kläder såldes på auktion – det är mer än hemskt att hans saker försvann med vinden. Och jag är glad att Lady Gaga köpte så mycket hon kunde, eftersom hon kommer placera dem på ett museum och ge pengarna till välgörenhet. Bra, Lady Gaga!

"I got a chance to be in the studio with Michael Jackson, and not too many people can say that. But I had, he was in a raw element, he was comfortable, and when Michael was listening to the music – the one thing I learned, 'cuz I just kept watching him was: the dude was beatboxing while he was listening to the music, his body was counting the rhythm like a drummer, his whole complete body! By the time the song was finished he could examine exactely where he was going with the song." ~ Wyclef Jean

 

Det är inte direkt första gången någon hänger på luren i tron att det inte är Michael Jackson och bara någon skojare, haha!

Nate Giorgio is one of today’s most respected, influential and award-winning fine artists. Known for his masterful paintings and stunning portraits, Nate was born in Binghamton, New York, began his professional art career in New York City, and later moved to Los Angeles, California.  In 1984, Nate Giorgio, signed an exclusive contract to be Michael Jackson’s personal artist.  In addition to the private commissions, exhibits and artwork sold around the world, his illustrations appear inside and on the cover of the ‘Michael Jackson Opus‘ and in Michael’s book ‘Dancing the Dream‘, to name just a few.

 

 

Nate Giorgio: “I read how he loved art so I did a few paintings and sent them off to his office. I was still in NY and one day his assistant called me. She said MJ’s right here dancing around when he saw your art, he wants to meet you. Within a few weeks he flew me out to his home in Encino and we met. We went to see a rough cartoon version of Captain EO! At Disney studios, him and I just sitting there eating popcorn checking out the film. It blew me away and it was still rough, hand drawn segments mixed with live action.”

 

 

Nate Giorgio: “Sam Emerson, Michael Jackson’s Personal photographer, took this picture of me and MJ.  At the time, in 1988, I was MJ’s guest on his BAD tour in Rome.  We were actually at a party in this photo, just hanging out when MJ just asked Sam to get a shot of the two of us together. This party might have been at one of the Embassy’s. I’m not sure.”

 

 

 

DanseTrack:

If a person lives long enough, it is not that unusual–maybe at least once in a while–to encounter someone who is considered famous.  Especially if you live in areas such as New York City or Los Angeles, celebrity sightings can be a relatively common occurrence.  In most of these instances, however, you get the feeling that the person can lead a relatively normal life. Sure, they get double takes and the occasional request for an autograph, but by and large, the person of particular recognition can go out wherever or whenever they please.

 

With Michael Jackson, however, that was definitely not the case. I think you probably got a glimpse of that when you worked with him. What insight do you have into that aspect of Michael Jackson’s life?

 

Nate Giorgio:

 

“Yeah, MJ couldn’t go anywhere without being mobbed. I saw a lot of that from early on at the height right up to the time he passed.  I would see this when I would visit him at the Carolwood home.  At one of my visits to his house, in 2009, there was the usual crowd of fans at the front gate.  When I met with him inside a short while later, I said, “Man, how do you do it?  Day in and day out, you constantly have to deal with people wherever you turn.”

 

“MJ just looked at me and smiled as though it did not bother him one bit. He had that expression on his face that said that this was something he dealt with because it was a part of him.  From such an early age, he had just gotten so used to it.  MJ felt that the fans truly were an extension of his image.  He thrived on it, and this is one of the reasons he commissioned paintings like the hero pieces I did. These paintings represented the image he wanted to project for the fans, as much as for himself.”

 

“People always talked about how he was a prisoner, and that he could not go anywhere. Like all serious artists, however, he was mostly just a loner.  MJ did not seem to worry about living a normal life. When an artist creates, that artist steps into his own little world, which is a much stronger place than people think. That world is not fragile, but is instead full of power and creativity.  MJ, I believe, was like this.  It is very difficult to even compare him with any other celebrity.  Because of his unparalleled artistry, MJ viewed his isolation much differently than one would expect.”

 

“And, at times, he did go out and there were his children, who meant the world to him.  MJ loved studying and discussing art and  frequently met with other creative people he admired.  So fame never kept him from doing what he loved. That’s for sure.”

 

 

"Nothing could contain, stop or define the force that lived within this one man." ~ Jodi Gomes