CaptionStory Highlights
- Jackson's music cut across cultural lines
- Jackson is remembered as a consummate musical pro despite his personal problems
At Raleigh's oldies station, Michael Jackson's death prompted scores of requests.
Hip-hop emcee Phonte Coleman talks about the legacy Michael Jackson leaves behind
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"The first song I played after I announced his death was 'I'll be there,'" Y-102.7 air personality Bill Campbell said. "And then, boy immediately people started calling asking for their favorites."
Jackson's music cut across cultural lines, appealing to everyone in different ways.
"Everything was fresh that he played; it was new sounding," John Pender, a shopper at Raleigh's CD Warehouse, said.
The man who is the operation manager for Raleigh's Radio One broadcast group recalled Jackson as the phenomenon of his time.
"Nobody could compare," Radio One's Cy Young said. "There's a way to tell how big an artist is; and that is when people emulate. They dress like the guy, they talk like him, they dance like him. They tried to do everything that Michael did."
Sandi Blankenship was one of those emulating folks back in the day.
"I had the jacket, the glove, the whole thing," Blankenship said. "I was in 7th or 8th grade then."
At Raleigh's K-97.5 radio they're planning a Michael Jackson tribute weekend remembering a musician whose personal life was sometimes controversial.
"Even with those problems you still have people who loved Michael Jackson," Young said.
And musically, Jackson will always be remembered as a consummate pro.
"The guy who produced some of Michael Jackson's solo stuff had produced Barbara Streisand and Frank Sinatra records and said he had never been with such a pure performer," Campbell added.
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