Michael Jackson 1958-2009 and Farrah Fawcett 1947-2009

Okay, Michael Jackson was a bit of a flake. Especially in later years. But absolutely no reason to characterize him as Jacko The Clown. I am very appreciative that the newsmedia, in general, have refrained from using this nickname in their news stories about his death today from a heart attack at the age of 50.

I would rather focus on his accomplishments as a songwriter and musician, and apart from the songs he made famous, this is perhaps my favorite of the songs he wrote. "Centipede" was the only record charted by his sister, Rebbie, who was eight years his senior. Michael sings backup on this along with one of his other sisters, LaToya. It was a big hit in 1985, and very frequently played on Y107 when I was working there and it was a hit music station, so I heard this song maybe four or five times a day. And it grew on me. The embed is to an audio capture, instead of the actual music video which unfortunately I cannot embed.



Now Farrah Fawcett. Spectacular embodiment of 70's beauty. Who didn't want to be Jill when playing "Charlie's Angels"? All flowing blonde hair, white teeth. And, as known to anyone who hung That Poster in their bedroom - me included - nipples. She did show acting chops later on, but in later years, like Michael Jackson, became a bit of a flake, as evidenced by a wild appearance on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" in 1997. Farrah had been fighting cancer for years, finally taking her today.

Whatever judgments you want to make about their personal lives, all we know is that two giants of entertainment have left us, cruelly on the same day.