学文网美国当地时间2009年6月25日,原定今年7月开始世界巡回演唱会的一代巨星迈克尔・杰克逊在其位于洛杉矶的家中因心脏病突发去世,享年50岁。从没有人取得如此辉煌的音乐成就:13项格莱美奖、全球累计售出7.5亿张唱片,单单《颤栗》(Thriller)一张大碟就创下了全球销量1.04亿张的吉尼斯世界纪录。从没有人在生前受到如此多的非议,而在死后却又得到如此多的赞扬。他是无数人深爱的MJ,是这个星球上唯一的King of Pop―
We watched him grow up: a baby-faced boy with a 1)captivating smile and an amazing voice, who stole the show right out from under his big brothers. We saw him 2)morph into a modern-day song-and-dance man, so light on his feet he seemed to be moving
on air. We danced to his beat until he began to change, and we weren’t sure what to make of it. Then we witnessed his long, strange 3)fall from grace.
Ann Powers: He’s like Elvis, you know. He’s that big.
Ann Powers, music critic at the Los Angeles Times. For her, the death of Michael Jackson has a special
4)poignancy.
Powers: The first album I bought was Jackson 5’s Maybe Tomorrow. I grew up with him as an icon. The thing in my head right now is “I’ll Be There,” you know, that tender, delicate yet strong voice of Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson was not even six years old when his father set out to make his sons famous singers. By 1968, the Jackson 5 had been signed on to the Motown label and had a string of hits. But Michael was clearly the star, and eventually he set out for a solo career.
Quincy Jones (Music producer): He knew everybody’s
songs; he knew everybody’s steps. I’ve never seen
somebody that…that could just absorb so much so quickly and so 5)involved. And then I said, “I’d like to take a shot on your album.”
The 6)collaboration with Jones 7)unleashed Jackson’s
creativity as both a singer and a dancer 8)culminating
with the 1982 release of the hugely popular album
Thriller.
Thriller stayed atop the Billboard chart for 37 weeks, and Jackson’s performances of the songs on video and on television were, well, thrilling.
Jason King: I think the word that you’ve got to use is “9)electrifying.” It was absolutely electrifying. He wasn’t
just singing about “Thriller,” he actually was a thriller in every sense of that term.
Jason King is a music professor at New York
University.
King: I think it’s the voice 10)in conjunction with that incredible sense of rhythm and timing and 11)innovation that made him the icon that he will always be.
Thriller provided the dance beat of the ’80s with hit singles like “Beat It” and “Billie Jean.”
Jackson’s next album, Bad, sold 22 million copies around the world. But despite his fame and wealth Jackson was never able to 12)duplicate the success of Thriller.
In the 1990s, his strange behavior began to draw as much attention as his talent. Finally, in 2005, he was tried on charges of child 13)molestation. Though 14)acquitted, Jackson’s reputation and finances never fully recovered.
Powers: He didn’t seem able to live in the world. But, at the same time, I think we feel uncomfortable even thinking about that aspect of Michael Jackson
because there is a sense of, like, “Did we do this to him? Did we damn him to this fate?”
Jackson had hoped his concert tour would be the start of a comeback.
Questions Around Jackson’s Death
Host: Since the death of Michael Jackson, as many questions as 15)tributes to the King of Pop have emerged questions about his kids, his
16)estate, his debts, his doctor and how exactly he
died.
Reporter: His finances were always kind of a closely guarded secret. We do know that he was millions of dollars in debt. But he kept being 17)bailed out by
various hedge funds注 and advisors. And what was
going to really 18)salvage his empire was this tour, this “This Is It” tour. It was going to produce a huge amount of money.
Host: And I understand that just in the past few days the value of his estate has already gone up. Amazon has sold out of…of many of his recordings, for example.
Reporter: Right. It’s been a boom, a 19)bonanza of sales of Michael Jackson records, of Michael Jackson 20)memorabilia, anything people can get their hands on. Now there’s a hint that there may be a film of some kind, which would be based on the video tapes of the 21)rehearsals for the “This Is It” concert. It’s like people look back and they say that Elvis was a richer man in death than he was in life, and Michael Jackson may be the same story.
我们看着他长大成人:一个娃娃脸的小男生带着迷人的笑容和天籁般的嗓音,从他那几位兄长的眼皮底下抢尽了风头。我们看着他成长为当代的歌舞巨星,他的舞步如此轻盈,就像在太空中漫步似的。我们跟着他的节奏起舞,直到他渐渐变了个样儿,我们不知道如何接受他的改变。随后,我们目睹了他漫长而离奇的陨落
过程。
安・鲍尔斯:你知道,他就是另一位猫王。他就是那样的巨星。
安・鲍尔斯是《洛杉矶时报》的乐评人。迈克尔・杰克逊的离世让她特别难过。
鲍尔斯:我买的第一张专辑就是“杰克逊五兄弟演唱组”的《也许明天》。我从小到大都将他奉为偶像。如今在我脑海中一直回响的就是《我会在那里》,你知道,迈克尔・杰克逊那温柔、纤细却又坚定的歌声。
杰克逊的父亲着手将儿子们逐步捧为著名歌手的时候,迈克尔还不到6岁。1968年,“杰克逊五兄弟演唱组”与摩城唱片公司签约,推出了一系列大热作品。但很显然,迈克尔才是个中翘楚,最后他单飞发展个人
事业。
昆西・琼斯(音乐制作人):他会唱每个人的歌,会跳每个人的舞步。我从没见过有人……能这么快速、这么专注地学会这么多东西。所以当时我对他说:“我想试试为你制作
专辑。”
与琼斯的合作显露出杰克逊作为歌手和舞者的创造力。在其于1982年发行的大卖专辑《颤栗》中,这种创意被发挥得淋漓尽致。
《颤栗》在美国公告牌流行音乐排行榜上雄踞了37周之久,而在音乐录像和电视中,杰克逊对歌曲的演绎也让人心潮澎湃。
贾森・金:我认为你得用“激动人心”这个词来形容这首歌,因为它实在太棒了。他不仅仅在唱《颤栗》,从各种意义上来说,他本人就能令人颤栗。
贾森・金是纽约大学的音乐教授。
金:我认为是他的声线、他那不可思议的节奏感、他出现的时机以及他的创新
性――这一切结合在一起,使他成为人们永远的偶像。
《颤栗》当中的《远离》、
《比利・珍》等热门单曲谱出了上世纪80年代的热舞节拍。
杰克逊的下一张专辑《真棒》在全球卖出了2200万张。尽管(这张专辑)令他名声大噪,财富滚滚而来,杰克逊却再也无法复制《颤栗》的神话。
到了90年代,他奇怪的言行开始像其才华那样引人瞩目。最后,他在2005年因娈童案被告上法庭。虽然无罪胜诉,杰克逊的名声和经济状况却从此一蹶不振。
鲍尔斯:他似乎没有办法在这个现实世界生存。但与此同时,我想,哪怕只是想想迈克尔・杰克逊的另一面都会让我们很不自在,那种感觉就像:“是我们害他变成这样的吗?是不是我们的捧杀造成了他的陨落?”
杰克逊曾希望巡回演唱会将成为他回归的开端。
死后疑团
主持人:迈克尔・杰克逊去世以来,有多少人赞颂“流行音乐之王”,就有多少关于这位王者的疑问――包括他的孩子、他的庄园、他的债务、他的医生以及他的确切死因。
记者:他的经济状况一直是一个保守得相当严密的秘密。我们确实知道他背负了数百万美元的债务,但一直有各种对冲基金和不同顾问帮他摆脱困境。而真正能够拯救其王国的正是这次巡回演唱会――这场“到此为止”演唱会,它原本会大赚一笔。
主持人:我得知就在(他去世后)短短几天内,他的庄园地价已经上涨了不少。又比如说,亚马逊网站上也
卖了……许多他的唱片。
记者:没错。迈克尔・杰克逊的专辑、迈克尔・杰克逊大事记等等人们能买到的东西全都销量激增,突然之间财源滚滚。还有迹象表明,有人会根据“到此为止”演唱会的排练录像拍摄一部电影什么的。(这种情况)就像人们现在回头看看,都说猫王去世后比他生前更富有。迈克尔・杰克逊或许也将如此。
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