Re: How old are you and how long have you been a MJ fan?
I'll be 31 this year and I've been a fan for.....26 years or so now.
I've been listening to Michael Jackson since I was a kid in 1983. I feel so blessed to have been a part of the Thriller era. It really did feel like a magical time. I'll admit, I was not just a Michael Jackon fan back then, I was totally obsessed, and addicted to the Thriller album from beginning to end.
I will never forget the night Motown 25 special ran on prime-time tv. I was in my bedroom that night when my parents (who knew I was a huge MJ fan) shouted for me down the hallway "David, Michael Jackson's on!". I ran down the hallway and looked over at our tiny little tv to see Michael and his brothers performing the songs I'd been listening to on my K-Tel exclusive "Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 - 14 Original Greatest Hits" record.
Then after he finished singing with his brothers, I remember seeing him talk (which I'd never seen before) and then came "Billie Jean".....wow. That was the first time I'd seen him in the fedora, the white socks, the glove. And the whole thing just seemed like...I'll say it again...like magic.
And I will also never forget the day my family and I walked into a nearby Wal-Mart (which was torn down last year) and they had this HUGE display filled with hundreds and hundreds of copies of Thriller on cassette tape and LP record. I begged and pleaded with my parents to buy me one and they eventually agreed. I remember clutching onto that cassette tape (with it's plastic security thing attached) all the way home (about 35 miles away). In 1983 and 1984 I wore that tape out. Every song on that album has holds a huge, special significance for me.
Every song on that album takes me back to that old green house we lived in back in those days. Listening to P.Y.T. reminds me of running around in my backyard, carrying my portable tape player around with me. Lady In My Life reminds me of daydreaming in my bedroom, thinking about what it will be like when I grow up, looking forward to having a girlfriend to love.
Seriously...I know it sounds strange now, but that's the truth. (Thankfully, I'm now happily married to my beautiful wife of ten years lol)
Michael Jackson was EVERYWHERE back then. Every time my family and I would go to the store (even grocery stores and drug stores), there was something having to do with Michael Jackson around. Speaking of drug stores, that was exactly where I found my MJ poster back in 1984. My Mom and I went there and sitting right in the front of the store they were selling 3 different versions of MJ posters. One was him in a brown leather jacket, one was him in white and yellow wearing a sparkly pendant, and I forget what the third one was.
I chose the one in white and yellow seen here:
I was so proud to have that poster on my wall.
I also had a red t-shirt that said "Beat It" on it, and I had a jacket with a ton of zippers on it which I called my "Beat It jacket".
I could go on and on about memories from the Thriller era. I remember those times as if they were yesterday because I've always held them close to my heart. It was honestly my favorite time in my life....the early 80's. And Michael had a big part in it for me.
