For those who can remember

[elvis]

How did Michael Jackson's death compare to Lennon's and Elvis' as far as the shock, people affected, hysteria, etc. Was it a bigger deal or not as much?

 

[Gunny]

How did Michael Jackson's death compare to Lennon's and Elvis' as far as the shock, people affected, hysteria, etc. Was it a bigger deal or not as much?

Lennon's had WAY more impact because he was murdered. The shock effect. He had the right kind of baggage. The US government hated him. That made him uber-cool with the left.

Jackson on the other hand has been accused of child molesting. No evidence at all except the accusations of money grubbers; however, enough to tarnish his image in the US. I would say Jackson's death might have more effect internationally because he is or was still popular overseas.

 

[Xenophon]

The 80s and 70s didn't have the net and cable TV, you didn't get the saturation effect you got with MJ.

Lennon's death was more profund, as he was not a nut or a child molester and was genrally a nice guy to people.

I don't really recall how it was for Elvis, I don't remmeber it being a big deal outside of people who were his fans.

 

[Care4all]

Elvis and Lennon deaths were much larger of an impact....imho....but Jackson is almost up there with them...the accusations of child molestation hurt him a bit.

Lennon was a complete shock because he was murdered and so was Elvis because of him being an icon , Jackson always seemed frail and sickly to me, so it was possible for him to have a heart attack as they first announced, I did not even know he was prescription drug addicted...but i guess i really didn't follow his career after Thriller...

when i was an itty bitty child, I had every Jackson five record that existed!

care

 

[editec]

Yeah, both Gun's comment about the international effect, and Xeno's comment about the how the changes in media saturation make comparisons very difficult.

Let's just say in my case I didn't lose any sleep when I heard of the passing of any of these folks.

Of course I feel sorrier for Lennon since he was murdered and the other two basically killed themselves with drugs.

 

[Lycurgus]

Jackson is no surprise!

 

[Sarah G]

I'm beginning to compare Michael's death to Anna Nichole Smith. Both shocking and sad but I feel like they did so much damage to their bodies over the years that you knew nothing good was ever going to come of it.

I kept wishing John Lennon wasn't really dead and all I wanted to do was listen to his music. I am doing the same with Jackson music right now. I hoped that Julian Lennon would follow in his father's footsteps because he looked so much like him but that just wasn't happening.

I watched the Anna Nichole trial on TV because it was so interesting (and the judge was a freak show all by himself) how people were just allowed to help her kill herself and I wanted to hear how they justified it. Michael Jackson's enablers and all of the lawsuits will be even more interesting. I hear there are 19 lawsuits already in progress against Jackson's estate.

The familly, the mothers of the children, creditors, Paul McCartney, are all going to get in on the act. Circus? Maybe but I'm gonna love the drama.

 

[DamnYankee]

Agree with Gunny on the shock re. Lennon, having been murdered.

For me the shock re. Jackson and Presley was their young age, but then, there were mitigating factors, weren't there.....

 

[Dis]

How did Michael Jackson's death compare to Lennon's and Elvis' as far as the shock, people affected, hysteria, etc. Was it a bigger deal or not as much?

Not nearly as much from what I can tell. People are making jokes left and right about him not having a funeral, but instead being melted down to make Lego's and such for kids.. Elvis died when I was a kid, but if I remember right, most peoples worlds seemed to stop for some reason.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

Jackson on the other hand has been accused of child molesting. No evidence at all except the accusations of money grubbers

He shouldn't have paid any of them off. He was acquitted on the ones he didn't, but for some reason saw fit to pay one of them a civil judgment estimated to be in the realm of $15.5 million. Why pay at all, a false accuser especially when already acquitted of two other accusations prior?

As to the OP: I saw Elvis live in concert just before he died. He looked horrible, a fat sweaty jiggly pig up there, but still had the pipes. I remember the announcement coming over the radio, wasn't too surprising judging by the way he'd looked btw, and all stations for the next few days had nearly nothing but Elvis music. The TV media however, didn't go absolutely nuts like you see today.

Lennon's death was a tragic shocker, here was a guy who wouldn't hurt a fly, gunned down by a psychopath. I was watching Monday Night Football when Howard Cosell broke the news. He said something I have never been able to find quoted anywhere, "A great pain envelopes my consciousness" or something to that effect. And again of course, radio was all Lennon all the time for awhile.

I agree that this age of internet, and instant 24/7 news makes Jackson's death seem like a bigger deal than the other two, whether it is or not probably depends on the age of the beholder. For example:

When Bobby Darin died, I was just a kid but had been a lifelong fan. It hit my Mom pretty hard. But hell, so did Hank Williams and Patsy Cline. Those Decca records of Cline's were spinning in my house all day for a few days.

To me, John Denver's tragic death -- right when he finally had a decent new record deal back with RCA and when he'd finally gotten his life back in order -- was virtually ignored by comparison with the other three although he was almost as prolific of a songwriter and right up there amongst them, at the time, in record sales. That one hurt me more than others, I'd been a lifelong fan of his as well.

The song "Rock n Roll Heaven" is way past due for a remake.

 

[DamnYankee]

The song "Rock n Roll Heaven" is way past due for a remake.

I'll second that.

 

[rhodescholar]

How did Michael Jackson's death compare to Lennon's and Elvis' as far as the shock, people affected, hysteria, etc. Was it a bigger deal or not as much?

Nothing compared to Elvis' - that was on the cover of the paper for days and days, and it was all the 3 major news networks would talk about. At the time, there was no Fox news, CNN, etc.

 

[MaggieMae]

How did Michael Jackson's death compare to Lennon's and Elvis' as far as the shock, people affected, hysteria, etc. Was it a bigger deal or not as much?

I was more touched by the death of Elvis, although it had become clear that he had lost his magic in later life just as Michael Jackson did. They both made enormous contributions to music expression.

That said, I think 24/7 saturation of Jackson's death was way too much. After the second day of it, I was practically screaming at the television to JUST SHUT UP AND PLAY HIS MUSIC, WILL YA?

 

[strollingbones]

Jackson on the other hand has been accused of child molesting. No evidence at all except the accusations of money grubbers

He shouldn't have paid any of them off. He was acquitted on the ones he didn't, but for some reason saw fit to pay one of them a civil judgment estimated to be in the realm of $15.5 million. Why pay at all, a false accuser especially when already acquitted of two other accusations prior?

As to the OP: I saw Elvis live in concert just before he died. He looked horrible, a fat sweaty jiggly pig up there, but still had the pipes. I remember the announcement coming over the radio, wasn't too surprising judging by the way he'd looked btw, and all stations for the next few days had nearly nothing but Elvis music. The TV media however, didn't go absolutely nuts like you see today.

Lennon's death was a tragic shocker, here was a guy who wouldn't hurt a fly, gunned down by a psychopath. I was watching Monday Night Football when Howard Cosell broke the news. He said something I have never been able to find quoted anywhere, "A great pain envelopes my consciousness" or something to that effect. And again of course, radio was all Lennon all the time for awhile.

I agree that this age of internet, and instant 24/7 news makes Jackson's death seem like a bigger deal than the other two, whether it is or not probably depends on the age of the beholder. For example:

When Bobby Darin died, I was just a kid but had been a lifelong fan. It hit my Mom pretty hard. But hell, so did Hank Williams and Patsy Cline. Those Decca records of Cline's were spinning in my house all day for a few days.

To me, John Denver's tragic death -- right when he finally had a decent new record deal back with RCA and when he'd finally gotten his life back in order -- was virtually ignored by comparison with the other three although he was almost as prolific of a songwriter and right up there amongst them, at the time, in record sales. That one hurt me more than others, I'd been a lifelong fan of his as well.

The song "Rock n Roll Heaven" is way past due for a remake.

the only thing tragic about john denver's death is that he was not shot and killed by hunter s.

elvis death was mourned a lot....whole graceland thing...but you have to ad into the mix that in our day...(before we became older than dirt) you do not do the flowers at the scene stuff and all....

anna nicole was gonna die young...you dont live that hard and fast and make it for long..

lennon's death would have to be the most shocking and the greatest loss for people....his music was inspiring...his life...simple...he was a simple man as mm said gunned down due to his innocentance...no body guards no entourage....just a man going home

 

[Midnight Marauder]

Billy Mays just died. For some reason, that's hit me harder than Jacko and Farrah put together.

 

[HUGGY]

How did Michael Jackson's death compare to Lennon's and Elvis' as far as the shock, people affected, hysteria, etc. Was it a bigger deal or not as much?

I visited New York shortly after Johns death. I stood at the gate of the Dakota where he was murdered and cried like a baby.

 

[asaratis]

Jokes about Jackson will flood the earth for a long time. The defining difference among the three (Jackson, Presley and Lennon) is that Jackson was a freak, the others were not.

 

[Xenophon]

That is a good point, I don't remember anyone joking about John Lennon being killed.

The general feeling was sadness.

 

[Dis]

I can see feeling a sense of loss, or even a bit of sadness when someone famous dies.. A lot of people we'll never meet somehow touch our lives..

But...why actually *cry* over someone you have absolutely NO actual connection with whatsoever?

I've seen people go in to hysterics when some artist/star dies, and they don't bat an eyelash when the dog they had for 25 years dies... What the hell?

 

[Soaring]

Elvis's death was absolutely HUGE. His fans were probably 4 times as many as MJ's because of the genre of music he sang. Elvis had and still has huge fan clubs, and some actually believe that he is still alive. I would say that Elvis's death was felt by way more people than MJ's. I can't comment on Lennon, because I never was a fan of the Beatles.