The Michael Jackson I will remember...

On a hot summer evening in July, 1984, I was among the spectators in a sold-out crowd of 40,000 people at the Texas Stadium in Dallas, Texas who had come to see Michael Jackson perform live. I was 20 years old and it was the summer before my junior year at the University of Texas. As a high schooler, I had fallen in love with Michael Jackson's music while driving around (cruising the Sonic in Irving, Texas) on weekend nights with my friends and listening to a Motown cassette tape. I knew every word to "I'll Be There," and "Rock With You." Thriller released during my freshman year of college and I doubt there is anyone my age who didn't watch the music video with sheer amazement.

When the Victory Tour was announced in 1984, it was a no-brainer that I would go. The only question was Dallas or Houston? I'm glad I chose Dallas because it just so happened to be the only stop where Eddie Van Halen joined Michael and his brothers onstage to perform his signature solo on the song "Beat It." Oh yes he did.

While I'm sad that Michael's life took the turn that it did, I am glad that I was able to witness his tremendous God-given talent up close on that evening in 1984. The clip above is from the Victory Tour. If you're my age, you might enjoy seeing some of the people in the crowd. The 80's were grand. Regardless of your age, you will want to see Michael's dance moves at 3.35 and 5.46 in the clip above. The place went nuts when he started moon-walking across the stage. I'm sure I was among those screaming in the crowd. My friends and I had logged many hours attempting to duplicate the move in our white ankle socks on slick kitchen floors.

A few fun trivia facts about the Victory Tour: (according to Wikipedia)

The Jacksons' Victory Tour was the group's final concert tour of the United States and Canada in 1984. The tour commenced on 6 July in Kansas City and concluded on 9 December in Los Angeles.

The tour reunited all Jackson brothers including Michael, who had just released the highly successful Thriller album in 1982, two years previous to the tour, and Jermaine Jackson who had not recorded or toured with his brothers since they left Motown in 1975.

The tour consisted of 55 concerts to approximately 2 million fans.

The tour reportedly grossed $75 million and set a new record for the then-largest grossing tour.

Michael's whole share of the proceeds from the tour were donated to charity.

The set list did not include "Thriller" itself. Despite rumours suggesting Thriller was not included for spiritual reasons, Michael reportedly was not satisfied with the way the song sounded live.

There was a huge ticket controversy surrounding the tour. Fans wanting to see the concert had to buy the tickets in blocks of four (at a cost of $30 per ticket), with a limit of one block of four per address. Tickets had to be paid for using a US Post Office money order, using the original application form found in participating newspapers and copies of forms were not allowed. Because of these requirements, some post offices had run out of money orders. How I managed to jump through all those hoops as a scattered college student still remains a mystery to me. I do recall driving to the post office by campus nearly every day the week prior to the concert to see if my tickets had arrived. They arrived the day before the concert and we piled into my car the following day and made the road trip from Austin to Dallas. And boy am I glad we did. I will never forget that Michael Jackson. The white sequined glove...moon-walking across the stage...Beat It...Billie Jean...Rock With You...Shake Your Body. Never.

What's your favorite MJ song?

NOTE: As an update to this post, please note that by sharing a post that centers on my nostalgia associated with attending a Michael Jackson concert in 1984, I am in no way endorsing or excusing his unconscionable behavior in the years that followed. I realize that there are many opinions regarding Michael Jackson, the person. I too, am greatly disturbed by the allegations that followed a decade of more later. I felt it necessary to clarify this point after receiving a comment from a concerned reader who felt the post might be misunderstood. The post was intended to be a celebration of the music that undeniably marked an era...not the man that followed.