Drugs are a white elephant, after MJ what have we learned?

Drugs as the white elephant

Three years after Micheal Jackson’s death, what have we learned?

 BY JAMES L. WALKER, JR

ATLANTA – This week marks the third anniversary of the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

On June 25, 2009, the legendary entertainer was found unconscious at his home and rushed to a hospital where he later died from an overdose of propofol.

While Jackson’s personal physician now serves prison time for involuntary manslaughter for his role in putting the singer to sleep and then death, much of the music and entertainment industry remains asleep, or sedated, to its incessant and problematic drug problem. For many, many years now , the early- grave conveyor belt streams through some of the best and brightest artists. 

It’s time to wake up.

  

Michael Jackson was a drug addict.  Whitney Houston was a drug addict. 

And, so was Amy Winehouse, Heath Ledger, Gerald LeVert,  Donyale Luna, Brenda Fassie,  Old Dirty Bastard,  Pimp C,  Phyllis Hyman,  David Ruffin, Ike Turner, Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli , Elvis Pressley, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix Curt Cobain and countless others. 

Watch more: Celebrities that have died from drug abuse 

But that’s those who’ve died. Good luck assembling the list of the addicts still drinking and drugging their way through their fame today. I’m sure you know some of the names. (Lindsay, Britney, Soulja Boy, Charlie Sheen and others who are so often admitted to the hospital for exhaustion and dehydration?)

Three years ago, I thought Michael Jackson’s death would be used as a world- wide teaching moment about the dangers of  legal and illicit drugs. I wrote and spoke on the topic extensively, as did others. But that moment was obviously fleeting.

Rather than effecting a change to the continued veneration of clinically dependent individuals, the clarion call became a familiar but obviously broken record. New title but same tune only sung about a different drug and a different life gone too soon.

Like Jackson, Houston was a megastar. 

While certain facets of her story – and death from a cocaine and prescription drug overdose and subsequent bathtub drowning - were markedly different from that of Jackson’s, the world had a seemingly front row seat to her gravely familiar narrative: “music artist bigger than life, grapples with drugs for years and eventually looses the battle and his or her life;  another beautiful talent turned ugly because of the tempting appeal of crack cocaine, heroine, ecstasy, marijuana, alcohol, prescription and synthetics drugs.

Unfortunately, if you audited any of the  mega-celebrity responses to Houston’s death, and many of the others, it’s seems that they too are in denial or are very good liars because they all express and echo a collective  “shock.”

Shock?!?!?  For real?

Should the inevitable end not reign obvious at this juncture?  Other responses expressed deep regret, sorrow and empathy for the deceased.  The one thing you never hear is outrage.

Not one artist ever calls for a revolution of realism, an acceptance  about the underlying evil that should first be acknowledged and then confronted. 

It appears the answer to the question of “where are we as a music community after Whitney Houston’s death?” is the same as the answer to the question of “where are we as a music community after the third anniversary of  Michael Jackson’s death? Answer: The same dead-end place!!! 

While a general tone of cynicism may appears to suffuse this commentary, I want to be clear of one undeniable fact. 

There is a “silent consciousness” within the entertainment industry.

But, it is not limited to just drug related deaths in the music industry.

Someone, somewhere, on the night of Houston’s death, held another dying person close and begged that friend to seek help.  They refused the help and died with traces of drugs in their system like Houston and Jackson.

Perhaps another started with the “Man in the Mirror” and packed a bag to check into rehab. 

Either way, as we celebrate Michael Jackson’s music throughout the week, I hope when the music stops, we will wake up and have a real confrontation with this huge white elephant of an issue.

James L. Walker, Jr. is based in Atlanta, Georgia.  He is the author of This Business of Urban Music. A professor and entertainment lawyer, he can be found at www.jameslwalkeresq.com

R&B star Stacy Lattisaw Reflects on Michael Jackson

Three years after the King of Pop Michael Jackson died June 25th of an accidental overdose, former teen singing superstar Stacy Lattisaw – best known for several 1980’s hits including "Jump to the Beat" and "Let Me Be Your Angel," and who once toured and opened for the Jacksons mega successful Triumph Tour in 1981 - reflects back on the man she knew.

Ms. Lattisaw is now married (Mrs. Jackson now to be correct) and the mother of two teenagers and lives in Fort Washington, Maryland. She took this weekend to speak to entertainment lawyer James Walker and myself. Read more below.

“Michael Jackson was the most kind and the most humble person I ever encountered in the entertainment industry,” said Lattisaw, whose own career began in 1979 at age 12 and extended through 1992 with several Top 40 R&B hits.

 Click here:  Stacy Lattisaw performing on Soul Train with Johnny Gill


“And that’s one of the most important things I learned from him,” she says.

”At the tender age of 14 I had the opportunity to open for The Jackson's "Victory" tour in 1981. I remember that as if it were yesterday, I was outside playing kickball with my friends and my Mom came outside and said "Stacy, we just got a phone call from the Jackson's management company requesting you to open for them."

“Not realizing that this was a opportunity of a lifetime, I immediately began to think, if I accepted the offer, I would be away from home, my family, and friends for 13 weeks on a 38-city tour. My mom set my mind at ease and convinced me to partake in this once in a lifetime experience!”

The tour began July 9^th in Memphis and Stacy’s brother accompanied her on the road. She remembers being in awe of the 23-year Michael, who was already a megastar – as this was just before the release of his classic Off The Wall album – one whose electrifying aura had tens of young fans collapsing in excitement every show.

Watch a clip from the Los Angeles show here: Triumph Tour 1981

“He was a perfectionist and was very diligent.  He would practice for hours and hours. He was very dedicated to what he did, but I also remember he was very quiet and reserved. But when he hit the stage, it was like all of a sudden a magic from somewhere just came and the crowd went wild and thunderous. I saw him give all he had every show, he’d be exhausted.

"And after each show, my brother Jerry and I would go sit, talk, and take pictures with Michael for a few short minutes. Just to be in his presence was amazing. And while being around him, I learned the importance of humility. His success never changed him. I learned the importance of being a giver. A lot of people don’t know this, but Michael donated all of his earnings, his money, from the Victory tour to different charities.

“l also learned the importance of surrounding yourself with people who have your best interest at heart. Because Michael was such a giver, there were some who took advantage of his kindness.” 

“Those were some of the most precious moments that I will never forget,” she said.

After Lattisaw retired from the music business in 1992 to become a wife and doting mother to two children, she and Jackson did not stay touch. She, like millions of others worldwide, learned of his sudden death June 25, 2009 while watching television.

“I was devastated when I heard the news,” she said recalling the moment and how she began to cry. “It broke my heart.

“In some ways I wish that maybe I could have spent some time with him and maybe we could have prayed together. While I never reached the level of his success, I could totally relate to him, I’d had a taste of what he’d gone through, not having had a childhood and growing up in the harsh light of stardom at a very young age.

“Most people only see the glamour and glitz of fame, but there are so many unseen things I dealt with and sacrificed,” Lattisaw says about fame. “Michael indeed was a superstar and what people should learn is that no one will ever know what it was like to walk in his shoes because when you reach that level of stardom, your life becomes an open book.

“I think people had put so much pressure on him, that it probably became too much for him to handle. All he wanted was to rest and sleep.”

Jackson died from an accidental overdose of propofol administered by his personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray, who is now serving four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

“I am very humbled and honored to have met Michael and tour with the Jacksons and in my opinion, there will never be another Michael Jackson. He was the greatest entertainer of all-time.”

Stacy Lattisaw Jackson lives in Fort Washington, Maryland and now operates a women’s ministry called Believers Building Bridges. Learn more at stacylattisaw.net