Erich Bergen’s Thank You to the Legendary Michael Jackson
July 1st, 2009Las Vegas Sun reporter Joe Brown notes that when he heard that Michael Jackson had died, one of his first thoughts was of actor/singer/songwriter Erich Bergen, who plays the role of Four Seasons songwriter Bob Gaudio in “Jersey Boys†at the Palazzo. He knew Bergen would be taking the news harder than most.
Brown asked Erich to share his thoughts about the tragic loss of his musical hero, Michael Jackson. Below is an excerpt of Erich’s touching thoughts about the inspirational pop icon:
My parents didn’t know what to do with me, an only child who had more energy than a shaken can of Red Bull. “Sesame Street†did the trick for a little while, but I outgrew that by age 3. That’s when, in addition to cartoons and “Goodnight, Moon,†they showed me MTV and handed me Rolling Stone magazine. I suppose, looking back, they were desperate.
Soon my entire focus became fixated on one performer who dominated TV, magazines and every other form of entertainment. His name was Michael Jackson.
The first video of Michael’s I remember watching was “We Are the World,†his 1985 mega-anthem written with Lionel Richie and sung with 400 other people. I still credit my musical ear to that song. I used to sing it in full, imitating each performer’s unique voice, entertaining guests at my mother’s parties.
I became a total Michael nerd. I didn’t just own a copy of “Thriller†and watch the “Motown 25†TV special over and over again. By the time I was 14 years old, I had enough Michael Jackson memorabilia that the Village Voice did a feature on me for the paper’s “Money†column.
My love of everything Michael led me to discover a universe of music. His inspirations became mine. I studied Jackie Wilson and James Brown and by age 7 I knew the entire Motown catalog. Instead of an allowance, I got a new CD each week, and my musical world kept expanding. But I always came back to Michael.
Read Erich’s full tribute to the legendary Michael Jackson in the Las Vegas Sun.
