Why Michael Jackson is the Ralph Sampson of Music and Similar Thoughts

The last time I remember millions of people saddened by the passing of a musical figure was when Jerry Garcia died. I remember dozens of Grateful Dead fans gathered at Woodland Park here in Lexington, Ky. and held a candlelight vigil to recognize his memory. With Michael Jackson's passing fans around the world experienced a similar loss, shedding tears and grieving as if a close family member had passed. Personally I find this behavior bizarre. I never met Messrs. Garcia or Jackson or really cared for the overall body of work they produced. While I recognize the impact they had on rock music I thought the Dead jammed on unnecessarily (maybe they kept going so the drugs would wear off) and that Jackson let his bizarre behavior get in the way of what was some good work (specifically Off The Wall and Thriller). However, it got my wheels turning on how to best honor Mr. Jackson's passing.

I love college basketball. Sometimes, I don't like what it does to me or my fellow Lexington citizens during the season but I have loved the game since Lorenzo Charles stuffed the dunk heard around the world and made a 12-year-old boy realize David can beat Goliath. So my wheels began to turn once I confirmed that Mr. Jackson's death wasn't a sick publicity stunt and I came up with some comparisons.

Michael Jackson Is To Ralph Sampson As Mark Few Is To Bruce Dickinson

I thought Jackson's best work came between 1979 and 1983 when he released Off The Wall and Thriller. According to Miles Keylock, the latter album has sold an estimated 109 million copies and had seven Top 10 singles. Off The Wall had "Rock With You". That alone qualifies it as a classic. Jackson did produce Bad in 1987 but "Dirty Diana" tried to duplicate "Beat It" with Stevie Stevens trying to imitate Eddie Van Halen and "Man In The Mirror" tried to beat "Human Nature" in the ballad category. It didn't work as well.

I thought Ralph Sampson's best work also came between 1979 and 1983 when he was playing for the University of Virginia. Sampson played during the golden age of big men in college basketball (Ewing, Olajuwon, Bowie) and catapulted the Cavaliers to unreached heights. Unfortunately his pro career did not go so well. According to www.basketballreference.com he averaged 15.4 points a game during his professional career, the latter half of which was spent contemplating his navel in some of California's finer cities not named Los Angeles.

WIth that comparison made let's do one more. According to Gonzaga University's Official Athletic Site in 1999 it promoted assistant Mark Few to head basketball coach following an Elite Eight performance by the Bulldogs who were led by coach Dan Monson. Since then, the "Zags" have been to the NCAA tournament every season.

According to Mick Wall, in 1982 the heavy metal band Iron Maiden replaced vocalist Paul Di'Anno with Bruce Dickinson following their Killers album. Since then Maiden had produced several albums from Number of the Beast to Flight 666. They consistently play to enthusiastic audiences around the world and have gained an immensely loyal following.

Sources

Miles Keylock, "Michael Jackson - Thriller." www.channel24.co.za
Author Unknown, "Ralph Sampson's Statistics Page." www.basketballreference.com
Author Unknown, "Mark Few - Profile." www.gozags.com
Mick Wall, Iron Maiden: The Authorised Biography. p. 227