terb’s world: my favorite things

Once upon a time, there were two rival gangs – the Jets and the Sharks. Tony, the best friend of the leader of the Jets, fell in love with Maria, the sister of the leader of the Sharks. They try to make their relationship work despite the gang rivalry. However, during a violent rumble, Maria’s brother kills Tony’s best friend. Enraged, Tony kills Maria’s brother and runs off. To avenge their leader, a member of the Sharks shoots down Tony, who was about to run off with Maria.

This is the plot of West Side Story, a Broadway musical which was later made into a Hollywood film. It presents the cruel consequences of violence, especially among teenagers. It was also the inspiration for the award-winning music video of Michael Jackson’s 1983 hit song “Beat It.”

Composed by Michael Jackson, the song advises the listeners to “beat it” in order to avoid violent confrontations: “You better run, you better do what you can / Don’t wanna see no blood, don’t be a macho man / You wanna be tough, better do what you can / So beat it.”

It was not a secret that Michael Jackson suffered physical abuse in the hands of his father while growing up. Being a victim of abuse caused him to develop very strong convictions against violence, which is reflected in his music.

Directed by Bob Giraldi, the music video of “Beat It” catapulted Michael Jackson into superstardom and won many awards, including Favorite Pop/Rock Video and Favorite Soul Video in the American Music Awards. It was later inducted in the Music Video Producer’s Hall of Fame.

Similar to West Side Story, the music video of “Beat It” shows two rival gangs of different ethnicity. When the leaders of both gangs are about to start their one-on-one knife fight, Michael Jackson appears between them, singing “Beat it… / It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right / Just beat it.” He is able to stop the fight from happening, and members of both gangs join him in a group dance choreographed by Michael Peters (who is one of the leaders of the gang).

A lot of people have seen Usher’s emotional rendition of the Michael Jackson classic, “Gone Too Soon,” during the memorial service for the King of Pop last 7 July 2009. The song was sadly appropriate for the legendary artist’s sudden passing: “Born to amuse, to inspire, to delight / Here one day / Gone one night.”

Released in 6 December 1993, “Gone Too Soon” was the 9th single from the album Dangerous. It was composed by Larry Grossman and Buz Kohan, and was produced by Michael Jackson himself.

The music video of “Gone Too Soon” shows video clips of a young American teenager named Ryan White, to whom the song was dedicated. At the age of 13, Ryan White became infected with HIV due to a contaminated blood treatment used to cure his haemophilia. When the fact that he was HIV positive became publicly known, he was expelled from school. This started a prolonged legal battle to allow him to go back to school, which turned Ryan White into a national celebrity and a poster child for AIDS.

White frequently appeared in public to promote AIDS awareness with celebrities like Michael Jackson, who became his close friend. The pop star even gave him a red Mustang convertible as a gift. A few months before White’s high school graduation, he finally succumbed to AIDS after battling a lung infection. Michael Jackson attended his funeral, along with other celebrities who have become close to him throughout the years. 

A few months after White’s death, Michael Jackson recorded the song “Gone Too Soon” as a tribute to his young friend. He also performed the song for President Bill Clinton’s inaugural ball on 20 January 1993, where he took the opportunity to talk about the importance of AIDS research.

Another untimely death led to the re-emergence of the song in 1997 – that of Princess Diana, who died in a car accident on 31 August 1997. “Gone Too Soon” was included in the compilation album in her honor, which was called Diana Princess of Wales Tribute.

Although the song never reached #1 in the charts, “Gone Too Soon” will always remind the world of a brilliant artist who was gone too soon.